Amnesty International has for the first time carried out investigative field research on Aotearoa New Zealand soil. It follows a number of reports of the ill-treatment of people in prison, including people who’ve sought asylum. This report establishes that the New Zealand government has repeatedly violated the human rights of people seeking asylum.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put paid to the Australian Government reaching its target of 17,100 offshore refugee resettlement visas in 2019-20 and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) achieving its goal of supporting the resettlement of 70,000 refugees globally in 2020.

The Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP) assists eligible people to settle in Australia, and is part of the federal government’s broader humanitarian program. The objective of this audit was to examine whether the HSP is being delivered effectively.

This report finds that the nation needs to take better advantage of the tremendous goodwill of Australians towards helping those in humanitarian need, and to give voice to the particular desire of those regional communities which see refugee settlement as one important way to secure their futures.

This report, on barriers to refugee employment, calls on the government to consider measures including employer education programs as ways of encouraging firms to hire and retain humanitarian migrants.