This paper summarises both the continuing and new concerns expressed to the RCOA during our annual national consultations and other discussions with service providers and refugee community members. It proposes alternatives for positive reforms that will benefit those seeking protection in Australia and the humanitarian arrivals and ultimately enhance the outcomes for our entire community.

The one-off deal brokered by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton, for the resettlement of refugees on Manus Island and Nauru to the United States has the potential to go a long way to finally giving these people a new start. At this stage, it is unknown...

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has expressed 'deep concern' at the government's proposal to ban refugees who arrive by boat from ever entering Australia. The UN body has reminded the Turnbull government that Australia has a responsibility to offer protection to all asylum seekers, regardless of their mode of arrival. Federal Immigration Minister...

The current policy of the Australian Government is that no person who arrives in the country by boat seeking asylum can ever settle in Australia. Instead, anyone who arrives by boat is forcibly taken to offshore 'Refugee Processing Centres,' one of which is on the remote Pacific island of Nauru. The government claims that the...

This report explores the human, economic and strategic cost of Australia’s current policies which seek to deter asylum seekers from migrating to Australia by sea. It examines the impact of these policies in a domestic, regional and global setting, and provides a set of alternatives which would bring an end to the harm that is...