Immigration issues
Make sense of Australia’s migration policies, with news reports and interviews about visas, citizenship, passports and more from the SBS News team.
Episodes
October 4, 2025 • 4 mins
The Queensland city of Toowoomba has become home to thousands of Yazidi refugees. A local hockey program is aiming to develop confidence and language skills for this community, with the help of retired locals on the field.
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September 29, 2025 • 7 mins
It's been eight years since the United Nations first recognised International Translation Day. The celebration falls on 30 September and recognises the work of language professionals who foster cultural understanding, connection and social cohesion. But some translators and interpreters in Australia believe more needs to be done to protect the workforce and bridge language barriers.
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September 17, 2025 • 6 mins
Thousands are celebrating becoming new Australians, as local councils hosted ceremonies around the country for Australian Citizenship Day. SBS spoke to some of the new citizens.
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September 6, 2025 • 17 mins
Recently, local news headlines have been dominated by stories about anti-immigration rallies which were held across Australia on the last day of August. But it's not just in Australia where migration has created such deep feelings - it's also an issue that has been front and centre in the US as Donald Trump fulfils his election campaign promise to carry out mass deportations. There are now at least a million fewer immigrants in the...
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September 5, 2025 • 4 mins
Making a chicken curry on stage is not what you would usually expect when visiting the theatre. But for actor Joshua Jamil Hinton, it's the centrepiece of his show, due to open in Brisbane this month, telling his story of living between different cultures and grappling with his own identity.
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September 5, 2025 • 7 mins
Australia in anti-immigration marches.At the heart of what organisers called the 'March for Australia' rallies was a call to end "mass migration", which protesters claimed is to blame for issues like the housing crisis and rise in cost of living. Experts say a paradox exists in the anti-immigration ideas put forward at these rallies: the very people protesters want fewer of are the ones propping up the nation's economy, workforce, ...
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September 1, 2025 • 8 mins
A wave of nation-wide anti-immigration rallies have swept Australia's capital cities, with thousands joining marches and clashing with police and counter-protesters across the country. Organisers say the events were calling for an end to what they consider "mass migration" into Australia, while neo-Nazi groups infiltrated a number of the events to stir up chaos.
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August 31, 2025 • 6 mins
The Federal Government has struck a $400 million deal with Nauru that it says paves the way for deportation of the so-called NZYQ cohort. The announcement has been met with outrage from advocates, human rights lawyers, and the Greens. Critics say the deal threatens fundamental legal rights in ways that could be applied more broadly.
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August 15, 2025 • 4 mins
As international aid dwindles, refugees worldwide face worsening food insecurity. Among thousands displaced by ongoing conflict in Myanmar, experts warn a humanitarian crisis is looming. Those who’ve found refuge in Australia are working to keep culture alive.
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August 13, 2025 • 3 mins
The federal government has announced there'll be 22 grants made to social enterprises to help support marginalised communities. It's part of an $11 million investment aimed at tackling issues like long-term unemployment and discrimination.
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July 28, 2025 • 3 mins
A group of refugees who say they've been living in limbo in Australia for 13 years have taken their fight for permanent residency to federal parliament in Canberra.They're part of a group of more than 8,000 people who had their refugee protection claims rejected under a now-abolished visa system.
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A third of young workers in Australia are being paid less than $15 an hour - that's almost ten dollars below the minimum hourly wage. It's one of the key findings of a Melbourne University report showing 15 to 30 year olds are experiencing widespread breaches of labour laws. And those from non-English speaking backgrounds were shown to be the worst treated in the workplace.
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Ahmad and his family have spent the past three and a half years living in limbo after fleeing the Taliban for Pakistan. He has now waited more than 42 months to hear a response to his Refugee and Humanitarian visa application from the Australian government. As Pakistani authorities boost efforts to deport migrants like Ahmad's family back to Afghanistan, he is fearing persecution and even death at the hands of the Taliban.
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June 27, 2025 • 5 mins
It was a tense week for families with loved ones in the Middle East – especially for one Melbourne mother separated from her three sons in Iran. When phone and internet failed, she did not know if they had survived.
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June 21, 2025 • 6 mins
Since 2024, the federal government has launched several policies to restrict international student numbers, including raising the fees for student visa applications, and slowing down the processing time for visas. The new rules have significantly affected the independent education sectors, which provide English learning and vocational education to international students, leading to closures of some of these institutions.
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The Internationally renowned slam poet known as Huda the Goddess has officially claimed the UNHCR-SBS Les Murray Award for Refugee Recognition. The honours coincide with World Refugee Day, which celebrates refugees and their contribution to society.
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June 12, 2025 • 3 mins
This year, SBS marks 50 years of broadcasting, providing an important service to multicultural Australia through promoting inclusion and delivering in-language information. It's also the 50th anniversary of the biggest wave of Timorese migration to Australia. Fleeing conflict, the community has established its roots across the country while maintaining its language and traditions.
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As the world marks 50 years since the fall of Saigon and end of the Vietnam War, a group of adoptees who were taken out of the country prior to 1975 are racing against time to find the mothers they were separated from. An event spearheaded by Australian-Vietnamese adoptees saw a group of them embark on a bike ride to raise money for elderly Vietnamese residents and spread awareness of their ongoing search for family.
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March 29, 2025 • 7 mins
A new report has highlighted alarming mental health outcomes for individuals who have spent time in detention. Refugees and migrants already experience lower rates of mental health literacy - but one initiative is looking to raise awareness and provide easy English resources in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The initiative has emerged amid debate about controversial laws that would enable the government to depor...
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March 28, 2025 • 3 mins
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says more than 300 foreign student visas may have been revoked under the Trump Administration's immigration crackdown. But the tactics used by the State Department have come under fire after the street arrest of a 30-year-old PhD student it claims was a Hamas supporter. Protesters say there's no evidence of that, describing her arrest and visa cancellation as an attack on free speech.
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