Temporary protection visas Australia: A reform proposal

M. A. Kenny; N. Procter; C. Grech

doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.18607.00167

The election of a new government in May 2022 provides an opportune moment to reassess Australia’s approach to refugees and people seeking asylum. The Labor government has signalled that our treatment of refugees and asylum seekers needs to change—to provide people with greater certainty and more durable protection, and to enable the Australian community to benefit more fully from their contribution. One of the most detrimental elements of Australian refugee law and policy in the past decade has been the use of temporary visas. Temporary protection has been the only option available for people who arrived by boat and were recognised as refugees. Known as the ‘legacy caseload’, these people are caught in a system of law and policy that keeps them in a state of perpetual limbo. This is an inhumane, unsustainable, and inefficient system that inflicts mental harm and creates costly, bureaucratic burdens. Providing permanent protection to the 31,000 men, women, and children in this group—many of whom have been recognised by Australia as refugees in need of protection—would provide them with a resolution of their legal status and enable them to move forward with their lives, while also acknowledging the significant contribution this group has already made to the community through work and social engagement. This Policy Brief provides concrete recommendations about how to move refugees on temporary visas to permanent visas—using existing powers under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and minor amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth)—as well as recommendations for people whose protection claims have not yet been assessed, or have been refused. The 17 recommendations are intended as a package of coherent and inter-related measures, rather than a suite of different options.

Temporary protection visas Australia: A reform proposal

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