Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull considered the creation of a homeland security portfolio, bringing ASIO, the Federal Police and the current Department of Immigration and Border Protection under the one umbrella. Separately, the immigration department is reportedly considering outsourcing large parts of the visa system to private operators. The Community and Public Sector Union described the potential plan as ‘undermin[ing] the integrity of a core function of government’.
The US State Department said it had reached its annual refugee intake. The US is currently assessing the applications of hundreds of refugees on Nauru and Manus Island as part of a resettlement deal struck with the Australian Government last year.
UNHCR released a Roadmap to improve the situation of unaccompanied minors and separated refugee and migrant children. Since 2015, the situation for unaccompanied children and young people arriving in Europe has worsened, with a broadened use of detention and large scale institutional care, limited family reunification opportunities, and rising concerns over deportations.