Australia is emerging as an alternative destination in global people smuggling routes involving Chinese nationals, as tougher US border controls push smuggling networks to test new maritime pathways through South-East Asia.
Last week six Chinese nationals who arrived in Australia by sea were found in a remote Indigenous community in Western Australia and detained by border authorities.
Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, told the ABC that many people are unaware of the scale of Operation Sovereign Borders, the policy introduced in 2013 to prevent maritime arrivals of asylum seekers.
"I think some people still believe that there is a general humanitarian reputation in Australia," he said.