How Australia decides who gets a visa and who doesn't. By Ewa Staszewska, SBS News

Abul Rizvi — a former deputy secretary at the Department of Immigration from the early 1990s to 2007 — said visa application checks involve three steps; looking into a person's identity, their connections, and whether they're on a 'movement alert' list.

"So, a person who applies for a visitor visa, a Palestinian who has managed to escape Gaza, would firstly be checked from an identity perspective," he told SBS News.

How Australia decides who gets a visa and who doesn't. By Ewa Staszewska, SBS News

Populist politicians will never ‘control’ immigration. Here are the humane alternatives. By Filippo Grandi (UN high commissioner for refugees), The Guardian

First, having just recently returned from Ukraine and Sudan, where I met refugees enduring terrible conditions as they bear the brunt of war, I can assure you that the most urgent and obvious strategy is brokering peace. Conflict, violence and persecution have displaced 120 million people globally, a number that has risen for 12 straight years. Without peace, many people can’t go home and that figure can’t come down.

Populist politicians will never ‘control’ immigration. Here are the humane alternatives. By Filippo Grandi (UN high commissioner for refugees), The Guardian

Has Australia turned its back on assisting people fleeing war/conflict? By Abul Rizvi, P&I

While the precise details of his policy position are sparse – some have described it as a captain’s call made with the pressure of a press microphone in his face – it does sound like he is proposing a blanket ban on entry to Australia of Palestinians fleeing the Gaza conflict.

At times, Dutton has said his ban would apply to ‘all arrivals from Gaza’. At other times, he seems to have confined this to ‘refugees’ from Gaza. At other times he has expressed concern about people from Gaza being granted visitor or other visas because, allegedly, not all visa applicants are being interviewed face to face.

Has Australia turned its back on assisting people fleeing war/conflict? By Abul Rizvi, P&I

Refugees, asylum seekers camp outside Home Affairs for the right to 'call Australia home'. By Max Walden, ABC News

People who have been seeking asylum in Australia for more than a decade are camped outside Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke's electoral office in Sydney and the department's office in Melbourne.

A decision by the Albanese government in early 2023 meant 19,000 refugees became eligible to apply to stay permanently in Australia — but some 10,000 others remained in limbo.

Human rights groups and the Greens say the Albanese government needs to fulfil its election pledge to end lengthy periods of uncertainty for asylum seekers.

Refugees, asylum seekers camp outside Home Affairs for the right to 'call Australia home'. By Max Walden, ABC News

Peter Dutton says Australia should not accept Palestinians from Gaza due to ‘national security risk’. By Paul Karp, The Guardian

Peter Dutton has escalated the Coalition’s rhetoric against Palestinians fleeing the Gaza war zone, claiming that none should be allowed to Australia “at the moment” due to an unspecified “national security risk”.

The comments from the opposition leader on Wednesday contradict the assessment by the Asio spy chief, Mike Burgess, that rhetorical support for Hamas should not be an automatic bar to Palestinians receiving visas.

Dutton’s rhetoric was immediately rejected by senior Albanese government figures, who noted security checks are the same as when the Coalition was in power.

Peter Dutton says Australia should not accept Palestinians from Gaza due to ‘national security risk’. By Paul Karp, The Guardian

Parents are waiting more than 30 years for an Australian visa. The new home affairs minister needs to act. By Mick Tsikas AAP, The Conversation

Lawyers for stateless man known as YBFZ, argue imposing curfews and ankle bracelets on all released detainees breaches the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary.

But managing the political fallout from legal battles distracts from other profound problems in Australia’s migration system, including the tens of thousands awaiting parent visas.

Parents are waiting more than 30 years for an Australian visa. The new home affairs minister needs to act. By Mick Tsikas AAP, The Conversation

A botched murder investigation left a family broken and a 15-year-old boy in jail for a year. By Nino Bucci, The Guardian

The case sheds new light on how Victoria police pursued youth offenders of African-Australian background and provides another extraordinary example, in the wake of the Lawyer X and Jason Roberts controversies, of the force failing to properly disclose evidence to an accused.

A botched murder investigation left a family broken and a 15-year-old boy in jail for a year. By Nino Bucci, The Guardian

Refugees and asylum seekers are camping 24/7 outside Tony Burke’s office. By Jane Salmon, P&I

Demonstrators say they need case-by-case solutions and permanent visas. Up to 10,000 people have been in the country for up to 12 years. Many have found ways to contribute as front-line workers paying tax during that time. They have seen other groups receive faster outcomes. They need clarity about their future, their children’s’ futures, plus work, study, family reunion and health care rights (not to mention assurances that they will not be arbitrarily removed in the future).

Refugees and asylum seekers are camping 24/7 outside Tony Burke’s office. By Jane Salmon, P&I

Labor rejects report that international students will be capped at 40% of university enrolments. By Paul Karp, The Guardian

Jason Clare (Minister of Education) described international education, Australia’s fourth biggest export industry, as “an incredibly important national asset” which “makes us money”.

