SCOA welcomes the Australian Government’s evacuation of over 4,000 individuals from Afghanistan in August 2021. The rapid implementation of the 449 visa and related processes is commendable, and through implementing this process quicky, many lives were saved. We further welcome the Government’s decision to ensure all evacuees, irrespective of visa status or whether they were a citizen, were eligible for support through the Humanitarian Settlement Program. While below we provide several recommendations for how support to Afghan evacuees can be improved moving forward, and for planning for future intakes, we should not lose sight of the humanitarian impact of this evacuation process.
