In the media
Onshore detention
The Human Rights Commissioner detailed the serious consequences for women from a detention system that was designed for men. Staff at Serco, who recently lost the onshore detention contract, were advised that they would not be eligible for redundancy payments if they took up jobs at the new detention contractor, Secure Journeys. The ACCC brought price-fixing proceedings against one of the subcontractors to the new detention contractor.
Boat interceptions and offshore processing
News Corp reported that over 21,581 partner visas were issued to spouses of people who arrived by boat, when the actual figure was over 2,158. The incorrect information was repeated by other news outlets and politicians. A group of Bangladeshi men on Indonesia’s southern-most island claimed that ABF intercepted them at sea and held them on a ship for two weeks before sending them back to Indonesia. A person who previously worked on people smuggling boats explained the journey people took from China to Australia.
International
Over 500,000 people have returned to Syria since September 2024, prompting the UN to call for states to assist the country’s rebuilding effort. Following the collapse of the Assad regime, some European countries suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrians. On the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, survivors urged younger generations to be alert to the dangers of intolerant attitudes to people who are different. Bulgarian border police have been accused of blocking assistance to 3 teenage asylum seekers who had become lost, and subsequently died in the winter cold. The Trump administration cancelled the Afghan resettlement program, which has left around 10,000 people in limbo even though they were already approved for resettlement due to their work with US forces. The UK government’s efforts to clear the asylum processing backlog has inadvertently contributed to a rise in homelessness as people lose their eligibility for state-supported accommodation when their asylum application has been decided.
In policy
The UN Human Rights Committee concluded that Australia contravened its human rights obligations when it detained teenagers on Nauru. The implications of the case were detailed by Associate Professor Sarah Moulds.
In research
The Scanlon Foundation Research Institute is calling for people with refugee experience to contribute to their study on settling in Australia.