“It also makes us friends, because when students come to Australia to study and fall in love with the place or maybe someone special, they take that love for us back home.”

Labor rejects report that international students will be capped at 40% of university enrolments. By Paul Karp, The Guardian

Survey data finds many recent migrants don't fully understand Australia's political system. By Max Walden, ABC News

Survey and focus group data collected by Sukhmani Khorana of UNSW and Fan Yang from the University of Melbourne found about half of first-generation migrants they surveyed said they lacked political literacy, meaning many could be going to the polls without making an informed choice.

This gap in understanding among newer migrant communities has allowed for the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, said Dr Khorana, who is an expert on migrant and refugee communities in Australia.

Survey data finds many recent migrants don't fully understand Australia's political system. By Max Walden, ABC News

Rich countries are paying poorer ones to manage their refugee crises: 3 reasons this is dangerous. By Ali Bhagat & Genevieve LeBaron,The Conversation

We have been following how western governments have created a new form of refugee governance. Just as they once outsourced production, the dumping of e-waste and plastics recycling, they have been seeking to hand over to developing countries the problem of refugee processing and governance. This approach is flawed, too. It opens the door to human rights abuses and the propping up of authoritarian regimes in developing countries, and is expensive for western countries under the guise of humanitarianism and “solving” so-called migration crises.

Rich countries are paying poorer ones to manage their refugee crises: 3 reasons this is dangerous.By Ali Bhagat & Genevieve LeBaron, The Conversation

History-makers: The cycling sisters defying the Taliban and chasing a medal in Paris. By Madeleine Wedesweiler, SBS News

Under the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, women are forbidden from competing in sports.
When the harsh regime took over following the fall of Kabul in 2021.

Yulduz and Fariba Hashimi didn't know if they'd be able to continue cycling, let alone qualify for the Paris Olympics.
They were able to continue their training with the help of a friend who mentored them when they fled to Italy. They now live in Switzerland.

History-makers: The cycling sisters defying the Taliban and chasing a medal in Paris. By Madeleine Wedesweiler, SBS News

Advocates welcome new visa allowing migrant workers to remain in Australia to pursue legal action against their employers. By Emilia Terzon, ABC News

A new visa that was quietly introduced last week is already giving hope to migrant workers who are battling for justice against exploitation, a leading legal advocate says.

If granted, the workplace justice visa (subclass 408) lets a migrant worker without any other legal avenue to stay in Australia, remain in the country for up to 12 months to fight an active workplace claim.

Advocates welcome new visa allowing migrant workers to remain in Australia to pursue legal action against their employers. By Emilia Terzon, ABC News

Pressure grows to end ‘double standard’ on Australian visas for Palestinians fleeing conflict. By Sarah Basford Canales, The Guardian

The Palestinian community and refugee advocacy groups are urging the veteran Labor frontbencher to offer those fleeing Gaza a special humanitarian pathway like those offered to Afghans in 2021 and Ukrainians in 2022.

Pressure grows to end ‘double standard’ on Australian visas for Palestinians fleeing conflict. By Sarah Basford Canales, The Guardian

Labor’s immigration record and the zombie portfolio. By Peter Hughes, P&I

Given the catastrophe they inherited from the Coalition Government, Labor’s immigration record over two years is actually quite good. Huge improvement is still required. They will remain seriously hampered by the Home Affairs portfolio construct and must eventually restore a freestanding Department of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. Andrew Giles has been unfairly criticised for his handling of a problem that was of Peter Dutton’s making.

Labor’s immigration record and the zombie portfolio. By Peter Hughes, P&I

Tony Burke blasts ‘idiotic’ suggestion he would weaken security checks for Palestinians. By Sarah Basford Canales, The Guardian

The new home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has rubbished suggestions that he will rubber-stamp visas for Palestinians in a bid to stave off backlash in his western Sydney seat at the next federal election.

Burke, in his first interview following the Albanese government’s reshuffle, said the suggestions made by shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, in a recent article were “idiotic” and untrue.

Tony Burke blasts ‘idiotic’ suggestion he would weaken security checks for Palestinians. By Sarah Basford Canales, The Guardian

Opinion: The Coalition’s home affairs experiment was doomed to fail. Tony Burke has a huge job on his hands. By Abul Rizvi, The Guardian

After an announcement by Anthony Albanese, Asio is now moving back to the attorney general portfolio, along with the AFP, where the two functions had been before the home affairs experiment started.

While the title remains, the vision of making immigration and multicultural affairs function as part of Australia’s national security and law enforcement apparatus is hopefully over.

Opinion: The Coalition’s home affairs experiment was doomed to fail. Tony Burke has a huge job on his hands. By Abul Rizvi, The Guardian