Two boats with rope hanging between them filled with men, women and children coming from Vietnam

Michael Jensen, Vietnamese boat people, Darwin, 1977, nla.obj-149648567

Group of men and women from East Timor sitting on couches around a coffee table crocheting

John Immig, East Timorese refugees crocheting], East Hills Army Base, New South Wales, 1999, nla.obj-148864474

People standing behind a tall fence topped with barbed wire, one of whom is holding up a cross

Tony Reddrop, Detainees raise a makeshift cross above a barbed-wire fence at the Woomera Detention Centre (detail), 2002, nla.obj-149764846

Refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia came to Australia after the Vietnam War ended in 1975, many by boat. Political unrest and conflict in South America and the Middle East also encouraged refugees to seek protection in Australia. The suppression of the ‘Tiananmen Square’ democracy protestors in 1989 saw many Chinese students apply for residency in Australia. The series of wars in the former state of Yugoslavia in the 1990s led to more refugees applying to come. Australia’s humanitarian program continues today, with refugees arriving from countries such as Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Afghanistan.  

In the 1970s and 1980s migration became the focus of fierce political debate in Australia. Both Labor and Coalition governments shifted the focus away from assisted migration to schemes specifically designed to attract skilled migrants to fill labour and skill shortages. In 1989, after an eight-year gap, boats carrying asylum seekers began to arrive again. The government responded by introducing mandatory deportation of illegal immigrants, followed in 1992 by mandatory detention of any asylum seekers arriving by boat.

The National Library of Australia acknowledges Australia’s First Nations Peoples – the First Australians – as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land and gives respect to the Elders – past and present – and through them to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Cultural Notification

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website contains a range of material which may be considered culturally sensitive including the records of people who have passed away.

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