Updated 20 July 2018
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Harriet Spinks
Social Policy Section
This guide provides statistics on the number of boats that
have been ‘turned back’ since the practice of removing unauthorised maritime
arrivals in Suspected Illegal Entry Vessels (SIEVs) from Australian waters was
introduced by the Howard Government (from 2001–2003) and reintroduced by the
Abbott Government (in December 2013). It updates boat ‘turnback’ data provided
in a previous publication from November 2017, to provide
information on boat turnbacks through to 30 June 2018.
In the months prior to the reintroduction of
the Abbott Government’s boat ‘turnback’ policy, unauthorised maritime arrivals
(who arrived on board boats between 19 July 2013 and December 2013) were
transferred to regional processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea (PNG).
As at 27 February 2017, 3127 people had been transferred since 19 July 2013
(source: Senate Estimates answers to questions on notice, 27 February 2017,
specifically AE17/170, AE17/171 and AE17/172). No further transfers to regional
processing countries have been made since this date. For more background on
this cohort see the Parliamentary Library publication, Australia’s offshore processing of asylum seekers in Nauru and PNG: a
quick guide to statistics and resources (2016); and
The
‘Pacific Solution’ revisited: a statistical guide to the asylum seeker
caseloads on Nauru and Manus Island (2012) for details on the asylum
cohorts processed offshore during the Howard Government.
It is important to note that, while every
effort has been made to ensure consistency, the statistics provided in this
guide have been compiled by Parliamentary Library staff over a period of many
years from a variety of sources.
For example, we are confident that the boat
‘turnback’ details included in this guide between December 2013 and July 2014
are accurate as the information was compiled from an official document tabled
after Senate Estimates hearings in October 2014.
However, later details and exact dates of
individual ‘turnbacks’ are incomplete. The Australian Government has released
the total number of ‘turnbacks’ on a few occasions, but dates of the individual
incidents are not usually included. Other information is supplied in monthly
Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) operational updates and media releases, but
exact dates are also not usually provided in these briefs. The dates included
in this guide have largely been provided in Senate Estimates hearings.
Statistics in this guide include:
Table 1: Boat ‘turnbacks’ 2001–2003
Table 2: Boat ‘turnbacks’ since 2013
Table 1: Boat ‘turnbacks’ 2001–2003
| Date |
Boats |
Crew |
Number of people |
| 19
October 2001 |
1 |
N/A |
238 |
| 29
October 2001 |
1 |
N/A |
215 |
| 13
December 2001 |
1 |
N/A |
14 |
| 20
December 2001 |
1 |
N/A |
133 |
| 8
November 2003 |
1 |
N/A |
14 |
| Total |
5 |
N/A |
614 |
Notes:
The practice of removing unauthorised maritime arrivals in
Suspected Illegal Entry Vessels (SIEVs) from Australian waters was introduced
by the Howard Government in 2001 and reintroduced by the Abbott Government in
2013. Detailed information on the date of every incident since 2001 is not
available, but statistics on the total number of boat ‘turnbacks’ over certain
periods has been made public on occasion. During the Howard Government five
boats were turned around. For more detail on boat ‘turnback’ policies since
2001 see J Phillips, A
comparison of Coalition and Labor Government asylum policies in Australia since
2001, Research paper series, 2016–17, Parliamentary Library, Canberra,
2 February 2017.
Sources:
M Hutton, ‘Boats carrying
asylum seekers returned to Indonesia under Operation Relex and Operation
Sovereign Borders’, sievx.com website, last updated
19 March 2014; Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre for International
Refugee Law, Turning
back boats, Fact sheet, University of New South Wales,
26 February 2015; and Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Committee, Answers to Questions on Notice, Defence Portfolio, Budget Estimates
2006–07,
Department of Defence answers, Question W19, pp. 34–5, June 2006.
