Letter to Ministers Burke and Wong on supporting refugees and Australians in Iran, RCOA

According to the United Nations, Iran is host to one of the largest and most protracted refugee situations in the world and has provided asylum to refugees for over four decades. At the end of 2025, Iran was hosting over 2.5 million refugees and displaced people, primarily people from Afghanistan. The conflict will trigger significant new displacement, forcing Iranian citizens and refugees from the region residing in Iran facing further displacement and uncertainty, with some being displaced for the second or third time……

We understand that the Government has been working to find solutions for the thousands of Australian citizens and permanent residents who have registered to leave Iran and are unable to travel due to the flight restrictions.

The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) and our members are seeking the inclusion of refugees holding Humanitarian XB sub-class visas in evacuation plans. Based on recent trends, our understanding is that there would be several hundred refugees residing in Iran who have been granted a Humanitarian XB sub-class visa who have not yet been able to travel to Australia. 

Letter to Ministers Burke and Wong on supporting refugees and Australians in Iran, RCOA

A new community-led initiative offers support to vulnerable asylum seekers. By Jennifer Scherer & Lera Shvets, SBS News

Despite record numbers of displaced people worldwide, resettlement options are facing a critical decline - global impacts including shrinking legal pathways, slashing of admission numbers and funding cuts to agencies. But for the first time, a new community-led initiative will support LGBTIQ+ refugees to apply for Australia’s humanitarian program - offering dedicated support for priority processing.

A new community-led initiative offers support to vulnerable asylum seekers. By Jennifer Scherer & Lera Shvets, SBS News

Liberal senator breaks with party to urge ‘mercy for the children’ of IS-linked Australian women in Syria. By Dan Jervis-Bardy, The Guardian

In a speech to parliament, McLachlan acknowledged the situation was a “considerable ethical dilemma” for the parliament and the country.

But amid the increasingly incendiary debate, the South Australian said: “I’m going to inject one concept that has not been spoken about, and that’s mercy for the children.”

Liberal senator breaks with party to urge ‘mercy for the children’ of IS-linked Australian women in Syria. By Dan Jervis-Bardy, The Guardian

PRIVATE CONTRACTORS AT ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE PROCESSING CENTRES, Asylum Insight

The Australian Government contracts private companies to run immigration detention centres in Australia, and offshore at asylum seeker regional processing centres. Over the past decade, these companies have been the subject of allegations of misconduct and abuse. 

This explainer provides a brief overview of the private companies currently operating in Australia and Nauru, as well as companies previously contracted, and some of the key reports into their management of detention centres.

PRIVATE CONTRACTORS AT ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE PROCESSING CENTRES, Asylum Insight

Australia's new $2,300 visa price increase and more key changes. By Wing Kuang, SBS News

Over the weekend, the federal government announced that, from 1 March, the application fee for two streams of the 485 graduate visa would be doubled from $2,300 to $4,600.

For secondary applicants, including family members, the visas have also doubled in price, to $2,300 for adults and $1,160 for people under 18.

For people who choose to live regionally, the costs are less than half, though they have also jumped 50 per cent.

Australia's new $2,300 visa price increase and more key changes. By Wing Kuang, SBS News

‘The most bitter news’: Iran reels as more than 100 children reportedly killed in school bombing. By Deepa Parent and Tess McClure, The Guardian

Iran’s parents had just dropped their children off for class on Saturday morning when they found themselves racing back to school gates, as bombs began to fall across the country in a joint US-Israel attack.

At one elementary school, according to Iran’s state-controlled media, they arrived to find devastation. At least 100 children had been killed in the strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, the Mizan news agency reported, with dozens more unaccounted for.

Across the country, Iranians said they were feeling a mixture of terror and hope as the bombings continued. Some expressed relief that the long-expected strikes had arrived, and opponents of the regime spoke of hope that they might lead to political change – but both were tempered by fear that the attacks would bring more civilian deaths to a country already reeling from recent bloodshed.

‘The most bitter news’: Iran reels as more than 100 children reportedly killed in school bombing. By Deepa Parent and Tess McClure, The Guardian

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb...

Should Australia copy Canada and New Zealand on immigration policy? By Abul Rizvi, Pearls & Irritations

Canada and New Zealand cut migration sharply and saw modest rent falls – but only alongside weaker labour markets and stronger housing supply. The lesson for Australia is not imitation, but stability.

There has been much discussion in the media (and amongst some politicians) that we should copy Canada and NZ on immigration policy after those two nations brought down net migration very significantly and experienced some falls in house rents. The Editor of the Australian Financial Review has explicitly recommended that Australia follow Canada’s lead. It’s therefore worth examining what has happened in those two nations.

Should Australia copy Canada and New Zealand on immigration policy? By Abul Rizvi, Pearls & Irritations

Opinion : Hate without borders: Social cohesion is threatened by digital platforms, not immigration. By Joanne Gray, ABC News

This week, as the federal government launched its Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, many politicians have engaged in familiar rhetoric about Islamic extremism, framing the issue around immigration and who we allow into Australia.

