Add your name to the Choose Humane pledge!
Our platform
for change
1.
The permanent end to offshore processing
2.
A fair process for claiming asylum
3.
Reform of the immigration detention system
4.
A larger and more responsive Refugee and Humanitarian Program
5.
Australia’s improved engagement in Asia
Where do
the parties stand?
Find out how the parties compare with our Platform for Change.
1.
The permanent end to offshore processing
Negative:
-
Maintain the policy of offshore processing
-
Will not bring people from offshore processing to Australia
Positive:
-
Accept New Zealand’s offer to resettle 150 refugees
-
Negotiate resettlement to other third countries
Negative:
-
Maintain the policy of offshore processing
-
Opposed the transfer of people offshore to Australia for medical purposes
Positive:
-
End offshore detention on Manus Island and Nauru
-
Bring every person detained on Manus Island and Nauru to Australia
2.
A fair process for claiming asylum
Positive:
-
Abolish TPVs and SHEVs and transition eligible refugees onto permanent visa arrangements.
-
People seeking asylum will have means-tested access to funded migration assistance, and to appropriate social services, including income, crisis housing, healthcare, mental health, community, education and English as a Second Language support during the assessment of the claim for protection.
-
Supports the existing definition of ‘serious harm’ and ‘persecution’ including the current risk threshold of the ‘real chance test’.
-
The assessment and review of protection claims will be underpinned by robust, efficient and transparent processes that ensure fair and consistent outcomes, including access to review and independent advice.
-
The assessment and review of protection claims of specific lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer asylum seekers will be underpinned by appropriate and relevant assessment tools and processes that reflect cultural experiences of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community.
-
The assessment and review of protection claims must be independent and free from any political or diplomatic interference.
-
Reinstate the Refugee Review Tribunal and abolish the Fast- Track Process and Immigration Assessment Authority.
-
The processing of protection claims must be streamlined to enhance the quality of decision making, to provide more efficient pathways for prompt resolution of visa status and to alleviate the courts’ immigration case-load burden.
-
The Stone Review process will be maintained as an important mechanism for ensuring the fairness of Australia’s security assessment system.
-
Reintroduce the 90 day rule into the Migration Act, which requires that refugee status determinations are concluded within 90 days from the time of application
-
Reintroduce the appropriate references to the Refugee Convention into the Migration Act 1958.
-
Ensure asylum seekers
have access to appropriate, independent, government funded legal advice while working through their claims for protection
Negative:
-
Maintain the current Fast- Track assessment process and the Immigration Assessment Authority
-
Maintain the current policy of TPVs and SHEVs
Positive:
-
Provide fair support for people seeking asylum to live with dignity in the community
-
People seeking asylum to have work rights, access to social security, legal representation, interpreters, health care, case management, and appropriate education for the duration of their assessment.
-
Provide SRSS payments at the same rate as Newstart
-
Abolish Temporary Protection Visas and reintroduce Permanent Protection Visas for refugees
-
Training of immigration decision-makers to enable them to properly assess
claims for family reunion or refugee status based on sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. -
Any appointment to tribunals to be independently made in accordance with a predefined formula of civil society representation and legal expertise.
-
Assessment of applications for asylum completed in a timely and transparent manner.
3.
Reform of the immigration detention system
Negative:
-
Maintain the policy of mandatory detention, including children
Positive:
-
Strive to ensure that mandatory detention is for no longer than 90 days
-
As soon as the reasons for mandatory detention have ceased every effort must be made to remove asylum seekers from immigration detention centres through community detention or the granting of bridging visas with work rights.
-
Appoint an independent children’s advocate to represent the interests of children seeking asylum and legislating to impose mandatory reporting of child abuse
Negative:
-
Maintain the current policy of mandatory indefinite detention
Positive:
-
Removed all children seeking asylum from onshore detention (but has not legislated to ensure that children cannot be detained).
Positive:
-
Introduce a 7-day limit for onshore detention
-
Introduce an independent inspectorate for all of Australia’s detention centres
-
Introduce a Royal Commission into Australia’s immigration detention facilities
4.
A larger and more responsive Refugee and Humanitarian Program
Negative:
-
Increase Australia’s annual humanitarian intake to 27,000 per year by 2025
-
Progressively increase the community sponsored refugee program intake to 5,000 places per year
-
Facilitate opportunities for business, community groups, individuals and State, Territory and local governments to participate in and support
the resettlement of refugees through a community sponsored refugee resettlement program. Any community sponsored places should be in addition to the government’s refugee and humanitarian program.
Positive
-
After cutting humanitarian program from 20,000 to 13,750 in 2013, increased program back to 18,750 in 2018-19
-
With additional Syria/Iraq crisis response, program reached 21,968 places in 2016-17, a 35-year high
Negative
-
Plan to maintain humanitarian program at 18,750 places annually
-
Maintain the current Community Support Program at 1,000 places within the humanitarian program and with the current high fees
Positive:
-
Increase Australia’s humanitarian intake to 50,000 per year
-
Delink onshore visa grants with the offshore humanitarian program
-
Create a Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program
5.
Australia’s improved engagement in Asia
Positive:
-
Work with South East Asian nations in the region and in particular with Indonesia to build a regional framework to improve the lives of asylum seekers.
-
Give appropriate consideration to UNHCR refugee registrations to assist Indonesia and the UNHCR to work through the backlog.
-
Provide $450 million in funding over three years to support the important work of UNHCR both globally and in South East Asia and the Pacific
-
Appoint a Special Envoy for Refugee and Asylum Seeker Issues
Negative:
-
Maintain the policy of turning back boats where safe to do so.
Negative:
-
Maintain Operation Sovereign Borders, including turnbacks.
Positive:
-
Establish a regional solution for people seeking asylum including assessing people’s claims for protection in partner countries in a timely way
-
Provide $500 million over four years to support organisations like the UNHCR and partner countries in our region to establish a system that can assess people’s claims for protection in Indonesia and Malaysia in a timely fashion