What comes to mind when you hear the word “refugee”? This Grand Round invites us to pause, reflect, and move beyond simplified narratives to understand the diversity, courage and resilience of refugee-background children and families who are part of our hospital community every day – as patients, caregivers, staff, and colleagues.
Although Australia receives a disproportionately small share of the world’s refugees, the ‘problem’ of unauthorized boat arrivals has been a highly controversial and political one in recent decades. In this Grand Round for Refugee week, Professor Michelle Foster, from the Melbourne Law School, will discuss the key problems with Australia’s current system of refugee protection, focusing in particular on mandatory indefinite detention.
This extraordinary grand round, during refugee week, will provide clinical, policy and legal perspectives on people seeking asylum. The Rt. Hon. Malcolm Fraser will provide his perspective on asylum seekers, Hon. Alistair Nicholson will examine rights and the rule of law, and Hon. Frank Vincent will detail the changes in legislation related to refugee policy over recent years.
