Australia to Welcome Its One-Millionth Refugee Since WWII

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Key Points

Australia is preparing to welcome its one-millionth refugee since the conclusion of World War Two.
Underlying this milestone are significant human narratives of displacement, resilience, and renewal.
Hazara refugee Sidiqa Faqihi endured almost a decade in uncertainty before finally finding refuge in Australia.

Australia is poised to resettle its one-millionth refugee since the end of World War Two.

The Department of Home Affairs reports that Australia has effectively resettled over 985,000 refugees and humanitarian entrants since the nation’s first humanitarian intake in 1947.

With an anticipated allocation of 20,000 places in both the previous and current financial years, this milestone is expected to be achieved in the initial months of the 2025-26 financial year.

Rebecca Eckard is the Director of Policy at the Refugee Council of Australia.

“We expect the one-millionth arrival to occur sometime between September and November 2025,” she told SBS Chinese.

Amid ongoing political discourse about future intake levels, refugee advocates emphasize that the milestone is more than just a statistic — it embodies one million individual paths to safety.

Director of Policy at the Refugee Council of Australia, Rebecca Eckard. Credit: SBS

Decades of political support

Since the 1930s, Australia has welcomed refugees fleeing global conflicts — from Jewish refugees before and after World War Two, to Southeast Asians after the Vietnam War.

Following World War Two, Australia entered formal agreements with international bodies to accept displaced people from Europe.

In November 1947, over 800 men and women from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania arrived in Fremantle. They were the first of 170,000 displaced persons resettled in Australia after World War Two.

Later decades saw more structured resettlement, particularly in response to major global conflicts.

Over the past 40 years, Australia has continued to resettle people from war-affected regions, including the Middle East, Africa and Myanmar.

A group of Vietnamese boat people, refugees from the freighter ‘Song Be 12’, arriving in Darwin, Australia, December 1977. Credit: Phillip Green / Keystone / Getty Images

Today, refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Myanmar and countries in the Horn of Africa continue to arrive under the humanitarian program.

Additionally, around 3,000 to 4,000 Ukrainians who initially arrived on temporary humanitarian visas are transitioning to permanent protection, although they are counted separately from the resettlement total.

“We’ve welcomed people from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Myanmar — including Rohingya communities — and even stateless individuals,” Eckard said.

Australia plays a leading role in global refugee resettlement, often ranking second or third per capita in its humanitarian intake.

While the United States historically accepted the highest number of refugees, its program has recently been suspended under the Donald Trump administration, resulting in a loss of around 100,000 resettlement places each year.

This has left many refugees without viable options.

“We hope Australia can step up to offer durable solutions — not just resettlement, but also protections in the Asia-Pacific,” Eckard said.

There are still more than 7.5 million refugees in the region, many in need of basic services, let alone long-term resettlement.

From limbo to leadership

Among the hundreds of thousands who have found safety in Australia is Sidiqa Faqihi, a Hazara refugee from Afghanistan and now a Refugee Ambassador with the Refugee Council of Australia.

Faqihi fled Afghanistan in 2013 due to genocide, persecution and discrimination against the Hazara community.

Sidiqa Faqihi (third from right) with teachers from the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre (CRLC), a refugee established and managed school in Indonesia. Credit: Supplied by Sidiqa Faqihi

She sought asylum in Indonesia, where she remained for nearly a decade without the right to work, study or access healthcare.

“Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention,” she explained.

We spent nearly ten years in limbo, with no right to study or work. It felt like we were invisible

Sidiqa Faqihi

She was finally resettled in Australia in 2022.

“Here in Australia, I have the right to live, work and even serve as an ambassador for others like me. I’ve completed a Diploma of Community Services, and I sit on the board of Refugee Education Australia,” she said.

However, Faqihi believes Australia can do more.

“There are still more than 11,000 refugees stuck in Indonesia,” she said. “Australia can play a vital leadership role in increasing intake and creating more pathways for resettlement.”

She also wants to address common misconceptions that refugees are often misunderstood as having a plan to leave, the truth is they have no choice — fleeing is a desperate response to danger, not a carefully made decision.

“It’s just that when you have no option other than leaving your country, saving yourself, saving your family’s life, taking them out of danger,” she said.

A spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs said: “The department continues to provide services to ensure the well-being of migrants and refugees settling in Australia by responding to their specific needs while also encouraging their independence and participation in the Australian community.”

What the numbers tell us

Since 1977, more than 560,000 people have arrived in Australia through offshore refugee resettlement, while over 81,000 have been granted protection after seeking asylum onshore.

Before 1947, refugee arrivals were not formally tracked, though estimates suggest around 20,000 people arrived between 1901 and the end of World War Two.

“Australia’s Humanitarian program maintains our long-term commitment to a generous and flexible program while also taking account of the challenges associated with effectively responding to global humanitarian crises,” the Home Affairs spokesperson said.

While we may never know exactly who Australia’s first officially resettled refugee was, what is clear is the lasting impact refugees have had on the nation.

A Hazara community school in Indonesia. According to UNHCR, Indonesia hosted nearly 12,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from 52 different countries as of September 2024. Credit: Supplied by Sidiqa Faqihi

Today, millions of Australians trace their roots to those who arrived seeking safety, whether as parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents.

“Refugee Week (15–21 June) is an opportunity to reflect on Australia’s long history of resettling refugees and others in humanitarian need, and to acknowledge the many contributions they make to Australia,” the Home Affairs spokesperson said.