Amongst the disillusioning talk of amending the Migration Act to reduce protections for asylum seekers, a new law was quietly passed in the senate this week to actually strengthen protections for people who arrive in Australia needing safety - and it’s one that we should celebrate.

The Complementary Protection laws improve protection for people at risk of torture or possible death, but who do not technically qualify as refugees.

What happened before the Complementary Protection laws?

Previously, people who faced violations that sat outside the Refugee Convention - such as female genital mutilation, honour killings, extrajudicial executions and the death penalty - have been forced to apply for refugee protection, despite being ineligible.

Their only chance for protection was to ask the Minister for Immigration to use his discretionary powers to grant them protection.

The result was an inappropriate, ad hoc approach to assessing protection needs, often leading to traumatised people unnecessarily being in detention for long periods.

What do the Complementary Protection laws do?

The Complementary Protection laws plug the gaps in Australia’s protection legislation, and provide a separate process for claims of this type.

Amnesty International has long called on the Australian Government to introduce a system of Complementary Protection to supplement the protection provided under the Refugee Convention, and to bring us into line with the practise of most other comparable countries.

Further reading