By late , the first Vietnamese refugees had been selected by Australia for resettlement from camps in Guam, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Over the next two decades, Australia was to resettle more than , Vietnamese refugees from various Asian countries. Only a small proportion, around , came directly to Australia by boat to seek asylum.
The first to arrive were five Vietnamese refugees who reached Darwin Harbour in a 17 metre fishing vessel. Another 55 boats followed in the ensuing six years. Even in the first few months after the fall of Saigon, the scale of the refugee crisis being created was apparent.
In , the committee, in its report, Australia and the Refugee Problem, identified an urgent need for a new approach to refugee settlement. The Senate committee made 44 recommendations about the development of a new refugee resettlement policy.
This report marked the beginning of new thinking which transformed the national refugee program from the humanitarian element of a general migration program to a dedicated and planned humanitarian program supported by a sophisticated system of settlement support. In May , the then Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, Michael Mackellar, announced a new national refugee policy, including procedures for responding to designated refugee situations, a series of strategies to involve voluntary agencies in resettlement programs and plans to allow the settlement of people in humanitarian need who did not fall within the UNHCR mandate or Refugee Convention definitions.
The late s also saw the establishment of the first Migrant Resource Centre in Melbourne February , a new loan scheme to assist refugees into home ownership March and further expansion of the then Adult Migrant and Refugee Education Program. In December , the Community Refugee Settlement Scheme commenced, involving community groups in providing newly-arrived refugees with on-arrival accommodation, social support and assistance with finding employment.
In the early s, the refugee program expanded to an annual intake of up to 22,, the largest annual intake in 30 years and a level not seen since. Vietnamese refugees settled from camps in Asia made up the bulk of new arrivals, with significant numbers of refugees also from Laos, Cambodia and Eastern Europe and smaller groups of Soviet Jews, Chileans, El Salvadorians, Cubans and members of ethnic minorities from Iraq Assyrians, Armenians and Chaldeans.
The Special Humanitarian Program SHP was established in , providing a settlement option to people who had suffered serious discrimination or human rights abuses, had fled their country of origin and had close ties with Australia.
In , the refugee program included Ethiopians, the first significant group of Africans. Growing awareness of the psychosocial impacts of persecution and conflict led to the establishment in of the first torture and trauma services in Melbourne and Sydney.
Similar services were established in other state and territory capitals in subsequent years, leading to the development of a national network of torture and trauma agencies. In , a special visa category within the refugee program was established to facilitate priority resettlement for refugee women at risk and their children. In the 20 years since then, Australia has resettled 8, refugee women and their children under this program.
In , the Special Assistance Category SAC visa was introduced to respond to crises in particular countries, permitting settlement of people in vulnerable circumstances and with connections in Australia.
However, the SAC was progressively phased out by the Howard Government, which expressed concern that it had, at least in part, become more of a family reunion program. Its preference was for humanitarian family reunion to be handled under the SHP, through the split family provisions it introduced from The s and s brought significant changes to the delivery of settlement services, with the shift from migrant hostels to the On Arrival Accommodation program, from the old Grant-in-Aid Program to the Community Settlement Services Scheme and with the replacement of the Community Resettlement Settlement Scheme in by the Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy.
These and later changes in the delivery of settlement services were traced in more detail in our submission for the Refugee and Humanitarian Program. In this decade, we have seen further changes to service provision and significant shifts in the regional composition of the Refugee and Humanitarian Program. A decade ago, half of the program was focused on resettlement from Europe. The continuing crisis in Iraq and the commencement of large-scale resettlement of Burmese from Thailand and Bhutanese from Nepal have seen the program shift to one evenly divided between Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
According to the best estimates available, was the year in which Australia, since becoming an independent nation, passed the , mark in its intake of refugees and humanitarian entrants. From Federation in until , no official statistics were kept of refugee settlement.
However, research published by the Australian Parliamentary Library estimated that Australia received 20, refugees in this period. From July to June , Australia received , assisted humanitarian arrivals, as well as another 33, unassisted humanitarian arrivals, according to DIAC estimates. Since the modern Refugee and Humanitarian Program began in , Australia has received , offshore refugee and humanitarian entrants and has issued 42, onshore protection visas.
We analysed the questions put to the Department of We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we work on - the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and the Wurrundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay respects to elders past and present, and acknowledge sovereignty was never ceded.
Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Email. Get the facts Refugees in Australia. Refugees resettled in , by receiving country How many refugees and migrants have come to Australia? Recognition and resettlement of refugees , by receiving country The size of the Program In recent years, the size of the Program was set at 13, places, but this has gradually increased since to 18, places in Global resettlement needs How many refugees and migrants have come to Australia?
