In February, the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) welcomed the Albanese Government’s long-awaited announcement to end the cruel and unnecessary policy of temporary protection.
Detention of people seeking asylum in Australia
In Australia, anyone who does not have a valid visa is required to be detained. This means that people seeking asylum are generally detained, often for long and uncertain periods. There is no independent review of the decision to detain, and people have been detained for increasingly long periods. The detention of people seeking asylum under this regime is one of the harshest in the world, and causes terrible suffering. You can also find more information by type here.Latest
What we have learnt from the responses to 2022-23 Supplementary Budget Estimates Questions on Notice
Compiled by Madina Mohmood and Carmen Thomsen The responses to Senate Questions on Notice after the 2022-23 Supplementary Budget Estimates round were published on 13 February 2023. We compiled the questions put to...
Our work
Refugee Response Index Australia Review: Recognition as refugees (Pillar 2)
This report presents interim findings from the application of the Refugee Response Index (RRI) to the Australia context, focusing on Pillar 1 of the RRI on ‘Access to Asylum’. The RRI is a civil society led initiative...
Other reports on detention
Factsheets & resources on detention
I have a bridging visa
This page gives people with bridging visas information about what they can or must do on this visa.
I am in immigration detention
These factsheets on immigration detention tell you what you can do if you are in immigration detention in Australia and how you can get help.
My visa is being cancelled
This information is for people whose visas may be cancelled under section 116 or section 501, and for criminal lawyers.
Visa cancellations cases
This database shows cases since the introduction of the legislation in December 2014 expanding the cancellations of visas. It was developed in collaboration with a Visa Cancellations Working Group, of which the Refugee...
When Mary Met Mohammad
This film follows the arrival of Tasmania’s first detention centre through the eyes of local Christian woman and knitting club member Mary and Muslim Afghan Hazara asylum seeker Mohammad.