Table 2: Boat
‘turnbacks’ since 2013
Note: exact dates are
provided where possible
| Approximate date of arrival |
Boats |
Total number of people on board
(includes crew) |
Date of return |
Type of return |
| December 2013–July 2014 |
|
|
|
|
| 19
December 2013 |
1 |
49 |
December 2013 |
Turnback |
| 24
December 2013 |
1 |
50 |
December 2013 |
Turnback |
| 28
December 2013 |
1 |
40 |
December 2013 |
Turnback |
| 6
January 2014 |
1 |
47 |
January 2014 |
Assisted
return |
| 8
January 2014 |
1 |
27 |
January 2014 |
Turnback |
| 15
January 2014 |
1 |
58 |
January 2014 |
Turnback |
| 5
February 2014 |
1 |
38 |
February 2014 |
Turnback |
| 24
February 2014 |
1 |
28 |
February 2014 |
Turnback |
| 4
May 2014 |
1 |
20 |
May 2014 |
Turnback |
| 4
May 2014 |
1 |
3 |
May 2014 |
Turnback |
| 20
May 2014 |
1 |
3 |
May 2014 |
Turnback |
| 6
July 2014 |
**1 |
41 |
July 2014 |
Takeback |
| August 2014—February 2015 |
|
|
|
|
| September
2014 |
1 |
10 |
September 2014 |
Assisted
return |
| 27
November 2014 |
**1 |
37 |
November 2014 |
Takeback |
| January
2015 |
1 |
3 |
January 2015 |
Assisted
return |
| 9
February 2015 |
**1 |
4 |
February 2015 |
Takeback |
| March 2015—March 2017 |
|
|
|
|
| 22
March 2015 |
1 |
17 |
March 2015 |
Turnback |
| 18
April 2015 |
***1 |
46 |
April 2015 |
Takeback |
| May
2015 |
1 |
71 |
May 2015 |
Assisted
return |
| July
2015 |
***1 |
46 |
July 2015 |
Takeback |
| August
2015 |
1 |
27 |
August 2015 |
Turnback |
| November
2015 |
1 |
3 |
November 2015 |
Assisted
return return |
| November
2015 |
1 |
17 |
November 2015 |
Turnback |
| February
2016 |
1 |
5 |
February 2016 |
Takeback |
| March
2016 |
**1 |
8 |
March 2016 |
Assisted
return |
| May
2016 |
**1 |
12 |
May 2016 |
Takeback |
| May
2016 |
1 |
3 |
May 2016 |
Assisted
return |
| June
2016 |
***1 |
21 |
June 2016 |
Takeback |
| 16
August 2016 |
**1 |
6 |
August 2016 |
Takeback |
| March
2017 |
**1 |
25 |
March 2017 |
Takeback |
| June
2017 |
1 |
6 |
June 2017 |
Takeback |
| December
2017 |
1 |
29 |
14 December 2017 |
Not
provided |
| June
2018 |
1 |
10 |
June 2018 |
Turnback |
| Total |
33 |
810 |
|
|
Notes:
Terminology:
-
boat ‘turnbacks’, ‘take-backs’, ‘turnarounds’
or ‘pushbacks’ are often used interchangeably. Operation
Sovereign Borders (OSB), established by the Abbott Government in 2013,
defines ‘turnbacks’ as ‘the safe removal of vessels from Australian waters,
with passengers and crew returned to their countries of departure’; and
‘take-backs’ as a transfer (often at sea) of passengers from one sovereign
authority to another ‘where Australia works with a country of departure in
order to see the safe return of passengers and crew’. Sources: Senate Legal
and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Official
committee Hansard, 25 May 2015, pp. 107–10; and Official
committee Hansard, 23 February 2015, p. 137.
- ‘assisted return’ refers to ‘a vessel that is in distress; it is a SOLAS, safety-of-life-at-sea
situation’. Source: Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Legislation Committee, Official
committee Hansard, 22 May 2017, p. 126.
**’Take-backs’ (transfers at
sea) to Sri Lankan authorities; and ***’take-backs’ of Vietnamese nationals to
Vietnamese authorities. Sources: Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Legislation Committee, Answers to Questions on Notice, Immigration Portfolio,
Additional Estimates 2014–15, Question AE15/175 and Question AE15/055, 23 February 2015; Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation
Committee, Official committee Hansard, 25 May 2015, op. cit.; and P
Dutton (Minister for Immigration and Border Protection), OSB marks milestone—year with no boats, media release, 6 August 2015.
The Abbott Government
announced its decision not to release details of ‘on-water’ matters conducted
by Operation Sovereign Borders in November 2013—see S Morrison (Minister for
Immigration and Border Protection), Operation
Sovereign Borders update, transcript
of press conference, 8 November 2013. Although detailed information on each
boat ‘turnback’ is not always available, there have been several ministerial or
departmental statements providing total number of ‘turnbacks’ or ‘take-backs’.
For example:
- ’12 ventures, with 383 people on board have been turned
back at sea’—S Morrison (Minister for Immigration and Border Protection), A
year of stronger borders, media release, 18 September 2014.
- ‘Up until today 15 ventures with 429 potential illegal
immigrants aboard have been intercepted and returned’—P Dutton, (Minister for
Immigration and Border Protection), Operation
Sovereign Borders delivers six months without a successful people smuggling
venture, media release, 28 January 2015.
