January 2025
Three harsh anti-migration bills were passed into law in Australia in November 2024 and are negatively affecting CARAD clients as they extend the government's powers, allow non-citizens to be deported to third countries and reverse protections for refugees, raising serious human rights concerns.
What this means for CARAD’s clients:
These laws threaten the lives, rights and safety of more than 80,000 refugees, people seeking asylum and migrant communities in Australia, as well as preventing countless others from entering the country. This is because the laws allow the government to:
Expand its offshore detention regime. Unfortunately, this part of the legislation is already in full swing, with the Government recently announcing its intention to deport members of what is known as the NZYQ High Court cohort to Nauru
Deport people to danger where they risk persecution, violence or even death
Ban entire communities from entering Australia
Separate families, including parents from Australian citizen children
Imprison people for not complying with deportation, even when they face risk of serious harm or death if they return to their home countries
Breach the privacy of refugees and people seeking asylum by providing personal information to third countries for potential misuse
Cut off lifelines from people in immigration detention through confiscation of mobile phones
Authorise dehumanising strip searches of people in detention
Absolve itself of accountability for harm caused to people sent offshore. Furthermore, the government has not disclosed the intended countries for the travel bans.
CARAD strongly opposes these harsh anti-migration laws. Esther Deng, CARAD’s Client Services Manager, noted that this has presented, “grave concerns about the rights of our clients, who are already being subject to difficult settings. Even more concerning is that it is not just their rights being violated but the added sense of uncertainty and anxiety that these laws cause, knowing that they could be used against them at any time. It means even less power and autonomy for our clients than before, especially considering that some of them have been in an indefinite state of detention for a long time.”
You can help support CARAD’s clients in the following ways:
1. Donate food and other grocery items to the CARAD Pantry, learn more HERE.
2. Make a financial donation to CARAD HERE.
3. Sign up for CARAD membership to give more weight to our advocacy efforts. Learn more HERE.
4. Spread awareness of the issue by sharing CARAD’s website/socials
5. Set up a pop-up fundraiser with family or friends to support those seeking asylum in your community. For ideas visit our fundraise page, HERE.
Thank you to our amazing CARAD volunteers for their contribution to this article – Daphne Dado and Ellie Korn.