A Generous and Compassionate Response
We long for the day when those who come to our shores for safety are welcomed with the kindness and compassion that Jesus teaches.
In 2024, the global displacement crisis reached unprecedented levels, with over 120 million people forcibly displaced by war, violence, and persecution — the highest number in history. New and ongoing conflicts, including those in Gaza, Syria, Haiti, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine and Sudan, have driven forced displacement across the globe. The global number of refugees has tripled in the last decade to nearly 44 million; that is nearly 44 million people fleeing for their lives - risking everything - in search of safety.
Australia has been acting. We have offered a pathway to resettlement for thousands of people seeking asylum in Australia who faced an uncertain outcome, and in 2025, we are set to increase our humanitarian intake from 13,750 to 20,000. But there is so much more that our nation can do.
As other powerful nations around the world choose to look inward - slashing aid and closing borders, we believe that Australia can and should act with justice, generosity, and compassion towards those in need of refuge.
We are calling on the Government to adopt a more compassionate and generous approach to people seeking asylum by
1. Investing in a safer, and more peaceful world by committing to a timetabled increase to the Australian Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget. We specifically urge you to scale up humanitarian assistance to address the needs of people in Gaza and respond to the refugee crisis in that region. We join calls for Australia’s boost in ODA to include investing $350m towards meeting Australia’s fair share of humanitarian funding, to assist people affected by conflict around the world.
Humanitarian crises are increasing across the globe. In 2024, conflict and violence caused a sharp increase in displacement and suffering in contexts across the world. Yet halfway through that year, global humanitarian funding was only 18% funded - less than what had been received at the same time the year earlier.
According to the Australian Council for International Development, the protracted nature of many of these crises requires later-scale and longer-term responses; Australia needs a development program that is fit for the future - one that can provide sustainable funding to meet the needs of those affected by protracted crises, while also being reactive to urgent-onset crises, and targeted towards the root causes of humanitarian crises.
2. Increasing the minimum annual humanitarian intake to at least 27,000, with an additional 10,000 places for complementary pathways (including the Community Sponsorship Program). Australia’s humanitarian intake has failed to keep pace with the global number of people seeking safety and refuge. In a world facing unprecedented levels of conflict and instability, an increase to 27,000 is modest.
3. Implementing the recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in their recent rulings on Australia’s breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). These include:
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- Providing the victims with an effective remedy in the form of adequate compensation for the violation of their human rights. Common Grace joins calls for Australia to provide permanent protection to the victims, including the unaccompanied children, who - years later - are still on bridging visas with no path to resettlement in sight.
- Taking steps to prevent similar violations from happening in the future. Common Grace joins calls for Australia to end arbitrary and indefinite offshore processing and work towards a regional resettlement program that aligns with international human rights standards.
Background to these rulings:
In January 2025, the UN Human Rights Committee concluded that Australia violated its human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by arbitrarily detaining asylum seekers, including minors, on Nauru. This decision stemmed from two cases involving refugees and asylum seekers who endured prolonged detention in Nauru's Regional Processing Centre.
The first case involved 24 unaccompanied minors from countries such as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. These minors were intercepted at sea by Australia between 2013 and 2014 while fleeing persecution. They were initially detained on Christmas Island, an Australian territory, for periods ranging from 2 to 12 months before being transferred to Nauru in 2014. Upon arrival, they were held in overcrowded conditions at the Regional Processing Centre, which lacked sufficient water supply, sanitation, and adequate healthcare. The Committee found that Australia had significant control over the facility, rendering it responsible for the minors' detention.
The second case concerned an Iranian asylum seeker who arrived on Christmas Island in August 2013 with her family. After seven months, she was transferred to Nauru and detained at the Regional Processing Centre. She was recognised as a refugee by Nauru authorities in April 2017 but was not released immediately. Thirteen months later, she was moved to a Support Accommodation Area in Nauru for healthcare services. The Committee observed that Australia had not demonstrated that her prolonged and indefinite detention was justified, leading to a finding of a violation of Article 9(1) of the ICCPR.
In both cases, the Committee emphasised that Australia could not evade its human rights responsibilities by outsourcing asylum processing to another state. Committee member Mahjoub El Haiba stated, "A state party cannot escape its human rights responsibility when outsourcing asylum processing to another state."
The Committee recommended that Australia provide compensation to the victims and take measures to prevent similar violations in the future. The Australian government has yet to comment on the findings.
4. Maintaining calls for an enduring and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, and sustain diplomatic pressure to ensure Palestinians are able to rebuild safe, free, and flourishing communities in their homeland.
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Sources
1. https://www.unhcr.org/au/about-unhcr/who-we-are/figures-glance
3. https://acfid.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ACFID-pre-budget-submission-2025-26-Final.pdf
4. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/01/australia-responsible-arbitrary-detention-asylum-seekers-offshore-facilities
5. https://www.refworld.org/jurisprudence/caselaw/hrc/2024/en/149345
6. https://www.refworld.org/jurisprudence/caselaw/hrc/2024/en/149344
7. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/01/australia-responsible-arbitrary-detention-asylum-seekers-offshore-facilities