Resettlement in the United States and other countries
Contents
Resettlement from offshore processing
When the Australian Government changed its policy so that those sent offshore would never be allowed to settle in Australia, it expected that the people it sent offshore would be resettled eventually in another country (called ‘third country resettlement’). It did not, however, have any agreements with other countries at the time to resettle these people.
Since then, Australia has agreed to resettle people sent offshore to:
- Cambodia, beginning in September 2014, which expired in September 2018
- the United States (US), beginning in September 2016
- New Zealand, announced on 24 March 2022, with New Zealand agreeing to resettle up to 150 refugees in Nauru or Australia per year for three years from Australia’s existing regional processing cohort under its existing Refugee Quota Programme.
The first six refugees to be resettled in New Zealand arrived from Nauru on 22 November 2022. The New Zealand arrangement ended in June 2025, with processing and departures concluding on 30 June 2026. The US resettlement arrangement has been paused since 20 January 2025.
As well, people transferred offshore have also arranged to be resettled in other countries without the assistance of the Australian Government, including under Canada’s sponsorship program.
How many people have been resettled? Where have they been resettled to?
As at 31 July 2026, 1,596 people subject to offshore processing have been resettled in other countries, 1,115 to United States and 373 to New Zealand.
The next graph shows the annual total of people resettled and the cumulative totals of people resettled by destination. (Note that after 31 August 2024, monthly totals were no longer provided).
This graph shows the numbers transferred to US and New Zealand by the locations they were transferred from.
How many people are still in the process of being resettled?.
The US has ‘paused’ its resettlement program since 20 January 2025, so is not taking any further refugees at present. The New Zealand arranagmenet ended in June 2025, with processing and departures concluding on 30 June 2026. However, people approved for resettlement to New Zealand can still do so.
