More comprehensive reporting has been undertaken in recent years, with the most recent UNHCR Global Trends Report identifying 7,503 stateless people in Australia in mid-2025.55 This follows the recording of 6922 stateless people in Australia in 2024, 8,073 in 2023 and 8,313 in 2022.56 UNHCR cautions however that given Australia lacks a process for identifying stateless people (i.e. an SDP) these figures do not capture all stateless people in Australia and cannot be considered a true estimate.57 Figure 3: Total number of stateless people including forcibly displaced stateless people in Australia recorded by UNHCR by financial year 2009–2025 Legal and policy experts interviewed for this study frequently raised concerns about the inadequacy and unreliability of publicly available government statistics concerning stateless people in Australia, as highlighted in Chapter 4 of this Report.58 Overall, the inconsistency in data on statelessness in Australia suggests that the correct identification of stateless people is problematic and by association, the recording of information about the numbers and profile of stateless people in Australia. This is exacerbated in the absence of a uniform procedure for identifying stateless people (such as an SDP). It is unclear if those recorded as stateless in the UNHCR statistics or Australian government figures have self-identified as stateless, or been ascribed that label by a government authority. For example, DHA has confirmed that in some instances, people in immigration detention who have self-identified as ‘stateless’ have subsequently been found not to be stateless by the Department.59 This suggests multiple definitions of statelessness may be informing known statistics and underscores the urgent need for Australia to implement a consistent and uniform system for correctly identifying statelessness. Understanding Statelessness in Australia | Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness 23