This brief provides an overview of the current predicament in which approximately 1650 East Timorese who sought protection from Australia in early 1990s now find themselves. The paper examines the reasons for the lengthy delay in processing their claims for asylum, overviews the pertinent legal history, the current political and popular responses to the issue, and canvasses a number of policy options open to the Government that would allow it to resolve the status of these East Timorese without repatriation to East Timor.