Australia’s obligations to refugees are part of international human
rights law. The Convention Definition of ‘refugee’ is used by the
Australian Government to determine whether Australia has obligations to
protect an applicant. If a person is found to be a refugee, under
International Law Australia is required to offer support and to ensure
that the person is not sent back to their country of origin without
their consent.
Refugees apply to Australia for asylum in one of two ways:
- inside Australia through the onshore protection program; and
- outside Australia through the offshore protection program.
Together,
these programs make up Australia’s Refugee and Special Humanitarian
Program. However, the program is further separated into different
categories, each for the type of visa and corresponding rights issued
to successful applicants:
- Onshore Program; or
- Offshore Program, comprising:
- Refugee Program;
- Special Humanitarian Program (SHP); and
- Secondary Movement Category.
The
Australian government pays medical and travel costs for refugees (visa
subclasses 200, 203, 204, 451 and 447) but not applicants under the
Special Humanitarian Program (visa subclass 202). Community-based
no-interest loan schemes have been set up to assist with these costs
for those who must fund their own travel and medical costs or those of
a family member.
1. Onshore Program
This
program is for refugees who apply for asylum from inside Australia.
The Minister for Immigration has a discretionary power to grant
individual applicants protection visas on humanitarian grounds if he or
she deems it to be in the public interest.
For refugees who do
not have the relevant travel documentation to enter Australia or the
documentation they have is found to be fraudulent, there are two
subclasses of protection visas they may apply for: a Permanent
Protection Visa (PPV) and Temporary Protection Visa (TPV).
People
who are granted a PPV can remain in Australia permanently and have the
same welfare and Medicare rights as other Australian residents. PPV
holders are also eligible for 510 hours of English Language Assistance
under the Adult Migrants Education Program in Queensland.
People
who are granted a TPV are permitted to remain in Australia for a set
period (currently up to three years) which can be extended. TPV
holders may or may not be entitled to permanent residency at a later
date. Their entitlements in Australia are limited due to their
temporary status, and they cannot access family reunion programs. TPV
holders hold subclass 785 (TPV) and 866 (Refugee) visas.
2. Offshore Program
The
offshore protection program is for refugees who apply to the Australian
government for asylum from outside Australia. People are usually
selected overseas after referral from the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They enter Australia with a visa
that entitles them to permanent residency (and to apply for citizenship
after the prescribed waiting period).
Australia has one class of
visas in the Offshore Humanitarian Program, being the Refugee and
Humanitarian category (Class XB visa).
The offshore resettlement program is divided into three main components:
1. Refugee Program
This
category is for asylum seekers who meet the Refugees Convention
definition of a refugee and have been identified in conjunction with
the UNHCR as in need of resettlement. This category comprises visa
subclasses 200 (Refugee), 201 (In-country Special Humanitarian), 203
(Emergency Rescue) and 204 (Woman at Risk).
2. Special Humanitarian Program (SHP)
People
applying under this category do not necessarily have to meet the
Refugees Convention definition of a refugee. However, they must have a
link within Australia (eg family member, community group) prepared to
sponsor them to Australia and have been “subject to substantial
discrimination amounting to gross violation of human rights in their
home country.” This category comprises visa subclass 202 (Global
Special Humanitarian).
3. Secondary Movement Category
This
category is for people who move from their first country of asylum to a
second country and apply for protection from the second country. This
category includes asylum seekers who arrive in Australian territory
that has been excised from the operation of the Migration Act 1958.
This category comprises two temporary visa subclasses, 451 (secondary
movement relocation) and 447 (secondary movement offshore entry).
Immediate family of refugee/humanitarian visa holders
People who hold PPV’s granted onshore
(“the proposer”) can propose immediate family members under the
offshore Humanitarian visa subclass 202. The applicant must have been
an immediate family member (spouse or dependent child) of a refugee or
humanitarian visa holder at the time of the application for the visa.
People who hold PPV’s granted offshore (“the
proposer”) can propose immediate family members in the same subclass of
visa they hold without their family members having to prove persecution
or discrimination or be outside their home country. The applicant must
have been an immediate family member (spouse or dependent child) of a
refugee or humanitarian visa holder at the time of the grant of the visa.
The
proposer must have declared the relationship to the Immigration
Department before their own visa was granted. The family member must
apply to migrate to Australia within 5 years of the grant of the
proposer’s visa.
However, sometimes problems occur when:
- a spouse is not disclosed in the original visa application;
- the person got married after the visa was granted but before migration to Australia;
- a child was not disclosed in the original visa application;
- there are difficulties proving a child is a member of the family unit, eg an orphan or an adopted child; or
- there is a lack of documentary proof of the relationship or dependence.
On
arrival in Australia, the proposer is expected to assist in settlement
of their family members, including by meeting them at the airport,
providing for their immediate accommodation needs, assisting them to
find permanent accommodation and familiarising them with services and
service providers such as Centrelink, banks, public transport,
translating and interpreting services, health care, permanent housing,
education, employment services and childcare.
Refugee Settlement Statistics
The
Australian Government's offshore Refugee and Special Humanitarian
Program currently accepts 13,000 refugees every year. Australia's top
five offshore visa grants for 2004-2005 were from Sudan, Iraq,
Afghanistan, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
More than 660,000 refugees have been resettled in Australia in the past 60 years.
Like
2004-2005, there are 13,000 new places for 2005-2006. 6000 places have
been designated for the Refugee category, and 7000 places for the
Special Humanitarian Program and to meet onshore protection needs. The
focus for 2005-2006 will again be on Africa, followed by the Middle
East and South West Asia.
According to official UNHCR figures,
Australia hosts significantly fewer refugees per person in the
Australian population than most other countries. It also has fewer
Persons of Concern per 1 US dollar per capita than many other
countries. Despite the media hype and Government rhetoric about asylum
seekers coming in waves, the number of asylum applications in Australia
and New Zealand was 3,680 in 2004 – that’s nearly 310,000 fewer
refugees than sought asylum in Europe; and 74,000 fewer than sought
asylum in Canada and the United States. Australia received fewer
asylum applications than just about any other similar country between
1997 and 2003. And Australia only granted 17.8% of these asylum
applications – compared with 57.8% in Canada, 34.7% in the United
Kingdom and 28.8% in the United States.
For more information on refugee arrivals and settlement, you can visit the following websites:
