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Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 July 2025SubmissionExternalisation of Migration and the Impact on the Human Rights of Migrants
The Australian Human Rights Commission has made a formal submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, contributing to his forthcoming report to the UN General Assembly on the externalisation of migration and its impact on migrant rights. This submission outlines the Commission’s concerns regarding Australia’s externalisation policies, including… -
Disability Rights
13 March 2024WebpageResources for job seekers and employees
Explore our resources for people with disability who are looking for work, advancing their career or thinking about self-employment. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
19 September 2018Webpage
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Learn how everyone has the right to seek asylum and be free from persecution, regardless of how or in what country they arrive in Australia. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
9 October 2019Media Release
Court finds asylum seekers entitled to fair process
Up to 71 asylum seekers who missed out on making an application for a protection visa were still entitled to a fair assessment of their claims the Full Federal Court has held. The Court accepted submissions from the Australian Human Rights Commission that an internal process established by the Department of Home Affairs should have provided them with procedural fairness. As a result of the … -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
26 July 2019Media Release
Transferring asylum seeker families to Nauru – human rights report
The practice of sending to Nauru families with young children who arrived in Australia seeking asylum is the subject of an inquiry report by the Australian Human Rights Commission tabled in Parliament today. [1] Mr Richard Lancaster SC, as delegate of the President, found that the regional processing centre on Nauru was not an appropriate place to send families with young children… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
16 July 2019Publication
Lives on hold: Refugees and asylum seekers in the 'Legacy caseload' (2019)
This report examines the human rights implications of policies affecting asylum seekers in the ‘Legacy Caseload’. -
Rights and Freedoms
3 April 2013PublicationAsylum seekers and refugees
back to Immigration detention, Asylum Seekers and Refugees Who are asylum seekers and refugees? What are Australia’s human rights obligations towards asylum seekers and refugees? Are asylum seekers and refugees subject to immigration detention in Australia? What does the Commission do to monitor conditions and treatment of people held in immigration detention? How are asylum seekers’ claims… -
Rights and Freedoms
16 July 2019Media Release
Urgent call for Federal Government to protect 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers at risk in the community
The Australian Human Rights Commission calls on the Australian Government to make urgent changes to improve protections for approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers living in the Australian community. A new report released today, Lives on hold: Refugees and asylum seekers in the ‘Legacy Caseload’, reveals the human rights situation for approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers… -
Rights and Freedoms
26 June 2025Opinion piece
Australia’s torture failures must end
In an opinion piece published in The Mandarin, Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay decries Australia’s ongoing failures in torture protection. The piece was published on the 1989 anniversary of Australia signing up to the UN Convention Against Torture. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
10 January 2014Webpage
Asylum seekers and refugees guide
Discover a guide on the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. -
14 December 2012Book page
Asylum seekers and refugees guide
Over the last decade the Commission has worked to promote and protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in Australia. The Commission aims to provide clear, factual information to highlight the human rights issues involved in the treatment of these groups of people. On this page: Who are asylum seekers and refugees? What are Australia’s human rights obligations in relation to asylum… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
10 October 2014Opinion piece
Magna Carta shelters asylum-seekers
NEXT year is the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, signed reluctantly by King John at the demand of his rebellious barons in 1215. Buried in the middle of this foundational document of English constitutional law — setting out the single measure for wine and ale and the rights of widows on the death of their husband — are these words: “No freeman is to be taken or imprisoned or disseised…