Australia to welcome 16,500 new Afghan refugees

Andrew TillettForeign affairs, defence correspondent

Mar 29, 2022 – 7.49pm

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Australia will welcome an additional 16,500 Afghans fleeing the wartorn country, over and above the annual refugee intake.

The increase, announced in the budget, will cost $665.9 million over four years and represents a significant boost to Australian efforts to resettle Afghans after the Taliban retook control of the country. It brings to 31,500 the total number who will come here over the next four years.

The Australian Defence Force evacuated people from Afghanistan.

The new spots for the 4000 Afghans annually are on top of the 13,750 places available under Australia’s humanitarian cap. The government said it would not increase that cap, although the government has recently changed criteria to allow Ukrainians to apply for a temporary humanitarian visa following Russia’s invasion.

At the same time the government is welcoming Afghan refugees who apply to come to Australia, it will spend another $136.7 million in 2022-23 on Operation Sovereign Borders to prevent boat people from making the risky voyage. This includes refurbishing and replacing Customs vessels, and maintaining maritime patrols.

With a growing number of convicted terrorists nearing the end of their sentence, the government is boosting funding by $148.4 million over four years to manage them in the community and keep the public safe.

This is made up of $66.9 million for assessing ongoing risks and implementing post supervision orders following completion of sentences, and $19.8 million to set up a national register of convicted terrorists to monitor them.

The government will also spend $61.7 million on countering violent extremism programs to deradicalise people, particularly young people attracted to religiously motivated or politically motivated violence.

The Federal Police, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and Department of Home Affairs will enjoy a $287.2 million increase over four years to tackle transnational and organised crime.

The AFP will establish dedicated strike teams to target the importation and manufacture of illicit drugs, firearms and money laundering by outlaw motorcycle gangs and organised crime.

This includes boosting the AFP’s ability to investigate criminal kingpins, boosting the police’s criminal assets confiscation powers and deploying extra Australian Border Force officers at airports, seaports and warehouses.

Andrew Tillett writes on politics, foreign affairs, defence and security from the Canberra press gallery. Connect with Andrew on Facebook and Twitter. Email Andrew at andrew.tillett@afr.com