29 April 2025
When Australians watched the fall of Saigon on their television screens 50 years ago this week, few had any inkling of how this crisis in a distant land would change Australian society, the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) says.
The capture of Saigon by communist North Vietnamese forces on 30 April 1975 marked the end of the brutal 20-year war in Vietnam. It came 13 days after the Khmer Rouge had taken control of Cambodia and was the catalyst for communist forces taking control of Laos four months later.
In the following two decades, more than 3 million people fled from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, with UNHCR estimating that between 200,000 and 400,000 perished at sea.
While Australia’s response began with the resettlement of just 400 Vietnamese refugees in 1975, the Fraser Government stepped up its efforts substantially after the 1976 Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs report identified the need for a much larger commitment from Australia and a new approach to refugee settlement.
RCOA chief executive officer Paul Power said that this report, along with the 1978 Galbally Report into post-arrival programs for migrants, transformed the planning of the refugee program and the delivery of support for new arrivals.
“While Australia had received 300,000 refugees in the 30 years after World War II, it was the Indochinese refugee crisis which prompted the Fraser Government to begin a planned annual Refugee and Humanitarian Program from 1977,” Mr Power said.
“The Government also began committing significant resources to professional settlement services, interpretation, appropriate health care and housing assistance for new arrivals, understanding that good support in the early years would support new arrivals to make a life-long contribution to their new country.”
Among the first refugees to resettle in Australia was Tuong Quang Luu AO, who had served the South Vietnamese government as a diplomat in Canberra for four years before returning to Saigon in 1974. With his knowledge of Australia, he played an important role in connecting new arrivals from Vietnam with the Australian community, serving as the founding president of the Vietnamese Community in Australia from 1977 to 1982.
Mr Luu said the scale of Australia’s response was extraordinary. More than 94,000 refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were resettled in the first 10 years and over 150,000 over 20 years.
“It really marked the beginning of a truly multicultural Australia, coming just a few years after the White Australia Policy formally ended,” Mr Luu said.
“Those who came to Australia have made a very significant economic and social contribution to Australia. The success of this resettlement has enabled multicultural ideas to take root in Australia.”
Mr Luu personally played a significant role in supporting Australia’s path to multiculturalism, serving as NSW director of the Department of Immigration, Head of SBS Radio and serving on the boards of organisations including RCOA and Austcare.
“In the early years, as a new community in Australia, we relied heavily on existing social networks, including Austcare and RCOA. The advocacy work of RCOA and others was very significant in helping to gain the support the community needed as we settled in Australia.
“Fifty years on, our community is well established. While the first generation is growing old, the focus now is on helping the second and third generations in continuing their contribution to Australia and retaining their cultural heritage as Vietnamese Australians.”
Mr Power said the resettlement of refugees from Indochina remained a benchmark for what Australia can achieve when it aligns policy with humanity.
“Australia’s response to the crisis in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos transformed our approach to refugees and set up one of the most successful resettlement stories in our history. As we honour that legacy, we must apply the same vision and compassion to the people seeking safety today.”
