Our Work

Our work to date has focused on advocating for New Zealand’s National Refugee Resettlement Strategy to extend its support to all categories of refugee in Aotearoa.

From 2012-2022, the Strategy was applied only to those arriving via the annual quota. As of August 2023, Immigration New Zealand confirmed that a refreshed Strategy would now also cover convention refugees, protected persons, former refugees arriving on Family Support and Community Organisation Refugee Sponsorship visas, as well as Afghan Interpreters and Evacuees Resident visa holders.

Members of the Alliance were involved in the External Steering Group that advised the Inter-Agency Working Group to develop the refreshed Strategy.

This work also involved concerted stakeholder engagement at the government level, and a national media campaign.

The Alliance is now establishing its priorities for the rest of 2023 and into the future, focused broadly around the following categories:

• Asylum seeker rights

• Family reunification

• Refugee youth

• Access to housing

• Access to healthcare (including mental health)

• Education and pathways to employment

• A standardised resettlement process.

The Alliance also regularly submits on relevant Parliamentary Bills, is represented on panels addressing stakeholders, is invited to speak at sector events, and provides commentary on topical current affairs.