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Output 1.2 Refugee and humanitarian entry and stay

Overview

This output has two components:

The Humanitarian Program is an important element of Australia’s contribution to the system of international protection of refugees:

the offshore component provides resettlement in Australia to people overseas who are in the greatest relative need of this durable solution
the onshore component provides protection in Australia to people who engage Australia’s protection obligations under the United Nations 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by the Refugees Protocol 1967.

Highlights

In 2007–08, a number of new measures were introduced by the government to improve Australia’s protection policy settings and to ensure fair and certain outcomes for refugees.

In May 2008, the government announced that the Temporary Protection visa and Temporary Humanitarian visa would be abolished in early 2008–09. About 1000 current and former holders of these visas would have their status resolved permanently.

The government brought an end to the ‘Pacific Strategy’ with the closing of the offshore processing centres on Nauru and in Manus Province in Papua New Guinea in early 2008. A group of 82 Sri Lankans and seven Burmese were resettled in Australia under the Humanitarian Program.

The government announced an increase in the Humanitarian Program to 13 500 places for 2008–09. This will include 6500 offshore refugee places, with a one-off increase of 500 places to assist people affected by the conflict in Iraq. From 2009–10 onwards, there will be an increase of 750 places in the Special Humanitarian Program to 7750 places.

Also in 2007–08, the Australian Government implemented a new visa policy to enable the permanent resettlement in Australia of locally engaged employees in Iraq and their dependent family members at risk because of their engagement with the Australian Government. Refugee visas were granted under this visa policy to 301 Iraqis who worked for, or with, the withdrawing elements of the Australian Defence Force commitment in Iraq. These visa places were in addition to the 2007–08 Humanitarian Program.

The key outcomes for the Humanitarian Program in 2007–08 included delivery of 13 014 visas. This number included 10 799 visas granted under the offshore component and 2215 visas granted under the onshore component. Of the total 13 014 visas, 46 per cent were granted to refugees and 37 per cent were Special Humanitarian Program visas. The remaining 17 per cent were Protection and other visas granted onshore.

Around 13.7 per cent of refugee visas were granted to Woman at Risk cases, well ahead of the Australian Government’s nominal 10.5 per cent target of the refugee allocation.

The department continued its strategic international engagement focused on promoting the lawful and orderly movement of people and strengthening the international protection framework. The department actively contributed to regional and international fora and worked cooperatively with many governments in the region.

In line with international concerns on a number of protracted refugee situations, the department continued to resettle Burmese refugees from camps on the Thai-Burma border and from other parts of Asia. In 2007–08, 2961 Burmese were granted resettlement visas to Australia.

The department also participated in a coordinated international effort to develop practical strategies to resolve the situation of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. During the year, 205 visas were granted to Bhutanese refugees. A group of 24 people arrived in May 2008, the first in a continuing program of resettlement.

Program formulation includes consideration of the views of the community. The DIAC–Non Government Organisation Humanitarian Dialogue is held twice each year with the aim of developing and further strengthening relationships between the department and peak non-government organisations (NGOs). It also provides an opportunity for feedback on services delivered and to discuss any issues of concern to NGOs.

Dialogues were held in July 2007 and in February 2008. The contingent of NGOs included national peak bodies such as the Refugee Council of Australia, Amnesty International, Austcare, the International Commission of Jurists, the Australian Red Cross and the National Council of Churches in Australia.

As in past years, three representatives of Australian NGOs joined the department on the Australian Government delegation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Executive Committee at the invitation of the minister.

The department also participated in the Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement in late June to early July 2008. These consultations include representatives from UNHCR, NGOs and resettlement countries.

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International cooperation

Throughout 2007–08, the department continued to strengthen existing partnerships with governments of other countries and international organisations through a number of regional collaborative projects and initiatives. This strategic international engagement enabled the department to continue facilitating the lawful and orderly movement of people to Australia and strengthen protection for refugees and displaced populations throughout the world. Following the election of the current government, the department also made a concerted effort to strengthen its engagement with multilateral forums, such as the United Nations.

Key activities during 2007–08 included:

a meeting in Indonesia between Minister Evans and his counterpart, Mr Andi Mattalatta, Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights, to renew and confirm the commitment of the Australian and Indonesian governments to work together to strengthen regional borders against people smuggling, terrorism and other forms of transnational crime. The ministers announced new immigration cooperation initiatives including English language training for immigration staff at Jakarta and Bali airports, and immigration data analysis and reporting training
work on the Locally Engaged Employees visa policy, which enables the permanent resettlement in Australia of locally engaged employees and their families who are at risk because of their engagement with the Australian Government. The policy is currently being used to assist the resettlement of Iraqi locally engaged employees
a jointly signed Memorandum of Understanding between the department and the United States of America (USA) Department of Homeland Security, which establishes a framework for cooperation between Australia and the USA in the areas of migration, integration and border management matters and will enable a structured and comprehensive engagement between the two departments
coordinating a visit to Australia by the new Thai Immigration Bureau Commissioner, Police Lieutenant General Chatchawal Suksomjit, in which the department and the Thai Immigration Bureau agreed to work towards a number of new bilateral and regional cooperation activities
the attendance by the secretary at the annual meeting of his counterparts from the immigration agencies of Canada, the United Kingdom and the USA. This year’s meeting was held in late June 2008 in Washington DC.

The department also continued to actively engage in international protection issues, with a focus on addressing protracted refugee situations, including:

the adoption of a Conclusion on Children at Risk at the UNHCR Executive Committee Meeting held in October 2007, which recognises the special vulnerability of children and aims to provide operational guidance for member states, UNHCR and other relevant agencies and partners
funding a number of projects to assist displaced persons, including those in protracted situations, including UNHCR projects in Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan
funding UNHCR to provide practical assistance to build capacity in the Asia-Pacific region to assist countries to make refugee status determinations and to strengthen asylum laws, regulations and procedures.

The department continued to engage with the region on border and migration management through:

participation in the Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants. Australia facilitated a regional workshop, held in Phnom Penh on 30 and 31 August 2007, in which 17 member countries, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR discussed how regional consultative processes could become more engaged in migration and development activities and serve effectively as forums to facilitate inter-governmental dialogue and to enhance regional cooperation
co-chairing a workshop with the Immigration Department of Malaysia on People Smuggling: Threat Assessment and Risk Analysis as part of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime. Held in Malaysia, the workshop brought together 64 delegates from 27 countries. The Bali process is a crucial part of the government’s efforts to deter irregular migration and improve border management
further developing its cooperative relationships with counterpart immigration agencies in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to help combat irregular movements in the region and to promote managed migration. The department actively supported the Pacific Immigration Directors’ Conference, a 23 member forum of official immigration agencies of the Pacific
funding provided to IOM to establish an office in Papua New Guinea to assist the Papua New Guinea Immigration and Citizenship Service (ICS) with training and an assisted voluntary returns program. The department provides four advisers to the ICS through the AusAID funded ‘Strongim Gavman’ Program. Combined, these activities have contributed to the ICS’s improved capacity to manage Papua New Guinea’s borders.