In the lead up to the 2025 Federal election, the Mayoral and Councilor Taskforce Supporting People Seeking Asylum engaged with over 100 election candidates across more than 50 Federal electorates, effectively raising awareness of our advocacy priorities and successfully securing candidate support.

The Taskforce also joined 40 prominent refugee, human rights and faith-based organisations across Australia, in an open letter, to urge major political parties to avoid negative public discourse about people seeking asylum. This was featured by ABC news.

Following the election, the Taskforce co-signed a joint letter with the Refugee Council of Australia to Prime Minister Albanese, reaffirming our commitment to building a fairer and more welcoming Australia. The Taskforce also wrote to newly elected MPs to congratulate them on their success.

The Taskforce conducted direct bipartisan political engagement through delegations to Canberra, holding seven meetings with MPs in 2023 and thirteen in 2024.

These delegations included discussions with successive Ministers for Home Affairs and Immigration, amplifying the unique and valued voices of local councils and communities. Between 2022 and 2024, we received positive feedback from over 40 political engagements, reinforcing the effectiveness of our advocacy.

Since 2022, the Taskforce’s collective advocacy—alongside peak bodies such as the Refugee Council of Australia and with support from over 80 grassroots advocacy groups, service providers, legal organisations, unions, educational institutions, and faith communities—has significantly strengthened our position. Through a focused and strategic campaign directed at the Federal Government, we successfully contributed to the Albanese Government’s delivery of their 2022 election commitments.

In 2023, the Albanese Government invested $160 million to the Department of Home Affairs to address visa processing delays and granted permanent visas to over 20,000 refugees on temporary protection visas (as of June 2025).

We also welcomed the Federal Government’s abolition of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the establishment of the Administrative Review Tribunal in its place in late 2024. 

In 2023, the Taskforce mobilised community support for a petition to the Minister for Immigration, gathering over 1,000 signatures in support of our campaign priorities.

To further encourage public participation, in 2025, we launched an ‘Email Your MP’ online tool, empowering individuals to directly engage with their representatives and amplify the campaign’s reach.

The Taskforce actively opposed the Federal Government’s Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024, submitting a formal response to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s inquiry to highlight concerns about the bill’s impact on local communities. Read the submission here.

Each year, the Taskforce actively participates in national and state rallies—including Palm Sunday, Justice for Refugees, and BigWalk4Refugees—demonstrating our continued solidarity with refugee communities and commitment to public advocacy.

The Taskforce’s active participation in rallies has helped raise awareness of the Back Your Neighbour campaign among refugee advocacy sector and communities, who in turn encourage their local councils to join the Taskforce and support its mission.

Since 2018, the Taskforce has successfully debated and passed motions at successive national and state conferences—including the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), and Local Government NSW—advocating for fairer policies that uphold the rights and dignity of people seeking protection.

Read the Taskforce’s motion passed at the National General Assembly 2025 here.

Since 2023, the Taskforce has raised awareness of the Back Your Neighbour campaign at the Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly.

In 2025, the Taskforce held an exhibition stand at the Assembly to encourage more than 1,300 mayors, councillors, and executives, across 300 councils to join the campaign. Through well-attended campaign events, we promoted key calls to action, resulting in 70 new ‘Friends of the Taskforce’ and several councils formally joining the initiative.

Since 2023, the Taskforce has expanded its membership to 45 Member Councils, extending its reach into South Australia and Western Australia, and welcoming the first New South Wales council to its Executive group.

With representation now spanning five states and over 6 million residents nationally, the Taskforce continues to grow as a powerful collective voice for fairer refugee policies. See our list of current member Councils here.

The Taskforce achieved its first major media coverage with a publication in The Age in 2024 and a feature on ABC Local Radio in 2023. The campaign has also gained public support from Labor and Greens MPs, who have promoted it through their party websites and social media platforms, further amplifying its reach and credibility.

Back Your Neighbour has a strong reach of over 2,500 followers on social media @backyourneighbour, with MP endorsements and numerous pledges of support for the campaign from community leaders and partners.