As Refugee Week commences, Australia must urgently establish humane pathways for people seeking safety

16 June 2025

As Refugee Week commences, Amnesty International Australia is amplifying its call for the Australian Government to establish safe and humane pathways for people seeking safety, urging an end to decades of policies that have set a dangerous global precedent.

This year's Refugee Week, running from June 15 to June 21, centres on the theme 'Finding Freedom' - a profound journey faced by millions worldwide. With over 120 million people forcibly displaced by escalating crises in Sudan, Gaza, Afghanistan and Myanmar, the need for Australia to uphold its international obligations is more critical than ever.

Australia's approach to people seeking safety has long been a stain on its human rights record. Successive governments have enacted policies that directly contravene international human rights obligations, including the Refugee Convention. Draconian measures such as offshore processing, turnbacks, and indefinite detention have not only inflicted immeasurable suffering but have also inspired similar regressive policies in Europe, the UK, and the US, contributing to a global erosion of refugee protections.

"For too long, Australia's inhumane treatment of people seeking asylum has created a system where individuals are indefinitely detained or forced into prolonged temporariness, living as second-class residents stripped of basic rights such as the right to work, access to medical care and education,"

"For too long, Australia's inhumane treatment of people seeking asylum has created a system where individuals are indefinitely detained or forced into prolonged temporariness, living as second-class residents stripped of basic rights such as the right to work, access to medical care and education," says Zaki Haidari, Refugee Rights Strategic Campaigner.

"Australian leaders have continuously exploited people seeking safety as pawns in their political games. The flawed and discriminatory policies born from this deny access to safety for all, fundamentally undermining any commitment to human dignity."

The urgent need for policy reform is evident in the treatment of Palestinians seeking safety in Australia. The Government has rejected over 7,600 Palestinian visa applications - almost 70% -, accepting a mere 3,808, with only approximately 1,500 individuals safely arriving.

Furthermore, approximately 7,000 people remain in 'visa limbo' after being failed by the deeply flawed Fast Track process. These individuals are trapped on temporary bridging visas, unable to rebuild their lives with certainty and dignity. Worst of all they cannot reunite with their family, a basic right.

Amnesty International Australia stands with the global community this Refugee Week, demanding that the fight for safe pathways for people seeking safety is strengthened, and the systemic challenges faced by those seeking protection are urgently addressed.

We reiterate our calls for the Australian Government to adopt a humane and generous policy for refugees and people seeking asylum:

• Commit to transitioning all Palestinians on temporary humanitarian visas to permanent visas after three years if they cannot return safely to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
  
• Provide safe pathways for Palestinians fleeing Gaza as we have done in other conflicts, starting with those having family connections in Australia.
  
• Grant permanent protection to people failed by the Fast Track system, ensuring they can rebuild their lives with dignity and peace of mind.
  
• Expand the humanitarian program by increasing the annual intake to 30,000 places.
  
• Reform Australia's private sponsorship programs (CSP and CRISP) by removing non-protection related criteria, and increasing the number of places to 10,000 annually, in addition to the humanitarian intake.
  
• Close offshore detention centres and establish a plan to resettle refugees through new agreements with safe third countries.

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 10 million people who take injustice personally. We are campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all - and we can only do it with your support.

Act now or learn more about our human rights work.