Without question, the federal government is responsible for minimising risks to national security and managing population numbers and national resources. These are important policy considerations and our elected representatives must be held to account when they fail in their responsibilities. But if the problem they are seeking to address is threats to social cohesion, it seems to me that we need better regulation of digital platforms, not simply of borders. Tighter immigration restrictions won’t stop the spread of hate, misinformation or extremist ideologies online.

Opinion : Hate without borders: Social cohesion is threatened by digital platforms, not immigration. By Joanne Gray, ABC News

Armidale community rallies to welcome refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo By Liana Boss and Peter Sanders, ABC News

Last year, 275 refugees, predominantly from Africa, settled in Armidale. 

The regional NSW town has been supporting new arrivals who have been waiting up to 20 years for visas.

About 2.5 million people are awaiting refugee visas.

Armidale community rallies to welcome refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo By Liana Boss and Peter Sanders, ABC News

How the US created a vacuum for the IS-linked cohort trying to return to Australia. By Niv Sadrolodabaee, SBS News

Years of scaled-back US presence and shifting political dynamics inside Syria led to a shot at returning home last week for a group of Australians held in Syrian camps, before their window closed again.

After seven years of harsh conditions in the camp and an uncertain future, they found an opportunity to leave amid a shifting political climate in Syria.

Reportedly, they followed a decision by officials at al-Roj camp to allow detainees with valid travel documents to leave — a significant shift in how camps are managed.

Previously, the camps had been run by Kurdish forces, with support from the US. But, as the US announced it would pull back support for the Kurds earlier this year, power is transitioning to Syrian government forces.

How the US created a vacuum for the IS-linked cohort trying to return to Australia. By Niv Sadrolodabaee, SBS News

In 2022, Labor MPs urged compassion for Australian women and children stuck in Syria. Now Albanese has only contempt. By Dan Jervis-Bardy, The Guardian

Just after question time on 23 November 2022, the federal parliament debated a motion relating to the repatriation of four Australian women and 13 children who had been stuck in a Syrian detention camp since the fall of Islamic State three years prior.

One after another Labor MPs argued with passion, clarity and logic about why it was not just acceptable, but necessary and morally right, for the federal government to assist the return of its own citizens from the squalid and dangerous camps.

In 2022, Labor MPs urged compassion for Australian women and children stuck in Syria. Now Albanese has only contempt. By Dan Jervis-Bardy, The Guardian

Video: Australian group stranded in Syria release photo of youngest girl held in detention. SBS News

As controversy and political debate swirl over the future of women and children stranded in a Syrian detention camp, a family has released a photo of one of the youngest girls. The Opposition is trying to apply political pressure to have the group stopped from coming to Australia, claiming they pose an ongoing threat. The operators of Al-Roj camp say that if they get the greenlight from Syrian authorities they are willing to assist the group to attempt to leave the camp again.

Video: Australian group stranded in Syria release photo of youngest girl held in detention. SBS News

'Green light to violence': Anti-racism commissioner denounces Hanson's remarks. By Alexandra Jones & Niv Sadrolodabaee, SBS News

Australia's race discrimination commissioner has denounced One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's remarks about Muslims, saying they gave a "green light to violence".

Hanson said there were "no good Muslims" in an interview with Sky News on Monday, days before the start of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.

She later partially walked back her comments, which the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said had been the subject of criminal complaints.

In an interview with SBS News, race discrimination commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman said he was deeply concerned by Hanson's remarks.

'Green light to violence': Anti-racism commissioner denounces Hanson's remarks. By Alexandra Jones & Niv Sadrolodabaee, SBS News

Islamophobia and strategic blindness: Australia in the Asian century. By George Adams, P&I

Indonesia alone has over 230 million Muslims – the largest Muslim population in the world and its closest islands sit just 130 kilometres from Australia’s northern coastline, across the Arafura Sea and the Torres Strait. No other western‑aligned nation sits this close to such a large Muslim‑majority neighbour.

These societies are overwhelmingly peaceful, moderate, and cooperative. Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah promote pluralism and interfaith coexistence. Malaysia and Brunei embed Islamic values within stable constitutional frameworks. Bangladesh and the Maldives maintain strong traditions of religious moderation. Across the region, governments invest heavily in deradicalisation, community cohesion, and social harmony.

In this environment, cultural respect is not symbolic. It is a strategic requirement.

Domestic incidents in Australia, such as police confronting Muslims while praying, are therefore not interpreted as isolated events. They are read through religious solidarity, historical memory of colonial policing, expectations of respect toward Islamic practice, and public sentiment that governments cannot ignore.

For neighbours only a short sea crossing away, these signals matter.

Islam has been present in Australia for centuries. Makassan fishermen from Sulawesi traded with Indigenous communities in northern Australia from at least the 1700s. Afghan cameleers were essential to the development of inland Australia in the 19th century. Muslim communities have been part of the national fabric long before Federation.

