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.