REFLECTING ON TEN YEARS OF ASYLUM INSIGHT

August 2023

Asylum Insight was launched on election day in August 2013, as Australians went to the polls in an election dominated by the return of offshore processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Our mandate was and remains to provide accurate, accessible and up-to-date information and analysis on Australian asylum and refugee policy in a polarised and politicised national discourse.

In observing the past decade of Australia’s asylum and refugee policy, a number of trends have emerged. Access to asylum has been severely limited by Australia’s offshore processing centres and turnback policies, which bar seeking protection by sea. While only a small number of those transferred to Nauru and Papua New Guinea remain (the majority have been evacuated to Australia), the Nauru centre is still in operation to deter any new arrivals. Boats are pushed back to Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of Australia’s borders prevented access to asylum for those arriving by air, as well as by sea.

Procedural standards for those seeking protection have deteriorated. At sea, Australia carries out quick and remote ‘enhanced processing’ for people on board boats subject to pushbacks, making it doubtful they receive a fair hearing of their asylum claim. In the offshore processing centres, Australian-supported asylum procedures in Nauru and Papua New Guinea were slow, while ultimately finding the vast majority of people were refugees. In Australia, administrative delays mean asylum seekers arriving by air have years-long waits for their claim to be heard. A fast-track procedure set up for asylum seekers limits the right to appeal. And political appointments to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal have led to an overhaul of the asylum appeals body.

Reception conditions for asylum seekers remain deeply problematic. For many years, Australia has maintained a policy under which all asylum seekers arriving without visas are detained on an indefinite and often prolonged basis, regardless of their circumstances. Asylum seekers and refugees evacuated from offshore processing centres were housed in hotels for months or years.

Protection standards for refugees have been bifurcated depending on mode of arrival. Refugees arriving by air or resettled to Australia receive immediate permanent residence, rightfully allowing refugees a durable solution to their displacement and the chance to rebuild their lives. For those arriving by boat, however, only temporary protection was granted with no pathway to permanent protection. On a more positive note, policy reforms following the most recent change of government have led to the transition of some 19,000 people from temporary to permanent protection.

Resettlement and other safe and legal pathways remain a work in progress. The current government has announced an increase to 20,000 humanitarian places per year, following years of remaining steady at 13,750 under previous governments. The new Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) will support 1,500 refugees and, while not yet additional, is an improvement on previous community sponsorship pilots.

As Australia grapples with the challenges of a developing sustainable, human rights-based asylum policy, refugee protection remained a global problem. War, humanitarian crises, systematic human rights violations and climate change are driving people from their countries to seek protection internationally.

Ten years on, our work remains as relevant as ever. Asylum and refugee issues are not simple or straightforward, but providing balanced, accessible information and expert analysis is a vital service that allows Australians to have informed conversations about asylum and refugee policy. And that is why Asylum Insight exists.