Human-rights groups launch 10-day online petition on 21 June urging permanent visas for ‘transitory’ refugees

A coalition led by the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and GetUp opened an online petition at midnight on 21 June 2026 calling on the Albanese Government to grant permanent residency to roughly 700 people who remain on temporary or bridging visas after years in offshore detention. Tagged #LetThemStayForGood, the campaign argues that refugees transferred from Nauru and Papua New Guinea—many of whom have established families, employment and community ties in Australia—should not be forced to renew short-term visas indefinitely.



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Organisers say the cohort lives in “legal limbo” because current migration law classifies them as ‘transitory persons’ ineligible for mainstream permanent pathways. The petition will run until 30 June and forms part of Refugee Week activities. HRLC lawyers are simultaneously preparing a test case that challenges the constitutionality of ministerial directions limiting permanent visa access for this group. Should the petition exceed 100,000 signatures, advocates intend to seek a meeting with the Minister for Immigration to present the list in person. Employers who have skilled refugees on their payrolls warn that visa insecurity hampers long-term workforce planning, citing difficulties in approving training budgets or regional assignments when staff face renewals every 12 months. The Business Council of Australia has previously supported a pathway to permanency on economic grounds, noting that churn costs run to tens of millions of dollars a year. Policy watchers say the campaign could influence the government’s forthcoming Migration Amendment Bill, expected to be tabled in August, which may include provisions to regularise long-term TPV and SHEV holders.