Around a dozen refugee households due to arrive in Australia in the coming weeks under an innovative community sponsorship program are among the large number of people anxiously waiting in the Middle East for a flight to Australia, with conflict between Israel and Iran shutting down most air travel out of the region.
This comes as Australia – along with other countries around the globe – marks World Refugee Day this week (20 June).
These refugee households were due to be welcomed by local community groups across Australia as part of the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP), under which informal groups of everyday Australians are matched up with a refugee household to assist them on arrival and during their first 12 months in the country.
Lisa Button, the CEO of Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia, said there are a number of anxious Australian community groups who have been preparing for the imminent arrival of refugee households of various nationalities currently residing in the region. “We know this conflict is exacting a terrible toll on people in the region and that the Australian government is doing all that it can to support Australians and permanent residents on the ground” she said.
“In addition to those with family in the Middle East, there are also many Australians who have no family links in the region but who are deeply invested in seeing people brought to safety because of their involvement in the CRISP.
“As we mark World Refugee Day this week, we applaud the work of Australians who are laying out the welcome mat and preparing to do all they can to welcome and support the settlement of refugee newcomers.
“In the face of feeling helpless at a time of global uncertainty, conflict and unrest, everyday Australians have told us this program helps them feel empowered. They can do something direct and meaningful and help people in need,” she said.
Designed and launched in partnership with the Federal Government in mid- 2022, CRISP has helped more than 650 refugees from all around the world settle in Australia so far, under a model which has seen more than 1000 Australians form some 140 groups to support a refugee family for a year.
The community sponsorship program is delivered by Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA), with funding from the Federal Government. People first must be officially accepted as refugees by the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, qualifying them for resettlement under Australia’s humanitarian program.
The Federal Government announced in February this year, that CRISP would become a permanent feature of Australia’s overall humanitarian program.
The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, estimates as of the end of 2024, more than 123 million people had been forced to flee their homes globally, due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously distributing public order. That’s more than one in every 67 people on earth. Among them were nearly 42.7 million refugees.
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Notes:
To gain an understanding of the program and its impact, on both the refugees and Australians who support them, watch this 3 minute video featuring the story of Afghan born Seyed Mohammad Agha Jamshidi, 53, and his wife Shahzadeh Hosseini, 50, and their four children, who were all born in Iran. Feel free to use this video in your media coverage as well as this shorter 1 minute version.
After being accepted by UNHCR, the Jamshidi family was able to move from Iran to Australia. As the daughter, Fatemeh says “basically we just ran to a safe place to have a better life.”
Their wishes were simple – to be able to earn a decent living with a decent job and for their children to have access to good education.
The Jamshidi family was matched up with a community supporter group in Melbourne called the Happy Home Group. Group members included a financial planner, retired commercial lawyer, business owner, doctor, policy adviser and business consultants.
The match was a success.
CRSA’s programs support refugees from all around the world. However, for background to this video, it’s worth noting that Afghans make up one of the largest refugee populations worldwide. There are 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees in the world, of whom 2.2 million are registered in Iran and Pakistan alone.
As of mid-2024, Iran was the largest refugee-hosting country in the world. As of April 2025, UNHCR estimated that Iran hosted about 3.49 million refugees and individuals in refugee-like situations, potentially in need of international protection
As active fighting has largely ceased in Afghanistan, countries hosting large numbers of asylum-seekers have been enacting policies to remove millions of Afghans. According to the UN, more than 3.4 million Afghans have returned or been deported from Iran and Pakistan since 2023, including over 1.5 million in 2024 alone. In Afghanistan, UNHCR says returnees have arrived to a country gripped with pervasive poverty, soaring unemployment, severely inadequate public services and widespread food insecurity.
For further enquiries contact media@refugeesponsorship.org.au