AUSTRALIA'S REFUGEE PROGRAM
Program Overview
Refugees arrive in Australia by two ways: either through the
offshore Refugee and Special Humanitarian program or as onshore
asylum seekers.
The Australian Government's Refugee and Special Humanitarian
Program currently accepts 13,500 refugees per annum. Refugees and humanitarian
entrants arrive directly from overseas and some arrive as onshore asylum seekers.
In 2007-08 the top five countries of origin of offshore Refugee and Special Humanitarian
program entrants were Burma, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and Liberia.
The Refugee Program is for people subject
to persecution in their home country and in need of resettlement. The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refers most applicants under this category
for resettlement.
The various refugee visa categories are:
| • |
Refugee (visa subclass 200): Applicants require referral from
UNHCR, must meet health and character requirements, their medical and travel costs
are paid and have eligibility for a full range of Australian Government settlement
services; |
| • |
In-country Special Humanitarian (visa subclass 201): This visa
is rarely used and is for applicants unable to leave their own country. These
visa applicants have the same entitlements as SHP entrants (see below); |
| • |
Emergency Rescue (visa subclass 203): Also rarely used and for
emergency cases only where an applicant has an immediate threat. There is referral
from UNHCR with less than 48 hours from referral to removal. Health and character
tests apply and applicants have the same visa rights as a Refugee visa; |
| • |
Woman at Risk (visa subclass 204): This visa is for especially
vulnerable women and children such as female headed households, single mothers,
abandoned or single women. Most applicants have been subjected to extreme violence,
they are referred by UNHCR and other agencies, health and character tests apply.
Applicants have the same entitlements as Refugee visa entrants. |
The Special Humanitarian Program (SHP) targets
people who are outside their home country and are subject to substantial persecution
and/or discrimination in their home country amounting to a gross violation of
their human rights. Applications for the SHP visa (subclass 202) must be supported
by a proposer who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or a community
organisation based in Australia. SHP entrants must meet health and character tests.
They receive less support than Refugee visa entrants. For example they do not
receive free airflights into Australia however are entitled to a modified initial
settlement package provided by the Government.
Refugees also arrive in Australia as onshore asylum
seekers.
Once a person has applied for asylum the Australian Government
grants a permanent protection visa (PPV) if there has been authorised
entry and the person has fulfilled various criteria. The temporary protection
visa (TPV) visa regime was abandoned legislatively on August 9, 2008. People currently
on TPVs are able to apply for resolution of status (RoS) visas
which give applicants the same entitlements as PPVs.
For families with children, unaccompanied minors, or people
with special needs community detention is applied as another mean to deal with
unlawful migration. People who belong to these categories are placed in specific
addresses in the community and are provided with support from the Department of
Immigration and Citizenship with the help of non-government organisations (NGOs).
For further details about Australia's immigration detention policy, click here.
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