Islamophobia and strategic blindness: Australia in the Asian century. By George Adams, P&I

Scapegoating migrants is as old as history itself. By John Menadue, Pearls and Irritations

Scapegoating migrants is designed to distract our attention from the truth and real issues – the abuse of corporate and media power and failure to tackle housing shortages for younger generations.

The Liberal Party looks like following the rot that set in with John Howard – Tampa and dog whistling about Asian migration. But this time the Liberal Party might be kicking an own goal because of the electoral clout of our migrant communities.

The warning signs for the Liberals are clear. It has offended voters with Chinese and Indian backgrounds. It paid the electoral consequences at the last two federal elections.

Scapegoating migrants is as old as history itself. By John Menadue, Pearls and Irritations

Opinion: Racist rhetoric is warping the Liberal party’s moral compass. We are destined to fail unless we govern for all. By Andrew McLachlan, The Guardian

Opinion from Liberal Senator Andrew McLachlan :

Since my own service in Afghanistan and subsequently entering public life I have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the Afghan community. These families have escaped oppression after supporting our military engagement in their country. Now they are proud Australians making an outstanding contribution to the state.

Therefore I find it very difficult to accept the musings from certain conservative commentators this week, including those within my party, questioning the value of multiculturalism and a society that cherishes diversity.

I’m talking of course about comments such as those from Tony Abbott, who said he has “serious concerns” about multiculturalism, preferring how our immigration policy was run in the “50s, 60s, and 70s” – during the White Australia policy. “Our character is essentially Anglo-Celtic and Judaeo-Christian. That’s what has made our country attractive to migrants, and we should keep it that way,” he said.

Opinion: Racist rhetoric is warping the Liberal party’s moral compass. We are destined to fail unless we govern for all. By Andrew McLachlan, The Guardian

An eight-year-old Australian girl with rotten teeth, trapped in a desert camp, did not make her own bed. By Matt Tinkler, CEO Save the Children, SMH

When I travelled to Roj camp in 2022, I looked into the eyes of an eight-year-old Australian girl, whose frame was so small and frail that she looked much younger than my own daughter, who was five at the time. Many of her teeth were rotten or missing, and she was showing signs of stunting from poor nutrition.

Behind the debate about these families, this is the reality. Australian children living in tents exposed to baking hot summers and freezing winters, denied adequate healthcare, their education disrupted.

It was then that I vowed to redouble our efforts to support these families to return to Australia.

Save the Children does not fund or conduct repatriations, nor do we ever intend to play such a role. We have not been involved in any extraction of Australians from camps in Syria. But for more than six years, we have engaged in sustained advocacy, calling on the Australian government to bring these children home. This has not always been a popular choice, but it is the right choice, in keeping with our mission to fight for every child’s rights, no matter who they are.

When we acted as a litigation guardian in a Federal Court appeal in 2024, the full bench of the Federal Court found that it would be a “relatively straightforward” exercise for the Australian government to bring these children home if it “had the political will”. But that political will is nowhere to be seen.

Although the Morrison government repatriated eight orphans in 2019 and the Albanese government followed suit by repatriating three families in 2022, official channels slammed shut once this was deemed too unpopular to continue.

An eight-year-old Australian girl with rotten teeth, trapped in a desert camp, did not make her own bed. By Matt Tinkler, CEO Save the Children, SMH

Why Australia needs a plan to repatriate citizens detained in Syria, Women's Agenda by Dr Thomas Mulder and Professor Jane McAdam

For more than a decade, tens of thousands of foreign nationals—many of them women and children—have been held in camps such as al-Roj and al-Hol. The conditions in these camps are “dire”. They are overcrowded and lack adequate sanitation, and detainees have limited access to healthcare and face significant security concerns.

https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/why-australia-needs-a-plan-to-repatriate-citizens-detained-in-syria/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQDbPlleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJUbzRVSm5raUJOSE1pM05rc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpfeDCI8th4AtIenB9o6kteyl0Hw5rR32BnE5Iz-kl4mqKqIpSZxAqAmJoFm_aem_QYCVAfnvwu0IRftaOf5SKQ

Australia has ruled out repatriation for ISIS families. This isn’t a safe or coherent plan. By Se Youn Park, THe Conversation

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government will not help repatriate the 34 Australian women and children with links to Islamic State fighters who were released from a detention camp in Syria and are reportedly trying to return to Australia.

The women and children were among more than 2,000 people from 50 different countries detained at al-Roj camp in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria. The Australians were turned back by Syrian officials when trying to reach Damascus this week, with the goal of returning to Australia.

The Albanese government’s stance on the Australian women and children in Syria has never really been clarified, which is fuelling a lot of uncertainty at the moment.

Australia has ruled out repatriation for ISIS families. This isn’t a safe or coherent plan. By Se Youn Park, The Conversation