Compiled and analysed by: Sahar Okhovat
The responses to Senate Questions on Notice after the 2021-22 Additional Estimates round were published on 25 March 2022.
We analysed the questions put to the Department of Home Affairs. This round of questions provided rich information about some of the aspects of Australian refugee policy. Below is a summary of the most relevant and interesting information with a link to download them. Sometimes, little information is provided in response to a question on notice. We tried to include only the responses that provided relatively comprehensive and new information.
Refugee and Humanitarian Program
- The number of Global Special Humanitarian (subclass 202) visas granted under the five processing priorities (last three financial years).
- The number of subclass 200 visas granted to applicants proposed by an immediate (”split”) family member who holds a subclass 200 visa (last three financial years).
- The number of subclass 202 visas granted by applications proposed under the Community Proposal Pilot or the Community Support Program (last three financial years).
- The number of humanitarian visa grants by subclass, country of origin and country of residence for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 program years and the number of those that were referred by UNHCR.
Afghan refugees and asylum seekers
- Subclass 449 (Humanitarian Stay) visa grants by months (from August 2021 to 14 February 2022)
- Subclass 449 visa arrivals by months from August 2021 to 31 January 2022 and the city they arrived in.
- Number of Afghan nationals who are waiting for their partner visa application (subclass 300 and subclass 309) to be processed and their current location (as of 31 January 2022).
- Number of Afghan nationals who lodged their partner visas at various points in time (starting with prior to 2014) and their applications remain on hand.
- Processing on hand partner visa applications from Afghan nationals.
- Number of Afghan nationals in Australia who have exhausted their protection visa options (i.e. were refused a protection visa and have no merits review or judicial review matter on foot).
- Breakdown of Afghanistan evacuee arrivals as at 31 January 2022.
- Number of Afghan nationals who have requested a ministerial intervention under s 48B (from 1 July to 31 December 2021).
Arrivals and exemptions
- Number of individual travel exemptions granted to people coming to Australia on a humanitarian visa subclass (from 1 August 2020 to 14 February 2022).
- Number of onshore humanitarian visa holders (including subclasses 785, 790, and 866) who have returned to Australia in each month since July 2021, broken down by month and visa subclass.
- Number of humanitarian visa holders currently overseas by country of residence, visa subclass and program year of grant plus the number of those who were referred by the UNHCR (as at 31 January 2022).
Onshore immigration detention
- Number of people released from immigration detention pursuant to Love vs Commonwealth decision (from 15 April 2021 to 31 October 2021; and in total until 14 January 2022)
- Number of people detained in Christmas Island who previously held a protection or humanitarian visa (as of 31 December 2021). Read in conjunction with this (has breakdown of their length of detention and some further information)
- Total number of stateless people in detention and their average period of detention.
- Number of stateless people in detention who have not applied for a protection visa.
- Number of asylum seekers, refugees and humanitarian entrants in onshore closed detention, community detention and offshore who have contracted COVID-19.
- Management of COVID-19 risks in detention.
- COVID-19 vaccination coverage for people in immigration detention (as at 28 February 2022).
- Number of people in immigration detention with undecided protection visa applications before the Department or before AAT/IAA.
- Average period of time in closed detention for people who have previously held a protection visa or humanitarian visa.
- Number of people in detention with adverse ASIO assessment, their location and their length of detention (as of 10 March 2022)
- Number of people in detention with qualified ASIO assessment, their location and their length of detention (as of 10 March 2022)
- What has happened to people in detention with an adverse ASIO assessment in the last 10 financial years.
- What has happened to people in detention with a qualified ASIO assessment in the last 10 financial years.
- Number of asylum seekers/refugees/humanitarian entrants (excluding those transferred from PNG/Nauru) in community detention.
- Number of APODs in use (broken down by State and Territories).
- Incidents of self-harm (broken down by threatened and actual) which have been recorded in immigration detention facilities (over the last five years).
- Number of people who have died in immigration detention facilities (including community detention) over the last five years.
- Number of complaints of assault made by detainees against persons working at an immigration detention facility over the last five years (broken down by year).
- Number of persons in held immigration detention who are Fast Track applicants and have a refused protection visa application (as at 31 January 2022).
- Number of asylum seekers (including failed/rejected asylum seekers), humanitarian entrants and refugees currently in a held immigration detention facility (excluding persons transferred from Nauru or PNG).
- Number of people in closed detention who had previously been granted a humanitarian or protection visa (broken down by visa subclass prior to detention).
- Breakdown of length of detention (closed detention)
- Breakdown of length of detention (community detention)
Offshore processing
- Number of Afghan asylum seekers and refugees in PNG and Nauru (as at 31 December 2021).
- Number, location and status of people remaining in PNG (as at 31 December 2021).
- Number of people who have ‘voluntarily’ returned to their countries of origin from PNG and how many of them were refugees (since 2012 and as at 31 December 2021).
- Number of people who have ‘voluntarily’ returned to their countries of origin from Nauru and how many of them were refugees (since 2012 and as at 31 December 2021).
