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Australian Refugee Foundation
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Expanded excision law a new low in refugee protection

The international system of asylum would collapse if other countries followed the lead of Australia in passing legislation to expand its excision policy to the entire country. Read more here.

Right to work fundamental for asylum seeker families

Bridging visas issued to asylum seeker families who arrive by boat must include the right to work to ensure vulnerable people are not left destitute. Read more here.

Detention of children no longer a last resort

The Australian Government is walking further away from its commitment to use detention as a last resort for minors by confirming plans to send children to immigration detention facilities in Darwin and Western Australia. Read more here.

People displaced by climate change require new solutions

The crisis responses necessary and available to refugees will not be an answer to future displacement caused by climate change, the Refugee Council of Australia said today. Read more here.

Government urged to release children from Manus Island detention

RCOA has backed a call by Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers member Paris Aristotle for the Australian Government to ur gently review the policy of keeping children in immigration detention on Manus Island. Read our media release here.

Parliament urged to support Bill to resolve indefinite detention

RCOA has encouraged a Senate Committee to support a Bill before the Australian Parliament to provide alternatives to the prolonged and indefinite detention of recognised refugees with adverse ASIO security assessments. Read more here.

Opposition's denial of appeal rights more punishment for asylum seekers

The Australian Opposition's proposal to deny asylum seekers arriving by boat access to an independent review of their refugee claim is further discrimination based on their mode of arrival. Read more here.

2013-14 Intake Submission released

RCOA's submission on the 2013-14 Refugee and Humanitarian Program is now available for download here. The submission focuses on international refugee needs, the recommendations of the Expert Panel on asylum seekers and community processing of asylum seekers.

Regional refugee protection in Asia-Pacific is unfinished business

The Australian Government must step up efforts to improve the inadequate levels of protection faced by refugees and asylum seekers that drive the movement of dangerous boat journeys from Asia to Australia. Read more here.
 

'The police had machine guns and they were shooting at us.'

Actor, writer and director Tony Le Nguyen fled Vietnam with his family in the wake of the Vietnam war.

Read more about: Tony's story

 

Statistics on asylum seekers arriving in Australia

Note: There may be some inconsistencies between the following tables due to variations in the data sources used.

Onshore asylum applications lodged, 2001-02 to 2011-12

Year Protection Visa applications
(non-IMAs*)		 Protection requests
from IMAs*		 Total onshore applications
2001-02 7,026 2,222 9,248
2002-03 4,960 60 5,020
2003-04 3,485 87 3,572
2004-05 3,062 146 3,208
2005-06 3,191 101 3,292
2006-07 3,723 23 3,746
2007-08 3,987 21 4,008
2008-09 5,027 668 5,762
2009-10 5,986 4,579 10,565
2010-11 6,337 5,174 11,511
2011-12 7,036 7,379 14,415
*Irregular Maritime Arrivals

Primary grant rate (non-IMAs), 2006-07 to 2011-12

Year Grants Refusals Total decisions Grant rate
2006-07 896 2,719 3,615 24.8%
2007-08 1,295 2,413 3,708 34.9%
2008-09 1,598 2,982 4,580 34.9%
2009-10 1,708 3,039 4,747 36.0%
2010-11 1,389 4,105 5,494 25.3%
2011-12 1,467 4,325 5,792 25.3%

Refugee Review Tribunal outcomes (non-IMAs), 2006-07 to 2011-12

Year Affirmed Set aside Withdrawn No
jurisdiction		 Total decisions Remit rate*
2006-07 2,202 629 52 199 3,102 22.2%
2007-08 1,661 422 33 202 2,318 20.3%
2008-09 1,787 468 29 178 2,462 20.8%
2009-10 1,540 514 21 82 2,157 25.0%
2010-11 1,814 626 53 110 2,603 25.7%
2011-12 1,899 748 86 69 2,802 28.3%
*Excludes cases which were withdrawn or in which it was found that the RRT had no jurisdiction to review the case.

Final grant rate (non-IMAs), 2006-07 to 2011-12

Year Grants Refusals Total decisions Grant rate
2006-07 1,692 2,651 4,343 39.0%
2007-08 1,898 2,107 4,005 47.4%
2008-09 2,173 2,618 4,789 45.3%
2009-10 2,365 2,271 4,636 51.0%
2010-11 2,101 2,739 4,840 43.4%
2011-12 2,272 2,887 5,159 44.0%

Primary grant rate (IMAs), 2008-09 to 2010-11

Year Grants Refusals Total decisions Grant rate
2008-09 209 0 209 100%
2009-10 2,133 732 2,865 74.5%
2010-11 2,001 3,217 5,218 38.3%
2011-12 2,721 1,104 3,825 71.1%

Independent review outcomes (IMAs), 2009-10 to 2011-12

Year Affirmed Overturned Total decisions Overturn rate
2009-10 55 28 83 66.3%
2010-11 929 190 1,119 83.0%
2011-12 2,224 474 2,698 82.4%

Final grant rate (IMAs), 2008-09 to 2011-12

Year Grants Refusals Total decisions Grant rate
2008-09 209 0 209 100%
2009-10 2,151 28 2,179 98.7%
2010-11 2,719 190 2,909 93.5%
2011-12 4,766 474 5,240 91.0%

Asylum seekers arriving by boat, by financial year, 1 July 1975 to 30 June 2012

Year Number
of boats		 Number
of people		   Year Number
of boats		 Number
of people*
1975-76 1 5   1994-95 21 1,071
1976-77 7 204   1995-96 14 589
1977-78 43 1432   1996-97 13 365
1978-79 6 351   1997-98 13 157
1979-80 2 56   1998-99 42 921
1980-81 1 30   1999-2000 75 4,175
1981-82 0 0   2000-01 54 4,137
1982-83 0 0   2001-02 19 3,039
1983-84 0 0   2002-03 0 0
1984-85 0 0   2003-04 3 82
1985-86 0 0   2004-05 0 0
1986-87 0 0   2005-06 8 61
1987-88 0 0   2006-07 4 133
1988-89 0 0   2007-08 3 25
1989-90 3 224   2008-09 23 985
1990-91 5 158   2009-10 117 5,327
1991-92 3 78   2010-11 89 4,730
1992-93 4 194   2011-12 110 7,983
1993-94 6 194   Total 689 36,706
*Excludes crew.

Asylum seekers arriving by boat, by calendar year, 1 January 1976 to 31 December 2012

Year Number
of boats		 Number
of people		   Year Number
of boats		 Number
of people
1976 - 111   1995 7 237
1977 - 868   1996 19 660
1978 - 746   1997 11 339
1979 - 304   1998 17 200
1980 - 0   1999 86 3,721
1981 - 30   2000 51 2,939
1982 - 0   2001 43 5,516
1983 - 0   2002 1 1
1984 - 0   2003 1 53
1985 - 0   2004 1 15
1986 - 0   2005 4 11
1987 - 0   2006 6 60
1988 - 0   2007 5 148
1989 1 26   2008 7 161
1990 2 198   2009 60 2,726
1991 6 214   2010 134 6,555
1992 6 216   2011 69 4,565
1993 3 81   2012 278 17,202
1994 18 953   Total 836 48,856

Sources

Department of Immigration and Citizenship annual publication Asylum Trends, http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics

Department of Immigration and Citizenship (2011). Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Immigration Detention Network, http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/pdf/2011/diac-jscaidn-submission-sept11.pdf

Phillips, J. & Spinks, H. (2013). Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976. Parliamentary Library, http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2012-2013/BoatArrivals  

 

Last updated February 2013