Anthony Albanese has said Australia’s annual humanitarian refugee intake will remain at 20,000 places next year, reversing concern prompted by indications from Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s office that it could fall. The clarification matters because a lower intake could have prolonged resettlement and family-reunion waits for people displaced by conflict or persecution.

The 20,000-place level, introduced in 2023 for four years, had been expected to lapse and revert to 13,750 in 2027–28, a reduction of 6,250 places. Humanitarian organisations and the Greens criticised the prospect of a cut, while Labor delegates had recently backed retaining 20,000 places and aspiring to 27,000 annually; the government says the current level remains policy alongside border-security measures.