- Total cost per year, for each fiscal year beginning with 2012, that Australia has incurred under the MOUs with Papua New Guinea for offshore processing and resettlement.
- Total cost per year, for each fiscal year beginning with 2012, that Australia has incurred under the MOUs with Nauru for offshore processing and resettlement.
- Breakdown of Canstruct’s costings and its extension of contracts.
- Number of people in Nauru and PNG engaged in US resettlement (as at 31 December 2021).
- Number of people who have transferred to Nauru from PNG since 2012.
- Information on asylum-seekers transferred to a regional processing country during the period between 1 August 2012 to 19 July 2013.
- Information on asylum seekers transferred to a regional processing country from 1 August 2012.
- Information on asylum seekers transferred to a regional processing country from 19 July 2013.
- Statistics related to the number of people engaged in the US resettlement process.
- Children born to individuals transferred to a regional processing country on or after 19 July 2013, broken down by country of birth.
‘Transitory people’ in Australia
- Information on the transitory people in Australia (number, location, status, children born) (as at 31 December 2021).
- Transitory people currently in Australia who have been transferred from Nauru (nationality, status, number) (as at 31 December 2021).
- Transitory people currently in Australia who have been transferred from PNG (nationality, status, number) (as at 31 December 2021).
- Number of transitory persons in Australia who have completed the medical treatment for which they were originally transferred to Australia for.
- Number of submissions to the Minister regarding transitory people to be released from detention into community detention or on BVEs (broken down by month).
- Total number of residence determinations made for transitory persons by Minister Hawke.
- Total number of residence determinations made for transitory persons by Minister Andrews.
- Number of transitory people who have requested to be returned to a regional processing country.
- Number of people who have returned offshore since July 2020 and the location they returned to.
- Number of Medevac people who remain in Australia as of 31 December 2021 and their location.
- Number of individuals who have been transferred to Australia from PNG and Nauru after the repeal of Medevac.
Visa cancellation
- Number of people who had their Australian visas cancelled on route to Australia or turned around upon arrival (1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021).
- Number of people with legal representation before the AAT in visa cancellation matters (s 501, s 116 and s 109).
- Number of times that Minister Andrews exercised her discretion under s501(3) or s501A(3) of the Migration Act to cancel or refuse a visa since her appointment as the Home Affairs Minister.
- Number of times that Minister Hawke exercised his discretion under s501(3) or s501A(3) of the Migration Act to cancel or refuse a visa since his appointment as the Immigration Minister.
- Numbers of humanitarian visas cancelled under s 116 and s 501, and corresponding detention/removals information.
Visa processing
- Number of fast track applicants who sought judicial review of their negative decisions (last five financial years)
- Number of permanent protection visa applicants who sought judicial review of their negative decisions (last five financial years)
- Total number of ”excluded fast track review applicants” who have not had access to the IAA? (break down by nationality)
- Number of stateless persons currently in Australia on a visa (broken down by visa subclass)
- Number of people waiting for response to ministerial intervention requests under: s 195A, s 48B, s 46A, s 417 (as at 31 December 2021).
- Number of Ministerial Interventions made by ministers in the past five years.
- Total number of lodged ministerial intervention requests/referrals in the past five years.
- Average length of time taken for completion of initial assessments of ministerial intervention requests against Ministerial guidelines over the past five years.
- Number of asylum seekers or refugees (excluding transitory persons) who are residing in the community on an expired Bridging E visa awaiting re-grant.
- Number of transitory persons who are residing in the community on an expired Bridging E visa awaiting re-grant as well as the average length they have been without visas.
SRSS
- Number of people who are receiving SRSS support, breakdown by bands.
- Number of people who are income support as part of their SRSS support.
- Number of transitory people who are receiving SRSS support.
TPV/SHEV
- Link between SHEV regional postcodes and Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program.
- Number of people on TPV/SHEV who applied for travel exemption and the number that were granted those exemptions (July 2021 to January 2022).
- Total number of TPV and SHEV visas granted since 1 January 2013 (broken down by visa subclass and until 31 January 2022)
- Total number of TPV and SHEV visas granted in the 2020-21 financial year (includes subsequent grants).
- Average processing time for processing a TPV and SHEV visa application from lodgment to primary decisions (broken down by subclass).
- Number of reapplications lodged and granted for TPVs and SHEVs (as at 31 January 2022).
- Number of reapplications lodged for TPV/SHEV that have been refused (as at 31 January 2022).
- Number of SHEV visa holders who have applied and granted permanent visas (as at 31 January 2022)
- Number of TPV and SHEV holders who have applied for permission to travel outside of Australia (under condition 8570) since visa grant, their success rate and the number of times they applied.
Removals and returns
- Number of people in Legacy Caseload who departed Australia voluntarily, involuntarily, or have died.
- MOU on the Return and Readmission of Persons signed with the Government of Sri Lanka.
- Involuntary and voluntary removals from detention, by citizenship, each financial year going back to 2014-15 (update on AE21-365).
- Number of individuals who were previously granted a protection visa and have been removed from Australia.
