Monthly Wrap July 2026

In the media

In court

Crikey and The Conversation published explainers on how the High Court’s reversal of the Al-Kateb case, whereby successive governments indefinitely detained people even when there was no prospect of deportation, has made the government liable for damages. Two people were charged with people smuggling offences after they landed a boat carrying five people on a beach in Far North Queensland.

In Nauru

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie used Parliamentary privilege to expose threatening behaviour by staff employed to transfer and monitor the people who Australia has sent to Nauru. The Saturday Paper chronicled the various ways in which the government has sought to prevent information about the Nauru program from being made public.  

In the community

A woman who came to Australia as a refugee became the first woman from Afghanistan to summit Mt Everest. As all eyes turned to the Football World Cup, SBS News profiled how football in Australia embraces refugees and migrants.

International

UNRWA published its latest situation report on Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Canada’s tightening of access to asylum has caused concern among those working with refugees there. The UN Human Rights Commissioner has called the unfolding situation in El-Obeid (Sudan) a ‘catastrophe’ as concerns mount that the RSF could repeat the atrocities that they committed in El Fasher. Following a successful trilateral meeting facilitated by the UNHCR, the governments of DRC and Rwanda recommitted to supporting voluntary returns of people to their respective homes.

In policy

Asylum seekers who were brought to Australia for medical treatment have called for changes to the bridging visa renewal system as they lose access to Medicare each time their 6-monthly visa needs renewing. After a successful trial, the refugee sponsorship program CRISP has become permanent. The Guardian featured a group in Apollo Bay who participated in the program to secure safe haven for an interpreter who had worked for Australia’s military forces in Afghanistan.

In research

Asylum Insight’s Charlotte Stump published an overview of Australia’s history of externalising its protection obligations to others. The UNHCR released its 2025 Global Trends report, noting a 3% decline in the number of refugees but an increase in the number of internally displaced people.

New releases and events

Out of the depths. The first collection of Holocaust songs. A book by Joseph Toltz and Anna Boucher, published by Manchester University Press.  

Monthly Wrap September 2022

In the media

In detention

The ABC profiled the situation of a refugee, with an intellectual disability, who has been in detention since he was 15 years old, while his mother lives in the community. The government says that his ongoing detention is based on character grounds.

 In Court

A Federal Court judge ordered the government to reassess their refusal of a citizenship application which effectively caused a child to become stateless. The High Court agreed to hear an appeal by a convicted people smuggler who was denied a protection visa. The case will test whether Australia’s deterrence policy is punitive.

In Nauru

Leaked documents revealed that Wilson Security collected intelligence for the Australian government on the people detained in Nauru.  A company that runs prisons in America was awarded the contract for detention centre operations in Nauru.

In the community

SBS profiled business start-ups by refugees in Australia, highlighting the fact that they are more likely to start their own business than other migrant groups.   

International

NGOs in France argued that the lack of support to asylum seekers in France is causing people to attempt the channel crossing. The war in Ukraine and conflict in Myanmar appears to have caused the Japanese government to consider accepting more refugees. Refugees in Cameroon will get national ID cards that will enable them to access basic services including education, banking and healthcare. Documents revealed that of the 16,000 people who were issued with notices of their potential removal under the UK’s new inadmissibility policy, only 21 were removed have been removed.

In policy

MP Andrew Wilkie re-introduced the Ending Indefinite and Arbitrary Immigration Detention bill to Parliament and MP Dai Le said she will push the government to increase the humanitarian quota and speed up refugee processing. Advocates called for the government to implement measures that will enable skilled asylum seekers already in Australia to more easily contribute to the workforce shortage. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, more than 211,000 people  applied for resettlement to Australia. Australia welcomed the first group of refugees under the new community sponsorship program. An Australian former refugee co-founded a global organisation that advocates for refugees to have direct input into policies that affect them.  

In research

The Refugee Council of Australia published its review of access to asylum, its first report under the new global Refugee Response Index. The UNSW Kaldor Centre released a Data Lab containing data on Tribunal and Court matters concerning asylum seekers and refugees. The Comparative Network on Refugee Externalisation Policies (CONREP) published a paper into the harmful narratives used to discuss refugees, and proposed a better way forward. The Refugee Law Initiative published the webinars from their 2022 conference. Michelle Foster and Cathryn Costello examined the question of differing reactions to refugee situations against international law that prohibits discrimination. The Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness opened registrations for their 2023 intensive course.

New releases

Unpacking the Australian offshore processing policy, an episode in the Australia: Inside Out podcast, published by Menzies Australia Institute, Kings College London.