Australia Hit a New Record: Albanese Government is Pushing to Keep on Top | Australia Immigration News
Record asylum seekers in Australia as of May 2024. Increased processing, but new highs in applications, refusals. $160M allocated. Challenges remain with backlogs and removals.
While the Government is working to manage the backlog of asylum seekers, the volume of applications continues to reach unprecedented levels.
As of the end of May 2024, the number of asylum seekers in Australia reached a new record of 114,006, with 40,877 individuals having been refused at both the primary level and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).
Last year, the government allocated an additional $160 million to address this issue, leading to an increase in the monthly number of asylum cases processed at both the primary level and the AAT.
At the primary level, asylum decisions have averaged around 2,000 per month over the past four months. However, the monthly asylum application rate has also increased to a similar level, resulting in a primary level backlog of between 32,000 and 33,000 for the past six months.
The composition of new asylum applications indicates a shift from individuals on visitor visas to those on student visas. In May 2024, the leading source countries for asylum applications were China (314), Vietnam (182), Colombia (152), India (148), and the Philippines (129).
There has also been a substantial increase in asylum applications from individuals holding Palestinian Authority travel documents. Additionally, Pacific Island nations remain a significant source of asylum applications, reflecting issues with the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility visas.
Asylum at the AAT
Faster processing at the primary level has led to an increase in asylum appeals to the AAT, with the monthly asylum application rate to the Tribunal rising to around 1,500 per month, up from less than 1,000 per month for most of 2022-23.
Additional funding allocated to the AAT has enabled it to increase the processing of asylum appeals. The number of asylum decisions made at the AAT rose from 890 in February 2024 to 2,446 in May 2024.
This development has allowed the AAT to reduce its backlog of asylum applications, which had grown from around 5,000 in 2015-16 to almost 42,000 in March 2024. By the end of May 2024, the backlog had fallen to under 41,000, marking a small but significant start in addressing the issue.
To effectively manage the situation, those asylum seekers who are refused at both the primary and AAT stages must either depart or be removed from the country.
Removal of Refused Asylum Seekers
After years of reduced resources for immigration compliance, the government allocated a modest increase in funding for this function, allowing for a slight increase in the removal of refused asylum seekers.
However, with over 40,000 asylum seekers living in Australia who have been refused at both the primary level and the AAT, the issue remains inadequately addressed.
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