Seeking asylum: Australia's humanitarian response to a global challenge

• Janet Phillips, Elsa Koleth
• Information and Research Service, Parliamentary Library

Read the full text

Image: Rusty Stewart / flickr

30 August 2010Since 1945 Australia has resettled over 700 000 refugees and displaced persons, including thousands during and immediately after World War II. Today, as part of its planned Humanitarian Program, the government allocates places each year to refugees and others with humanitarian needs. There were 13 750 places allocated under Australia’s Humanitarian Program for 2009–10 (an increase of 250 places on 2008–09 planning levels). This comprised 6000 planned places for the resettlement of refugees under the Refugee category mostly referred to Australia by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and 7750 planned places under the Special Humanitarian Program (SHP). Australia’s focus for the resettlement of refugees in 2009–10 continued to be on those from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

While many are aware that Australia accepts a certain number of refugees and other humanitarian entrants each year, there is a great deal of misunderstanding on the details of Australia’s humanitarian responses and the complex visa arrangements for refugees and humanitarian entrants. Often the critical distinction between the places allocated for ‘refugees’ (people subject to persecution) and those allocated for humanitarian entrants (people subject to substantial discrimination) is blurred. This is compounded by the fact that the Humanitarian Program numbers are comprised of both onshore and offshore applicants. This means the 7750 places currently allocated under the SHP are shared between offshore humanitarian applicants and refugees granted onshore Protection visas (including those processed on Christmas Island) and immediate family members of Humanitarian and Protection visa holders already in Australia.

Image: Rusty Stewart / flickr