A vital national voice for refugees since 1981
RCOA was founded in 1981 by Paul Cullen (left), pictured here receiving the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award from the then UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Poul Hartling.
Letters and statements
Joint statements | RCOA statements | Letters to government | Letters to the editor
Joint statements
| 31 October 2011 | Briefing paper by the community delegation on refugees on working for a better way |
| 8 September 2011 | Joint statement calling on DIAC Secretary Andrew Metcalfe to speak up on 'social unrest' claims |
| 6 September 2011 | Joint statement on a new approach to asylum seekers and refugees (coordinated by the Australian Council of Social Services in response to the August 2011 High Court ruling on the Australia-Malaysia transfer deal); published as an advertisement on 8 September in The Australian |
| 24 June 2011 | Joint statement on a risk based approach to immigration detention |
| 6 June 2011 | Joint statement on the Nauru and Malaysia 'solutions' |
| 1 August 2010 | Joint statement on a regional protection framework |
| 5 May 2010 | Joint statement on the Australian asylum processing suspension |
| 14 January 2010 | Joint statement on the principle of non-refoulement and the recent forced deportations of the Uighurs from Cambodia and the Lao Hmong from Thailand |
| 19 May 2009 | Joint statement calling for the protection of displaced peoples, civilians and human rights in Sri Lanka |
| 12 May 2009 | Joint statement with A Just Australia on the report of the Joint Standing Committee Inquiry into Immigration Detention |
| 6 February 2009 | Joint statement on the treatment of Rohingya and Bangladeshi "boat people" in Asia |
| 30 August 2001 | Joint statement with the Norwegian Refugee Council on the MV Tampa |
| 22 November 2000 | Joint statement on abuse of children in detention |
RCOA statements
| October 2010 | Statement on high priorities in asylum policy |
| October 2010 | Statement on key issues and priorities in refugee settlement policy |
Letters to government representatives
| 19 January 2012 | Letter to the Hon Nicola Roxon, Attorney-General, from RCOA representing lawyers and NGOs, on the situation of refugees issued with adverse security assessments |
| 12 August 2011 | Letter to the Hon Chris Bowen, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and the Hon Kevin Rudd, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, on the planned reopening of the offshore processing centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island |
| 28 September 2010 | Letter to the Hon Chris Bowen, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, on immigration detention |
| 7 September 2010 | Letter to Dr Jeff Harmer, Secretary of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, on the compulsory income management scheme |
| 10 May 2010 | Letter to the ALP Caucus on the ALP's asylum policies |
| 10 May 2010 | Letter to the Hon Tony Abbott, Leader of the Opposition, on the Coalition's asylum policies |
| 6 May 2010 | Letter to the Hon Robert McClelland, Attorney-General, on the Anti-People smuggling and Other Measures Bill 2010 |
| 27 August 2009 | Letter to Australian senators on the Migration Amendment Regulations 2009 (abolition of the 45-day rule) |
| 24 June 2009 | Letter to Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, and the Hon Stephen Smith, Minister for Foreign Affairs, on Australia's response to the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka Reponse from Senator Chris Evans Response from the Hon Stephen Smith |
Letters to the editor
| 14 May 2010 | Letter to the Herald Sun responding to Andrew Bolt's claims regarding RCOA President John Gibson's role on the interview panel for Migration and Refugee Review Tribunal members |
| 9 December 2008 | Letter to the West Australian responding to Phillip Ruddock's claims about Temporary Protection Visas |
| 25 June 2008 | Letter to the Courier Mail reponsing to false claims about dole payments to "illegal migrants" |
| 13 April 2006 | Letter to the editor on West Papuan refugees |