These factors may explain why the numbers of SHP visas have increased over the years. Our recommendation: Restoring the Refugee and Humanitarian Program immediately to 20, and increasing the size of the Program to between 27, and 30, places annually within three years, and increasing each year in light of global needs Platform for Change.
Permitting asylum seekers to enter a country without travel documents is similar to allowing ambulance drivers to exceed the speed limit in an emergency — the action may ordinarily be illegal but, in order to protect lives at risk, an exception is made. There is no offence under Australian law that criminalises the act of arriving in Australia or the seeking of asylum without a valid visa. The confusion about legal status arises from those arriving by boat doing so without a valid visa or any other appropriate authorisation, compared to those who arrive by air with a valid visa and then go on to lodge asylum claims.
In the past, when unauthorised boat arrivals were intercepted in Australian waters, passengers were usually transferred to Christmas Island in order to establish their reasons for attempting to enter Australia without authority.
Many were then transferred at a later date to immigration detention centres on the mainland or immigration detention alternatives such as community based detention. It is estimated that between and , , irregular migrants some of whom would have been asylum seekers reached European shores by boat. The concept of an orderly queue does not accord with the reality of the asylum process. According to the Refugee Council of Australia:. In reality, the resettlement system works more like a lottery than a queue.
Very few resettlement places are available globally and, while UNHCR aims to prioritise those in greatest need, most refugees—even people in very vulnerable situations—cannot realistically expect to be resettled in the near future, if ever. Once registered with the UNHCR, the agency seeks durable solutions for those found to be refugees, primarily through facilitating voluntary repatriation, local integration in host countries, or resettlement to third countries. Refugees do not have a right to be resettled, and states are not obliged under the Refugee Convention or any other instrument to accept refugees for resettlement.
It is a voluntary scheme co-ordinated by the UNHCR which, amongst other things, facilitates burden-sharing amongst signatory states. Resettlement therefore complements and is not a substitute for the provision of protection to people who apply for asylum under the Convention. Global resettlement needs, assessed at some ,, thus exceeded the number of places available by a ratio of Resettlement options remain out of the reach of most refugees. At the end of the agency had received offers to resettle only a fraction of these.
For refugees in protracted situations in exile for five years or more the UNHCR points out that there are limited options:. The absence of a solution for millions of refugees in protracted situations continues to pose a major challenge to UNHCR and its partners, to host countries, the refugees themselves and the international community at large.
Due to an absence of resettlement solutions for refugees, the focus of the UNHCR in most refugee camps is on voluntary repatriation. Over recent years, the proportion of asylum seekers applying for onshore protection in Australia who arrived originally by boat has fluctuated significantly in response to shifts in asylum flows and changes in Government policy.
Until , the majority of asylum seekers applying for protection in Australia arrived originally by air with a valid visa and then applied for asylum at a later date while living in the community. Historically, boat arrivals only made up a small proportion of asylum applicants—estimates vary, but it is likely that between 96 and 99 per cent of asylum applicants arrived by air. In the proportions of irregular maritime arrival IMA and non-IMA that is air arrival asylum seekers shifted due to a significant increase in boat arrivals.
However, in —14 the proportions shifted back and the majority of applications Note: September and December quarter statistics not available. Although the proportion of asylum seekers arriving by boat has increased significantly in the last few years, and boat arrivals continue to be the focus of much public and political attention, they are in fact more likely to be recognised as refugees than those who have arrived by air. For example, the final protection visa grant rate for asylum seekers from the top country of citizenship for boat arrivals Afghanistan has varied between about 96 and per cent since ; while the final protection visa grant rate for those applying for asylum from one of the top country of citizenship for air arrivals China is usually only around 20 to 30 per cent.
The reason this Whereas the majority of those arriving by boat are refugees, the majority of those arriving by air are not. However, it is interesting to note that in recent years there has been an increase in the number of protection visas granted to non-IMA asylum seekers arriving by air. For example, in —13 the top ten countries of citizenship for non-IMAs granted protection visas included six with high grant rates—Pakistan As mentioned earlier, under current Government policy, asylum seekers attempting to arrive in Australia by boat may be turned around and returned to international waters, or transferred to offshore processing centres.
Presumably the subsequent drop in boat arrival numbers will result in a return to the historical norm whereby the majority of those applying for protection onshore in Australia will have arrived originally by air with a valid visa. In the case of Europe, the figures on irregular migration are not as reliable due to its porous borders.
