THE REFUGEE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA (RCOA)
The Refugee Council of Australia is a non-profit peak organisation.
It provides information on and advocacy for refugees and humanitarian entrants
in Australia on behalf of its 130 organisational members and many individual members.
It is not a part of the Australian Government. For more information on
our organisation, see the RCOA brochure
or check our
latest annual report.
Refugee Week
Refugee Week 2010 will be held from June 20th - June 26th. For more information about Refugee Week click
here.
Refugee Week 2009 was held from Sunday 14 June to Saturday 20 June, focusing on the theme “Freedom from Fear". Major launches were held in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane and more than 160 local events took place, including community celebrations, arts events, seminars, information expos, sporting events, film screenings and competitions. For more information about Refugee Week click
here.
WHAT'S NEW ON OUR WEBSITE
*Refugee Council calls for a strengthened humanitarian response to ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka - RCOA has called upon the Australian Government to swiftly adopt a range of measures to augment its existing humanitarian response to the severe and ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka.
*Poorer nations continue
to take major role in hosting refugees - While Australia’s
contribution to protecting refugees is significant, new UNHCR figures show that
the largest numbers of the world’s refugees continue to be hosted by countries
much poorer than our own. See RCOA's statement and statistics on
RCOA's media releases page.
* New
report highlights refugees' struggle to find protection - On 15 June
2009, RCOA released "The Search for Protection: Resettled refugees reflect
on seeking asylum in Asia and the Middle East". The study found that many
refugees in South-East Asia and the Middle East are living in constant fear of
arrest and
deportation and regularly experience harassment and exploitation, regardless of
whether they have UNHCR registration. See RCOA's
media release about the report or go
straight to the report.
* Refugee Council calls
for humane and moral response to unauthorised boat arrivals - In
the wake of the horrific boat incident on April 16 off Ashmore Reef, RCOA has
strongly urged all commentators to refrain from politicising the tragedy or distorting
the facts. RCOA also called for strong moral leadership on asylum policy and urged
the Opposition to abandon its call for a return to the cruel and counterproductive
Temporary Protection Visa regime, which inflicted intense suffering on people
known to be refugees, failed in its attempt to deter people smuggling, and attracted
widespread international condemnation.
* RCOA's Annual Submission on
2009-10 Refugee Program - RCOA has released its submission to the
Australian Government on the 2009-10 Refugee and Humanitarian Program. The 120-page
submission draws together views collected through a national consultation process,
involving people in 30 cities and towns across eight states and territories.
* Over
90 organisations worldwide call for Rohingya and Bangladeshi protection
- RCOA and 92 other NGOs have released a statement condemning the human
rights violations committed recently against members of the Rohingya minority
and Bangladeshi migrants. The organisations have expressed extreme concern about
the treatment of over a thousand Rohingyas and Bangladeshis who have been forcibly
expelled and abandoned in international waters by the Thai security forces since
December 2008.
* Palestinian
Refugees from Iraq Trapped on the Syria-Iraq Border: Summary Report of an International
NGO Delegation - RCOA was one of 13 NGOs who completed a one-week
assessment of the situation for Palestinian refugees from Iraq and endorsed the
following summary statement. RCOA was represented by Graham Thom of Amnesty International
Australia.
* Immigration Minister at RCOA AGM - Minister
for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, was guest speaker at RCOA's
Annual General Meeting and Forum at Parramatta Town Hall, NSW, on 17 November
2008. Senator Evans discussed national refugee policy one year after the election
of the Rudd Government. For a copy of the Minister's speech, visit our AGM
page.
* The latest news from RCOA - Our February
email bulletin and our Summer 2009 newsletter are now on our website. See our
newsletters page.
* Do refugees receive more than aged pensioners?
- An email being circulated widely claims refugees in Australia receive higher
social security benefits than aged pensioners. For the truth, click here.
* Who bears the cost of Australia's Special Humanitarian
Program? - With the support of the Reichstein Foundation, RCOA has released
a report
investigating the burden new Special Humanitarian Program entrants bear in repaying
the costs of their travel to Australia.
* Useful links - For links to the websites
of RCOA's organisational members and other sites of interest, see our Links
page.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
* RCOA member organisations advertise vacancies for various
roles when available. For details on available positions, see
our Employment page.
CONTACT US
Refugee Council of Australia - Head Office
Suite 4A6, 410 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel: 02 9211 9333
Fax: 02 9211 9288
Email: info@refugeecouncil.org.au
Refugee Council of Australia - Victorian Office
81-85 Barry Street, Carlton VIC 3053
Tel: 03 9348 2245
Fax: 03 9342 9799
Email: melbourne@refugeecouncil.org.au
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