Refugee An individual who has been forced to flee their home and has crossed an international border to seek safety in another country. The term ‘refugee’ is defined under international law as ‘someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.’ Statelessness An individual who does not have nationality of any country. This means they are not recognised as legally ‘belonging’ to any country. The international legal definition of a ‘stateless person’ is ‘a person who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law.’ Statelessness Determination Procedure A formal process for identifying a stateless person. Transitory person Per section 5 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and for the purposes of this Report, a transitory person is someone who arrived in Australia seeking asylum, was then taken to a regional processing centre and is then subsequently returned to Australia for a ‘temporary’ purpose (e.g., for medical treatment) who must be returned offshore and cannot apply for an Australian visa. Currently, there are many stateless people in Australia within the category of ‘transitory persons’ who have been in Australia for upwards of seven years, and are unlikely to be returned to a regional processing centre, but have no ability to apply for a permanent visa in Australia. As such, they live in a state of legal limbo. Abbreviations AAT Administrative Appeals Tribunal FOI Freedom of Information ADV Australian Declaratory Visas ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights APOD Alternative Place of Detention ICERD ART Administrative Review Tribunal International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination BVE Bridging Visa E NDIS National Disability Insurance Scheme CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women PV Protection visa RoS Visa Resolution of Status visa CPI Citizenship Processing Instructions SHEV Safe Haven Enterprise visa CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child TBB Talent Beyond Boundaries CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities TPV Temporary Protection visa DHA Department of Home Affairs UMA Unauthorised Maritime Arrival FCA Federal Court Australia UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees FCCA Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Understanding Statelessness in Australia | Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness 73