On 27 March 2024, the Australian government hastily introduced the Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (the Bill) to Parliament. The Bill raises significant human rights concerns, particularly regarding Australia’s obligations under the Refugee Convention and its protocols. The Bill primarily targets non-citizens, including holders of Bridging (Removal Pending) visas, Bridging (General) visas and potentially other non-citizens as specified in the Bill Regulations. Failure to comply with a removal direction could result in mandatory imprisonment between 1 and 5 years, significant fines or both, without consideration given to the risk of persecution or other serious potential harm associated with removal from Australia. The Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education strongly opposes the Bill and in the submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, recommends it does not proceed to become legislation.

Click here to download our submission to the Senate Committee.

The Edmund Rice Centre is proud to present the Settlement Cities Report, a major new report by the Edmund Rice Centre about the settlement experiences of refugees in Australia. The report takes a place-based approach to refugee settlement, focusing on the LGAs where refugees most frequently settle in Australia.

Fairer Futures: Financing Global Climate Solutions, is a new report led by Oxfam and ActionAid and supported by the Edmund Rice Centre. 

How Australia responds to climate change over the next decade will determine the fate of billions of people globally and the stability and prosperity of the Pacific region. In order to contribute its fair share towards global climate solutions, this report makes a number of recommendations, including the following:

The Edmund Rice Centre launched officially its new research report Refugee Employment Experience: Struggles, Strategies and Solutions on Tuesday 27 July 2021.

The report highlights the refugee perspective on working and looking for work by listening to what refugees themselves say about their job seeking efforts and their experiences in the Australian labour market. The report calls for several changes in how refugees are supported to find employment, including: moving away from the generalist Jobactive model to the provision of more tailored support, shifting the focus of employment support programs from providing training opportunities to creating opportunities to work, and addressing the systemic discrimination refugees face in the labour market.  

Our international partners the Kiribati Climate Action Network (KiriCAN), Edmund Rice International and Franciscans International, prepared a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Kiribati. 

The Human Rights Council session is taking place in Geneva from 20-31 January 2020. 

Click the following link to download the report on Settlement Experience of Syrian and Iraqi Refugees

Settlement Experience of Syrian and Iraqi Refugees: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward

After a pilot community evaluation project in 2017 in which the settlement needs and challenges of newly arrived Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Sydney were evaluated, the Edmund Rice Centre launched the “Syrian and Iraqi Refugee Settlement Experience Research” in 2018. The research investigates the settlement experience of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Sydney, specifically the gap between what is currently provided and what is needed to achieve positive well-being outcomes for refugee settling in Australia.

As a member of the Inter-Congregational Voice on Climate Change, we helped write a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade's Inquiry into the strategic effectiveness and outcomes of Australia’s aid program in the Indo-Pacific and its role in supporting Australia’s regional interests. 

Download the submission here. 

The Edmund Rice Centre has made a submission to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee Inquiry into the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

You can download a copy of the submission here.

ERC assisted our international partners Edmund Rice International and Franciscans International in the preparation of this NGO Alternative Report as part of the United Nations' Human Rights Committee's review of Australia. The Human Rights Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its State parties.

This submission addresses the following components of the proposed citizenship changes:

• The introduction of a formal language test;
• Increasing the general residence requirement;
• Changes to the Australian Values Statement; and
• Changes to the test for Australian citizenship.

The Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education (ERC) is of the view that the proposed changes are unnecessary and we have serious concerns about the Federal Government’s motivations for the changes. 

Download the submission.