asylum seekers

High Court of Australia

The High Court judges unanimously held that a person must be released from immigration detention where there is no real prospect of them being deported in the foreseeable future.

A sign reading 'Seeking Asylum is a Human Right' at an asylum seeker protest

Eleven years is far too long for a final decision on asylum claims. The government’s vision is for a new system that will be both faster and fairer.

Asylum seeker stands at a wire fence overlooking water

Helping our Southeast Asian neighbours make conditions better for refugees there will reduce the need for them to make dangerous journeys elsewhere.

Image of a woman peering out of a hotel window

Researchers have mapped the hotels known to be used for immigration detention across Australia, creating the first coast-to-coast visualisation of a practice that has operated largely in the shadows for two decades.

Several protestors holding 'refugee freedom' signs at The Park Hotel in Swanston Street, Melbourne.

Novak Djokovic’s stay at a detention hotel highlights how things should change, migration experts say. 

A person sitting on a chair waiting to board a plane.

Governments can meet their international protection obligations towards refugees without sacrificing public health, says a human rights law expert. 

asylum seekers look through a wire fence at a detention centre

The mounting urgency about asylum seekers trying to reach the UK by boat does not sweep aside the need for reasoned and rational policymaking.

A child's hand behind a fence

The legacy of the Tampa affair echoes in Australia’s refugee and immigration policies and systems to this day.

man looking out onto the water

That no Australian government in almost a decade has successfully brought this policy to a formal close is astonishing. In fact, Australia ceased transferring new arrivals offshore in 2014.

Scales of justice in front of Australian flag

This case is important because it represents a rare litigation win for an asylum seeker. He doesn't automatically get the right to stay in Australia, but he's won damages — and that's unusual.

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