Online Resources
Letter writing campaign: here are some suggestions for writing effective letters to Federal politicians
This page lists a range of publications and online tools which you can use to find Australian and international statistics on refugee and asylum seeker issues.
- AUST HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION: facts about asylum seekers and refugees
- Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre at UNSW: debunking myths about refugees
- Detention Logs: A new website to help you stay informed of what we are doing to people who have done nothing wrong, but have asked for our help.
Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC)
- Annual Reports DIAC’s annual reports contain statistical data on migration to Australia, refugee resettlement and processing of asylum applications.
- Immigration Detention Statistics DIAC regularly publishes statistics on the numbers of people in immigration detention, including information such country of origin, gender, age, length of detention and where they are currently detained.
- Statistical Publications DIAC publishes a range of statistical publications on migration flows and settlement in Australia. These include:
- Asylum trends An annual publication which provides statistics on asylum applications, processing outcomes and the demographics of people seeking asylum.
- Immigration update A biannual publication containing a summary of immigration statistics including permanent additions, settler arrivals, permanent departures, visitors, students and business visas.
- Ministerial intervention statistics A biannual publication which contains an overview of Ministerial Intervention requests and outcomes.
- Settler arrivals An annual publication containing settler arrivals statistics by birthplace, state of intended residence and eligibility category.
- Settlement Reporting Facility The Settlement Reporting Facility is an online tool which provides statistical data on permanent arrivals to Australia. You can use the tool to sort and filter statistics by categories such as visa subclass, migration stream, age, gender, religion, language spoken, country of origin, area of residence and year of arrival in Australia.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
- Census Data The ABS website provides access to census data from 1911. The website also features a range of tools which you can use to sort and filter census data on particular topics.
- Migrant and Ethnicity Statistics The National Migrant Statistics Unit provides access to a range of statistical information and publications on migrants to Australia and their descendants.
- Population Clock The population clock provides a real-time projection of the estimated resident population of Australia.
Australian Parliamentary Library
- Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976 This regularly-updated fact sheet includes statistics on boat arrivals to Australia from 1976, by financial year and calendar year.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- Statistical Online Population Database This online statistical tool contains standardised data on UNHCR’s population of concern at country, regional and global levels.
- Statistical Publications Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialised Countries
- Global Trends Statistical Yearbooks Projected Global Resettlement Needs
Reports
- Amnesty International report on Guantanamo Bay, 13 May 2005
- An important report from the Edmund Rice Centre: Deported to Danger describing the danger to which failed asylum seekers have been returned by Australia, sometimes because Australia provides those people with false papers in order to remove them from the country. This report adds to the record of Australia’s failure to adhere to basic humanitarian standards.
- Comrie Report on the detention and unlawful removal of Vivian Alvarez Solon
- HREOC report into Children in Detention: our “family friendly” nation
- Human Rights Commission report on Australia’s detention camps: our national disgrace
- Human Rights Watch have just produced a damning report on Australia: depressing reading
- Palmer Report on the detention of Cornelia Rau (1.2Mb pdf file – may take a couple of minutes to load)
- UN Working Group report on arbitrary detention in Australia
- Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre: Report on Nauru, the blighted home of Australia’s “Pacific Solution”
Court Decisions
- Full Federal Court requires Government to prove removal safe: QAAH v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs
- Federal Court judge exposes DIMIA’s inadequate care for mental health of detainees: S v Secretary of DIMIA
- Detention of children constitutional: re Woolley 8th October 2004
- Indefinite detention– al Khateb, al Khafaji 6th August 2004
- Inhumane conditions in detention constitutionally valid: Behrooz 6th August 2004
- Failed refugee applicants can be removed regardless of the risk that they will self-harm or suicide: Federal Court decision in WAJZ, decided 14 October 2004
- Recent case on the rights of people held in custody: Re Rigoli [2005] VSCA 325
- Recent refugee decision: Federal Court discusses government’s duty of care for asylum seekers in detention
- Recent refugee decision: Full Federal Court requires Government to prove that removal of refugee would be safe
Memos
- Baxter: Australia’s “Family friendly” detention camp – a brief eye-witness account
- Legality of Immigration Detention
Other
- A letter to the Australian public from the Sri Lankan asylum seekers on Nauru
- Click here for papers given at the Seeking Asylum Conference – Institute for Public History and the Australian Centre for the Study of Jewish Civilization
- A layperson’s guide to aspects of refugee law
- Artists helping refugees: visit Kate Durham’s website
- Emmanuel Ortiz: a poem for September 11
- From Nothing to Zero: letters from asylum seekers in Australia’s detention centres, published by Lonely Planet.
- Justice for Asylum Seekers publish A Better Way to treat refugees
- Letter writing campaign: getting politicians to come clean about our refugee policy
- For information about writing to refugees on Nauru or helping refugees in the community, click here
- Malcolm Fraser’s on-line petition: End Australia’s Detention of Children (now closed)
- News Overboard: a fascinating and timely book by Iain Lygo
- RAR: Myths and Facts about mandatory detention and Petro Georgiou’s private member’s bill
- Response to deportation of Asylum Seekers: 20 November 2002, St Mary’s cathedral
- Schools resource kit: finding out about human rights in Australia
- Speech: Justice Marcus Einfeld: “Wake up Australia: the new world order – the human dimension”
- Submission to HREOC enquiry into Children in Detention
- Use of language analysis in assessing refugee claims; compare with the guidelines for proper use of language analysis. (PDFs)
- Aust Lawyers for Human Rights
- Refugee research materials
- University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
- U. Minnesota Refugees Library