The 2026 Lowy Institute Poll recorded the largest ever decline in support for cultural diversity in Australia.
Some say they live in fear that racism will rise in Australia, after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson called for a "monoculture".
But others say they have hope that strongly multicultural cities like Canberra will act as a "beacon" to others.
The prime minister has guaranteed Australia's refugee intake will not go backwards, hours after his own cabinet minister confirmed plans to slash the humanitarian program by almost a third from next year.
In a dramatic intervention following a Labor backbench revolt over reports Australia would only take 13,750 refugees annually from next year, Anthony Albanese told the ABC the intake would remain at 20,000.
August 24, 2001. The Palapa, a small Indonesian fishing boat, is stranded in the ocean.
The vessel is barely seaworthy. It’s crammed with 433 asylum seekers, mostly Hazara Afghans, fleeing persecution in their home country and travelling via Indonesia to seek refuge in Australia.
The wooden boat has weathered a bad storm and now floats 140 kilometres from the Australian territory of Christmas Island.
Its occupants are exhausted, dehydrated and fearing for their lives.
They could not have imagined the next eight days would reshape Australia’s politics and send shock waves around the world for decades.
After two days adrift, they were rescued when Norwegian freighter, the MV Tampa, diverted course to answer the boat’s distress call.
But where to head next became an increasingly difficult question.
How ‘stop the boats’ changed the world. By Anna Levy for 'Tampa: The Turning Point', ABC iview
Employers wanting to bring nurses, teachers and other skilled workers to Australia are facing waits of up to 12 months, under a far-reaching directive issued by the Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to reduce overseas arrivals.
The directive, issued in July, determines the order in which the department processes skilled and employer-sponsored visas, prioritising applications made by migrant workers already in Australia over offshore applicants.
The One Nation MP David Farley says the minor party’s net migration target is “not too different” to Labor’s, forcing his leader to issue an urgent clarification amid rising confusion over the policy.
It is the second time Pauline Hanson has had to issue a correction after the member for Farrer seemed to contradict One Nation’s restrictive approach to immigration.
Appearing on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday morning, Farley argued skilled workers and backpackers were critical to keeping Australia fed, and argued they should be considered as a separate category to migration “in its true form”.
As political pressure mounts for drastic migration cuts, business leaders warn this could result in critical worker shortages in areas ranging from aged care to construction, urging the public debate to shift away from numbers.
Business leaders urge focus on skills not numbers in migration debate. By Nassim Khadem, ABC News
Prolonged detention of children, insufficient staffing and hazardous damage to buildings are among the ombudsman’s concerns.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman, Iain Anderson, said conditions at Villawood represented a “failure to provide a level of services that meet minimum standards of safety, care and support”.
“The issues observed at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre require urgent remedial action to ensure the safety of people in detention, staff and to maintain the good order of the facility. If unaddressed, there is a risk of further deterioration in conditions and increased harm to people in detention and staff, potentially including serious injury and loss of life.”
Iran and Pakistan have returned 5.2 million Afghan asylum seekers over the past year. Now, as Afghanistan marks five years under Taliban rule, Australia says Pakistan's deportation push is impeding its ability to process refugee applications. Deportation is also being considered by UN refugee signatory countries like Germany. Meanwhile, critics have labelled conditions in Afghanistan as one of the world's gravest human rights crises. Rights groups say the regime's increasingly draconian policies targets women, journalists, and activists.
Labor has always had a divided soul over immigration. Now it faces a predicament as it looks to hold on to suburban and regional seats.
Australia’s post-COVID migration surge is receding, but it exposed deep weaknesses in the temporary visa system. Restoring public confidence requires better regulation, clearer pathways and less fixation on a single net migration number.
The fall of Kabul and everything she carries five years later.
Two days after Salma’s engagement party in Kabul, the Taliban swept back to power in Afghanistan. “I woke up and I imagined so many things, but not that the Taliban would be outside,” she said. Salma was 22 at the time and halfway through completing her master’s degree.
Now, 27 and living in Australia, she’s watching her home country fade from global attention as it mark five years under Taliban rule.
“Afghanistan isn’t being talked about anymore, Afghanistan has been forgotten.”
Andrew Bragg has agreed that lower-income Australians should accept poorly built housing in a bid to boost the number of dwellings built nationally, amid growing internal fallout continues over his proposal to cap net migration to modern historic lows.
The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, and several of Bragg’s colleagues publicly cautioned the NSW Liberal moderate for going off script in his speech on Wednesday as the Nationals warned against any changes to working holiday visas.
Ms Ley said her visit to the US only strengthened her view of the success of multiculturalism in Australia.
"I am a huge supporter of the Australian multicultural project for the simple reason that we have been able to achieve multicultural Australia not by erasing people's differences but by giving them space to belong," Ms Ley told 7.30.
"I think this is something we should all be incredibly proud of.
"I'm not a political commentator for the US, but I didn't see communities melting together like I see here.
"In fact, I saw different communities from different backgrounds sitting very uncomfortably alongside each other."
International student Abdullah Ashraf, who assisted people during the Bondi Beach terror attack, is appealing to stay in the country.
Mr Ashraf says his student visa lapsed while on compassionate leave from his studies.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs declined to comment on Mr Ashraf's case.
Fiji’s traditional leader, the Tui Lau, Ratu Tevita Lutunauga Kapaiwai Uluilakeba Mara, has called for visa-free travel for Fijians to Australia and for Fijian students to gain access to domestic university fees before 2029, as Fiji and Australia deepen their relationship under the expanded Vuvale Union.
He pointed to the existing arrangement under which Australians can travel to Fiji without obtaining a visa in advance, while Fijian travellers to Australia remain subject to Australia’s visa requirements.
Australia needs a migration policy based on workforce reality, not populist fear, racial resentment or a political race to match One Nation’s impossible promises.
More immigration is a must, not an option. By Jack Waterford, Pearls and Irritations
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s stalled plan to reveal Australia's new migration settings has raised questions around how to get the country's balance right. The government has faced intense scrutiny from both One Nation and the Coalition as it works to contain the country's net overseas migration.
Experts are divided on the government's plan to increase its control over net migration figures, warning the devil is in the detail.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke postponed a planned press club appearance, with some details yet to be finalised.
Cabinet colleague Chris Bowen said the family reunion program was "very important", particularly in his electorate in Western Sydney.
Former officials warn Labor's unfinished plans to reduce migration laced with risk. By Tom Crowley & Sara Tomevska, ABC News
Labor will introduce new rules to cut net overseas migration and push temporary residents to leave Australia, despite a major speech on the subject by the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, being delayed.
But government sources told Guardian Australia the policy changes would not push net overseas migration lower than the existing targets.
Labor plans migration cuts as Tony Burke pulls out of major speech. By Tony McIlroy, The Guardian
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