Monthly Wrap May 2025

In the media

In detention

Following an Ombudsmans Report criticising the conditions under which Australia holds people at sea, The Saturday Paper published an insiders account of the situation aboard the vessels. A fire occurred in a section of Melbourne’s immigration detention centre. The High Court rejected compensation claims made by two people who were detained, despite an AAT finding that they were owed protection, while their protection visas were considered.

In the community

The ABC published a story on the impact of the housing crisis on Afghan people who were resettled on refugee visas. The International Cricket Council announced the creation of a fund and taskforce to support the exiled Afghan women’s cricket team, most of whom now live in Australia.

International

Pakistani authorities continued their policy of forcibly removing Afghan people who sought safe haven there. ABC Sunday Extra presented a behind the scenes look at the deportation centres in operation in the UK.

In policy

The Refugee Council of Australia published an analysis of the major party policies on refugees and  people seeking asylum.  The UNSW Kaldor Centre published a paper on five ways Australia could reduce the persistent backlog of protection applications. Sarah Dehm and Anthea Vogl looked back at immigration amnesties declared by previous Australian governments and whether they could occur again.

In research

A review of 21 studies across 8 countries concluded that no form of detention is psychologically safe for children. According to the latest detention statistics, six children remain in locked immigration detention onshore. Research in Germany examined the role that new friendships, within the broader community, make in the success of refugees in their first few years living in a country.

Monthly Wrap April 2025

In the media

In PNG

The new deal agreed between the Australian and PNG governments, to switch accommodation and services to an allowance instead, HAS the men who remain there worried that they will not be able to afford rent.

In Australia

The National Justice Project launched a new online resource to assist people, who have been wronged, to navigate the relevant complaints process. On the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Viet Nam, Australia’s Vietnamese community celebrated the beginning of a project to build the Vietnamese Museum Australia in Melbourne’s western suburbs. It will be the first of its kind in the country.

International

Kenya was praised for its decision to transition large refugee camps into municipalities where people living there will have more rights and greater security of residence. Renewed military activity by the Israeli Defence Force has caused a surge in the number of people displaced in Gaza once again. The number of unaccompanied refugee minors, particularly teenagers, in care in the UK has doubled in recent years. A ten-year collaboration between the Mexican government, UNHCR and businesses has enabled50,000 refugees to successfully integrate in communities where they have found jobs, housing and stability. The cuts to the USAID program forced the World Food Program to halve rations, which the UNHCR fears may drive people to undertake dangerous journeys to seek better prospects elsewhere.

In policy

The Refugee Council of Australia published an analysis of the federal budget as it pertains to refugees and asylum seekers. As the election campaign is now officially underway, the UNSW Kaldor Centre promoted a resource on identifying and countering misinformation during election campaigns. Following the recent cyclone in Queensland, academics from UNSW and ANU collaborated on an article setting out how skilled refugees could be recruited to assist in recovery and rebuild efforts.

New releases and events

Refugee Displacement, Disability and Human Rights The Production, Processing and Power of Data, a book by Philippa Duell-Piening published by Routledge.