- ’Since Operation Sovereign Borders commenced on 18 September 2013
through to now 18 people smuggling ventures have been safely and
successfully returned'— Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation
Committee, Official
committee Hansard, 25 May 2015, p. 107.
- ‘Since December 2013, OSB has safely returned 633 potential
illegal arrivals aboard 20 ventures to their countries of departure’—P
Dutton (Minister for Immigration and Border Protection), OSB
marks milestone—year with no boats, media release, 6 August 2015.
- ‘Since December 2013, 25 boats carrying 698 people have
tried to reach Australia’—P Dutton (Minister for Immigration and Border
Protection), Boats
stopped—threats constant, media release, 18 March 2016.
- ‘Since OSB began, 26 boats carrying 710 people have been
turned back and safely returned to their country of departure’—P Dutton
(Minister for Immigration and Border Protection), The border and beyond Australia's 21st century border security
system, speech at 13th National Security Annual
Summit, Canberra, 11 May 2016.
-
M Turnbull (Prime Minister), doorstop interview transcript,
Bungalow QLD, 23 June 2016—noted 734 passengers in 28 boats had been
turned back since 2013.
-
One further boat identified by P Dutton (Minister for
Immigration and Border Protection), People
smuggling boat returned to Sri Lanka, media release, 17 August 2016. On
17 October 2016, these figures were confirmed in Senate Estimates (a total of 740 people from 29
vessels had been returned to their country of departure since December 2013).
- ‘In the past 1000 days, Operation Sovereign
Borders has intercepted and returned 30 people smuggling boats and more
than 765 people’—P Dutton (Minister for Immigration and Border
Protection), 1000
days of strong and secure borders, media release, 23 April 2017.
Sources:
2013–June 2017: Senate Legal
and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Answers to Questions on
Notice, Immigration and Border Protection Portfolio, Supplementary Budget
Estimates 2017–18, Question SE17/204.
December 2013—July 2014:
Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Immigration
Portfolio, Supplementary Budget Estimates 2014–15, 20 October 2014, Suspected illegal entry ventures removed from
Australian waters, Tabled
document 6.
July 2014—February 2015:
Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Official
committee Hansard, 25 May 2015, op. cit.; Official committee Hansard,
23 February 2015, op. cit.; Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation
Committee, Answers to Questions on Notice, Immigration Portfolio, Additional
Estimates 2014–15, Question AE15/175 and Question AE15/055, 23 February 2015; ministerial/departmental press releases; and media
reports.
March 2015—June 2018: M
Turnbull (Prime Minister), doorstop interview transcript,
Bungalow QLD, 23 June 2016 (confirmed that 21 people had been taken back to
Vietnam in June 2016); P Dutton (Minister for Immigration and Border
Protection), press conference transcript,
Brisbane, 9 May 2016 (confirmed 12 people who had arrived near the Cocos
Islands had been taken back to Sri Lanka on 6 May 2016); P Dutton (Minister for
Immigration and Border Protection), People smuggling boat returned to Sri Lanka, media release, 17 August 2016; and media reports.
October 2016 update provided in Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Legislation Committee, Official committee Hansard, Immigration and
Border Protection portfolio, Supplementary Budget Estimates 2016–17, 17 October 2016,
p. 45 (it was confirmed that the total of 29 boats included the interception
of 4 vessels with 42 persons on board since the previous Senate Estimates
hearings in May 2016). In an OSB March 2017 operational update it was confirmed that one vessel with 25 people on board had been
intercepted and the passengers returned to Sri Lankan authorities. In Senate
Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Answers to Questions on
Notice, Home Affairs Portfolio, Additional Budget Estimates 2017–18 Question AE18/105,
the Department of Home Affairs advised that since October 2017 (when
information on turnbacks was last provided to the Committee) one vessel
carrying 29 people had been intercepted, and returned to Sri Lanka on 14
December 2017. The OSB June 2018 operational update stated that ‘the Australian Government turned back one attempted
illegal maritime venture to their country of origin’. The number of people on
board the vessel was not stated in the OSB update, but media reports in July
refer to the boat as having had 10 people (seven passengers and three crew) on
board (see R Viellaris, ‘Asylum voyage cut off’, Sunday Herald Sun, 15 July 2018).
Minister Dutton confirmed in a press conference on 16 July 2018 that ‘We've turned back 33 boats containing over 800
people over the course of Operation Sovereign Borders’.
All links accessed on 17 July 2018.
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