Immigration

People who come to the community seeking to build a better life should be welcomed and provided the fundamental rights we all need to thrive. 

The Labor Government has been competing with Dutton on cruelty towards people seeking asylum and refugees - it’s a race to the bottom where everyone loses. This has meant that Australia’s response to people seeking safety is an international outlier, uniquely cruel and dysfunctional. 

The Greens propose a set of reforms that will create a fair and humane system, reflecting Australia’s place as a global leader.

The Greens' plan:

• Expand Australia’s humanitarian intake to 50,000 places per year, providing safety and a new start for those fleeing persecution and conflict.
• Create additional places via a new private humanitarian sponsorship program.
• Provide pathways to permanency for people on Temporary Protection Visas and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas and support those failed by the Fast Track system.
• Clear the UNHCR refugee backlog in Indonesia by resettling people left in limbo under Morrison-era bans.
• Support LGBTIQ+ refugees with an internal target, funding, and tailored assistance to protect them from persecution.
• End indefinite immigration detention by introducing a 7-day cap for people held in immigration detention.
• Properly fund the Humanitarian Settlement Services Program and increase the SRSS payments to the same rate as JobSeeker, for all temporary protection visa holders.
• Establish a new Urgent Humanitarian Response Visa category to respond fairly and quickly to urgent humanitarian crises. This allows for further humanitarian intake and allows the option of returning post-crisis or permanency in Australia.

People seeking asylum should be welcomed and provided with the basic rights we all need to thrive.

Labor, alongside the Coalition, has escalated cruel detention policies, introducing laws that expand detention powers, permit travel bans, warrantless searches, and phone bans—described as the biggest attacks on migrants since the 1970s.

Offshore detention in places like Nauru and Manus Island has caused immense suffering, mental health issues, and even self-harm. 

The Greens are committed to ending this practice, bringing those still detained to Australia, and providing the opportunity of permanent settlement.

The Greens' plan:

• Launch a Royal Commission into Australia’s immigration detention regime, including past and present onshore and offshore facilities. 
• End offshore detention, bringing all persons still in Papua New Guinea or Nauru to Australia and into supported and supervised community accommodation, with the option of permanent settlement.
• Repeal Labor’s travel ban, deportation and phone bans laws to restore essential rights to migrants and people seeking asylum and faith in multicultural Australia.

Australia should be a regional leader in supporting and protecting refugees and displaced people in the Asia-Pacific.

Genuine responsibility-sharing with our neighbours is essential to ensure appropriate support and dignity while people wait for the refugee status determination process to be completed.

A cooperative, regional response is a key measure to eliminate the need for people seeking asylum to engage with people smuggling ventures.

The Greens' plan:

• Establish a system that will assess protection claims in a timely fashion, providing people access to healthcare, education and work permits (a ‘dignity package’) during the assessment period.
• Work with the UNCHR and partner countries in our region to support a cooperative approach.

Families belong together, but Australia’s migration system keeps loved ones apart for decades, with exorbitant costs and unbearable wait times.

Parent visas take up to 30 years to process and cost over $40,000. Temporary visas, like the Prospective Marriage subclass, also face significant delays.

The Greens are committed to creating a humane and inclusive system that prioritises family reunification and strengthens our communities.

The Greens' plan:

• Reunite families faster by clearing the backlog of family and partner visa applications within three years, and abolishing the newly arrived residents waiting period, ensuring families are no longer separated for decades 
• Cap family reunion visa wait times at 12 months to end excessive delays.
• Make family reunions more affordable by reducing and simplifying visa costs, and removing financial barriers to bringing loved ones together.
• Expand family reunification by removing the balance of family test and broadening the definition of family 
• Ensure a fairer migration system by repealing Section 501 of the Migration Act, eliminating discriminatory character test provisions.

Our immigration and border protection systems should be respectful, responsible and transparent.

However, the Liberals and Labor, through the Department of Home Affairs and Operation Sovereign Borders, have entrenched cruelty, inefficiency, and secrecy.

Since its creation in 2017, Home Affairs has been plagued by scandals, while Operation Sovereign Borders continues to forcibly return asylum seekers to dangerous situations.

The Greens are working to end cruel border practices and the inhumane policies of Operation Sovereign Borders and create a transparent, ethical immigration system.

The Greens' plan:

• End the Department of Home Affairs, returning its functions and responsibilities to the departments that previously held them.
• End the Australian Border Force and terminate all activities related to  Operation Sovereign Borders. The Australian Customs Service would be re-established to manage border traffic and trade measures.
• Establish an Australian Maritime Service to address illegal fishing and other marine environmental threats in Australian waters and demilitarised search and rescue operations, taking over from the ADF.