13 May 2026
The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) has welcomed the Australian Government’s funding support in the 2026-27 Budget for better recognition of the skills of people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, but is alarmed to see that spending on offshore detention and processing has blown out yet again in 2025-26.
Despite unprecedented global displacement, the annual Refugee and Humanitarian Program will remain at 20,000 places, the level set in 2023-24.
RCOA Co-CEO Paul Power said the $81.1 million allocated over four years to Trades Recognition Australia to improve skills assessments and $0.5 million to improving the oversight of professional assessing authorities promised to be an important first step towards addressing the systemic barriers that migrants and refugees face in having their skills recognised so that they can use their expertise here in Australia.
“Many refugees and migrants come to Australia with years of professional experience and a strong motivation to work and build a career but then experience significant de-skilling after arrival here. Improving skills assessment and recognition processes is a useful step; however, we still need further work to reform the accreditation process by domestic bodies for people who are already here in Australia,” Mr Power said.
While the Department of Home Affairs will allocate $910.9 million to Refugee, Humanitarian and Migrant Services and $312.5 million to Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, the bulk of Departmental spending will be allocated to Border Enforcement and Management, Offshore, Detention and Compliance measures: over $4.03 billion.
The Budget papers show that the estimated expenditure on the Government’s offshore detention and offshore policy in 2025-26 will be $971.6 million – 67.3% higher than the $580.7 million allocated in last year’s Budget. This is the seventh year over the past 13 years in which there has been a massive cost blowout in spending on offshore detention and processing. These blowouts have totalled more than $2.5 billion, with spending since 2012 totalling over $14.35 billion.
Mr Power said, “While successive governments have spoken about the importance of restraint on spending and fiscal responsibility, the capacity to spend eyewatering amounts of money on warehousing people that sought our protection never ceases to astound and disappoint.”
Total spending by the Department of Home Affairs has blown out by 30% in 2025-26 – the total resourcing of $11.152 billion being $2.581 billion more than the $8.571 billion allocated in the 2025-26 Budget. For 2026-27, the Department plans to cut its staffing by 232 to 15,518 and has set its total spending at $9.101 billion.
The Government has also committed additional resources to reform the migration system but there is little clarity about how the resources will ensure that people in need of refugee protection have safeguards in place while they have their claims assessed. The previous reforms focused on funded legal assistance so applicants can access support from trusted and credible legal providers and additional resources to address the backlog of cases has reduced waiting times. While there is still more to do, it is unclear if the funds allocated in this Budget will address the concerns of the Government but unfairly restrict the rights of people seeking protection.
