WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Scott Morrison reduced Australia’s refugee intake by 5000.
THE AAP FACTCHECK VERDICT
Mostly True. In 2020, Australia’s refugee and humanitarian visa allocation was cut from 18,750 to 13,750. The actual intake fell by more than 5000.
Greens leader Adam Bandt has questioned the government’s commitment to helping displaced Ukrainians with a claim the prime minister is responsible for cutting Australia’s refugee intake by 5000 people per year.
The claim is broadly correct. In 2020, the Scott Morrison-led government reduced the maximum number of visas available under Australia’s refugee and humanitarian program from 18,750 down to 13,750, a cut of 5000.
However, the actual number of these visas granted has fallen further since 2018/19, the year in which Mr Morrison became prime minister, with the decrease largely blamed on the impacts of COVID-19.
Mr Bandt made the claim that said: “All refugees deserve protection. Morrison reduced our intake by 5000 … If he cared about Ukraine, he’d fix the broken immigration system that he’s so proud of.”
that citizens from Ukraine who had applied for an Australian visa would be “at the top of the pile” for a decision following Russia’s invasion.
Mr Bandt’s office confirmed in an email that his tweet referred to a cut in the number of visas granted through the Australian government’s , which provides resettlement to those displaced due to conflict and persecution.
The program has (page 5): , usually for people who have fled persecution in their home country, and visas, for people outside their home country who have faced substantial discrimination and have family or community connections in Australia.
Within the refugee and humanitarian visa system, SHP applicants are not officially recognised as refugees, however as being designed for “quasi-refugees” with ties to Australia.
To assess the accuracy of Mr Bandt’s claim, AAP FactCheck investigated the number of visas made available through the combined refugee and humanitarian program, the actual number of refugee and humanitarian visas granted and the number of visas granted only to recognised refugees.
In 2013/14, , the government cut the number of available refugee and humanitarian visas (page 96) in line with an election commitment .
However, this figure was (page 16) and again (page 59). The increased visa allocation was and , then serving as immigration minister.
to the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees in New York, then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull pledged the 18,750 allocation would be maintained “from 2018/19 onwards”.
Australia’s refugee and humanitarian visa allocation initially (page 66) after Scott Morrison . However, the allocation was cut back to 13,750 (page 108), a reduction of 5000 places compared to the previous two years.
The government cited (page 3) as a reason for the cut. also stated that the reduced visa allocation would now be a “ceiling rather than a target” (page 11). The cap of 13,750 places would remain in place until at least 2024/25, according to the papers.
Therefore, it is correct to say that Mr Morrison cut Australia’s annual refugee and humanitarian visa allocation by 5000.
Nevertheless, Australia’s actual refugee and humanitarian intake does not necessarily match the allocated target or cap.
Refugee and humanitarian visas, Australia
Source: AAP Factcheck
Conversely, when COVID struck in 2020, the government (page 1), leading to a big fall in the number of these visa holders coming to Australian shores.
While the government initially allocated 18,750 refugee and humanitarian visas for 2019/20, only a small number of "emergency" cases were offered visas in the final quarter of the year (page 12), leading to only (page 82).
In 2020/21, the government granted only (page 101) that were made available at the beginning of the year.
When looking at refugee visas only, (page 11) shows the number of visas granted fell from 9451 in 2018/19 - the year Mr Morrison became prime minister - to 2053 in 2020/21, a drop of 7398 over two years.
THE AAP FACTCHECK VERDICT
In 2020, the Morrison government cut Australia's annual allocation of refugee and humanitarian visas from 18,750 to 13,750. Adam Bandt is therefore broadly right in claiming the prime minister cut Australia's refugee intake by 5000.
However, the number of refugee and humanitarian visas allocated does not necessarily match the number of visas actually granted. Based on the numbers of refugee and humanitarian visas issued, and refugee visas issued alone, Mr Bandt's claim is an underestimate of the true figures, both of which have fallen more than 5000 since Mr Morrison became prime minister.
The government has blamed COVID-19 for Australia's refugee visa allocation not being filled.
Mostly True – The claim is largely accurate but includes minor errors or problems.
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