Policy to practice : what Australian refugee resettlement policy means for queer refugees and asylum seekers

Abstract

This Master of Research thesis explores the bridge between policy and practice that impacts queer refugees and asylum seekers in Australia, intersections that are not well addressed in existing migration policy or research. It builds on a growing area of research around the needs of queer refugees and asylum seekers, who are marginalized within policy and settlement services globally. It adopts a methodological lens informed by queer theory, peace theory, and intersectionality to explore mechanisms of power and resistance, queerness and displacement in Australia. Data collection tools include discourse analysis, policy review and interviews with service providers working with queer refugees or asylum seekers to identify ways these discourses or power and resistance are materialized in practice. The thesis argues that the cis-heteronormative assumptions underpinning global migration systems create contexts of marginalization and axiomatic violence for queer refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. Exclusions and the punitive conditions imposed on queer refugees and asylum seekers create vulnerability to exploitation and criminalization. The thesis finds a need for: an intersectional approach to resettlement in refugee and asylum seeker policy; greater emphasis on training on inclusive practice and trauma-informed communication; re-negotiating power relationships between providers and clients; the inclusion of queer people with lived experience in policy-making; greater investment in peer-led community groups; and a departure from contracted service models. There is a need for service providers to participate in shaping more peaceful and improved outcomes for queer refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. The thesis findings align with existing research, primarily from North America, that identifies the exclusion of queer refugees and asylum seekers from support systems. The thesis contends that practicing healing and safety creation in everyday interpersonal interactions, and working for structural change, will complement each other to deliver improved outcomes for queer refugees and asylum seekers in Australia.

Date of Award	2023
Original language	English