Immigration issues

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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 som...

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.

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.

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 ongoin...

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 w...

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 a...

Many people waiting for permanent residency on a certain subclass of visa say delays in granting Permanent Residency by the Department of Home Affairs have left them in limbo, and their lives on hold. They don't feel like their contributions to Australia - and particularly the contributions they made through the COVID pandemic - are being adequately repaid.

The federal government has announced that the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot - known as CRISP - will become permanent. The initiative, launched in mid 2022, has helped over 500 refugees to be settled by community groups across Australia.

New Zealand has announced that wealthy investors need only spend 21 days in the country over three years to gain permanent residency under new conditions for so-called "golden ticket" visas. A similar visa scheme in Australia was scrapped by the government last year, but the Federal Opposition has signalled it could be reinstated if elected.

There has been an uptick in migration from Mongolia to Australia, As a result, New South Wales Public Schools have experienced a 40 per cent growth in students from Mongolian backgrounds for two years running - encouraging one school to become a hub for the community. And this story has been produced in collaboration with SBS Mongolian.

Ten extraordinary audio recordings illustrating Australia’s cultural and political landscape have been added to the National Film & Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia collection. The 2024 additions include the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian to use recorded sound to document Aboriginal culture, hip hop, speeches, a theme tune, the launch of what is now SBS Audio, an advertis...

Settling into a new country is a daunting prospect. But a study over 10-years has found there are a variety of positive outcomes that refugees can experience in their first decade of living in Australia. Still, many face challenges with renewed calls for better policies to assist those who are struggling.

Labor's package of migration legislation will pass the Senate, with the Coalition agreeing to pass the three bills. The changes to the Migration Act would give the immigration minister powers to impose blanket visa bans on countries, pay third countries to deport non-citizens, and ban items like phones from detention centres.

Australia is increasingly eager to welcome temporary migrant workers from the Pacific into farm and food processing jobs. But a NSW parliamentary inquiry into modern slavery is set to examine the significant risks these workers can face.

Asylum seekers are still calling on Labor to fulfil its election pledge and end their visa uncertainty, after thousands of refugee claims were rejected under a Coalition-era assessment scheme. They're part of a silent protest at the Home Affairs Minister's office which has now gone on for more than 70 days.

International student commencements will be capped next year as the government tries to limit overseas migration. Education Minister Jason Clare says the caps will make the international education sector fairer, but many universities have opposed the plan.

New research has found men from migrant backgrounds experience poorer health outcomes, the longer they live in Australia. It's among a range of findings by the Movember Institute of Men's Health, showing barriers to accessing care are among the biggest challenges they face.

Refugees and asylum seekers in high-income countries struggle to find stable, affordable housing, which can negatively affect their health. A Flinders University study has identified barriers like language, lack of rental references, and discrimination are affecting migrants seeking homes in their new home.

Is Australia's great multicultural experiment over? That's what two experts on immigration and international relations have asked in an address to the National Press Club in Canberra. They're calling for a new understanding of net migration and the role of international students if the project is to be saved.

The government is under increasing pressure over immigration after the visa of a New Zealand national guilty of rape was reinstated by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The Coalition is calling on the federal government to scrap a ministerial direction that requires courts to consider an individual's ties to Australia when reviewing visa cancellations.