While unauthorised arrival figures for Australia are more precise owing to our geography, those for Europe are only estimates. We know how many unauthorised arrivals there are in Australia because we are able to monitor unauthorised boat arrivals in Australian waters and all air arrivals at Australian airports.
For example, historically in Italy only about 15 per cent of irregular migrants arrive by sea. The vast majority of asylum seekers arrive in Italy within mixed migratory flows, travelling alongside irregular migrants, including victims of trafficking, through highly dangerous channels managed by smugglers. Whilst some of these arrive by air or by land, some 70 per cent of asylum seekers in Italy are now estimated to arrive by sea. Unauthorised boat arrivals have always undergone comprehensive security and health checks.
During that year, Australia resettled 18, refugees from overseas. COVID has impacted the ability of states to fill those spaces. The Refugee Council of Australia says that if a global queue did actually exist, people joining the back of the queue might wait more than years for resettlement.
At the end of there were 26 million refugees worldwide. This is the highest ever number recorded. More than two-thirds came from just five countries:. In —19, Australia granted a total of 18, refugee and humanitarian visas. The majority of these people came from:. The number of children seeking safety is steadily increasing worldwide.
People can be forced to migrate because of conflict, persecution, environmental degradation, poverty and development.
Most refugees and people seeking asylum reside in their neighbouring countries if it is safe for them to do so. In many countries, including in Asia Pacific, refugees and people seeking asylum do not have a legal right to stay, work or access basic service. This affects their ability to remain safe and support the most basic needs of their families.
Where people can exercise choice in determining their destination country, they can be influenced by the presence of social networks, historical ties between the countries of origin and destination, and the knowledge or belief that a certain country is democratic, where human rights and the rule of law are likely to be respected.
In the financial year of , Australia granted refugee status to 14, people, either through resettlement from other countries or granting protection to people who had applied for asylum in Australia. Under international law, whether in Australia or another country, a person undergoes a rigorous process to prove they have a well-founded fear of persecution before they are granted refugee status.
This may be for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, resulting in the suffering of serious human rights violations including torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.
In Red Cross' experience, the majority of people who apply for asylum do so because their lives and safety are under threat from war, violence or human rights abuses in their homeland. Most people do not wish to leave the homes, families, friends and communities that they know and love.
Under both the UN Refugee Convention and Australian law, the right to refugee protection is not given to anyone strongly suspected of having committed a crime against peace, a war crime, a crime against humanity or a serious non-political crime outside their country of refuge, or anyone guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Through community service providers, the Government also provides limited assistance to this group to meet their basic needs, such as assisting people to access health and social services. Not every person seeking asylum in the community is eligible for support under these programs. The Commission welcomes the increased use of community detention but remains concerned that thousands of people are still held in closed immigration detention facilities.
While the majority of people currently held in immigration detention in Australia are asylum seekers, not all are. Other categories of people who are detained in Australia include: people who have overstayed their tourist, student or other temporary visa; people who have had their visa cancelled on character grounds and are awaiting deportation; people who are suspected of involvement with people smuggling; and non-nationals who are alleged to have been fishing in Australian territorial waters.
The Commission seeks to ensure the protection of the human rights of all people held in immigration detention. However, due to their specific vulnerabilities and the special protections accorded them under international law, the Commission has focused in its recent work on immigration detention upon the conditions and treatment of asylum seekers, refugees and children.
While in immigration detention, asylum seekers and refugees have a variety of needs, which may include torture and trauma counseling, access to family tracing services, access to legal and migration advice, interpreting and translation, health and mental health care, and access to education and recreational activities. The Commission has conducted national inquiries and site inspections focusing on the conditions and treatment of people in immigration detention across Australia.
The reports of these inquiries and inspections make recommendations to the Australian Government aimed at protecting the human rights of asylum seekers, refugees and others held in immigration detention. For photos taken during visits, click here. Asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by plane have their claims for protection assessed through the refugee status determination and complementary protection system that applies under the Migration Act.
This system is described below. For asylum seekers who have their claims processed in Australia under the system that is set out in the Migration Act, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship DIAC will make a primary assessment as to whether the asylum seeker is a refugee against the criteria set out in the Refugees Convention.
If a person is found to be a refugee, and satisfies health, identity and security requirements, they will be granted a protection visa. In some cases, a person may not be a refugee, but may nevertheless face significant human rights abuses, such as torture, if returned to his or her country of origin.
If a person is found to be owed complementary protection, and satisfies health, identity and security requirements, he or she will be granted a protection visa. And in some exceptional circumstances they can seek Ministerial intervention to allow them to remain in Australia on other humanitarian or compassionate grounds.
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