Skip to main content

Home

Main navigation

  • Explore the collection
    • Search the collection: RecordSearch
      • What's in the collection
      • Defence and war service records
      • First Australians
      • Immigration and citizenship
      • Cabinet
      • Intelligence and security
      • Prime ministers
      • Search for people
      • Visit our other websites
      • #ArchivesAtHome
      • Stories from the archives
  • Help with your research
      • Getting started
      • What's in the collection
      • Using the collection
      • International movement records
      • Research centres
      • Research guides
      • Research grants and scholarships
      • Research agents
      • Ask us about the collection
  • Students and teachers
      • School visits
      • Learning resources
      • Competitions and special programs
  • Information management
      • Getting started
      • Building trust in the public record
      • Public release schedule
      • Ask for advice
      • Information governance
      • Build data interoperability
      • Check-up survey
      • Legislation
      • Manage information assets
      • GAIN Australia
      • Standards
      • Metadata
      • Records authorities
      • Learning and skills
      • Information Awareness Month 2023
  • Visit us
      • Events and exhibitions
      • Research centres
      • Our locations
      • Cafe Constitution
      • Venue hire
      • Contact us
  • About us
      • What we do
      • Support us
      • Employment
      • Who we are
      • Partnerships
      • Volunteer
      • Our services
      • Members
      • Media and publications
      • Contact us
  • Toggle search
  • Toggle menu

Offscreen Menu

Menu

MAIN MENU

  • Explore the collection
    • What's in the collection
    • Defence and war service records
    • First Australians
    • Immigration and citizenship
    • Cabinet
    • Intelligence and security
    • Prime ministers
    • Search for people
    • Visit our other websites
    • #ArchivesAtHome
    • Stories from the archives
  • Help with your research
    • Getting started
    • What's in the collection
    • Using the collection
    • International movement records
    • Research centres
    • Research guides
    • Research grants and scholarships
    • Research agents
    • Ask us about the collection
  • Students and teachers
    • School visits
    • Learning resources
    • Competitions and special programs
  • Information management
    • Getting started
    • Building trust in the public record
    • Public release schedule
    • Ask for advice
    • Information governance
    • Build data interoperability
    • Check-up survey
    • Legislation
    • Manage information assets
    • GAIN Australia
    • Standards
    • Metadata
    • Records authorities
    • Learning and skills
    • Information Awareness Month 2023
  • Visit us
    • Events and exhibitions
    • Research centres
    • Our locations
    • Cafe Constitution
    • Venue hire
    • Contact us
  • About us
    • What we do
    • Support us
    • Employment
    • Who we are
    • Partnerships
    • Volunteer
    • Our services
    • Members
    • Media and publications
    • Contact us

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that the National Archives' website and collection contain the names, images and voices of people who have died.

Some records include terms and views that are not appropriate today. They reflect the period in which they were created and are not the views of the National Archives.

A room with desk and chairs and cataloged books shelved on bookcases around the room.

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Learning resource themes
  3. Society and culture
  4. Migration and multiculturalism
  5. International Refugee Organisation–Australian Government agreement

International Refugee Organisation–Australian Government agreement

Document page 1
Document page 2.
Document page 3.

Details

Learning resource record

Creator:

Department of External Affairs

Date:

1947

Citation:

A13307, 46/2

Keywords:

  • postwar
  • migration
  • refugees
  • displaced persons

About this record

This is an agreement about the migration, to Australia, of thousands of people in Europe who had become displaced because of World War II. It was signed on 21 July 1947 in Geneva by the Australian Government and the Preparatory Commission of the International Refugee Organisation. The three-page agreement outlines details of the numbers of immigrants, their legal status and their living conditions in Australia. The signatures of both parties can be found at the end of the agreement. There are also two sections where handwritten changes have been made to the typed agreement and initialled by both parties.

Educational value

  • When World War II ended in 1945, many thousands of people who had been displaced from their homelands were living in camps around Europe. Some of these people could be returned, or 'repatriated', to their home counties. Many, however, no longer had anywhere to go back to after losing their homes, possessions and often family members in the destruction of the war.
  • The International Refugee Organisation (IRO) was established in April 1946 as a specialised United Nations (UN) agency dedicated to assisting and protecting displaced people and refugees. 
    • 'Displaced persons' were those who had been deported from—or obliged to leave—their homelands. 
    • 'Refugees' included those who were unwilling or unable to return home; unaccompanied children; and those who faced or had faced discrimination or persecution at the hands of hostile regimes.
  • Australia, a country already looking to expand its population, played a large role in resettling and accommodating these people. By 1950 almost 200,000 people had arrived in Australia as a result of the agreements with the IRO and other agreements made directly with the United Kingdom and European countries. Between 1945 and 1954 the IRO sponsored over 182,000 people to resettle from Europe to Australia—more than the total number of convicts transported in the first 80 years of European settlement.
  • Initially, Australia had aimed for 9 out of 10 postwar immigrants to be of British origin. This target quickly became impractical for various reasons, including Britain’s diminished shipping capacity after the war. Under the IRO agreement, the USA provided shipping for refugees from Europe arriving in Australia. 
  • The largest numbers of migrants who came to Australia the postwar years under IRO agreements originated from Poland, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Australia also had direct agreements with countries such as the Netherlands, Malta, Turkey and Yugoslavia.
  • Migrants were generally able to find a home and employment when they reached Australia, as the Australian economy was rapidly expanding and the need for labour was increasing. 
  • Australia put in place many programs to meet the needs of incoming migrants. These included converting army camps into migrant hostels, establishing shipboard English classes and setting up a Good Neighbour Council to help migrants settle into their new communities.

Related themes

Theme

British migrant tradesman shakes hands with Prime Minister Ben Chifley.

Migration and multiculturalism

Migration has been central to Australia’s identity, prosperity and security. Explore Australia’s migration history since 1901, including the challenges and cultural contributions of our migrants.

Theme

Bomb disposal squad of 6 men standing around a bomb crater, near a shed and a danger live bomb sign.

World War II

Almost a million Australians served during World War II from 1939 to 1945. Australia’s proximity to the war in the Pacific forced us to question our relationships with the rest of the world.

Need help with your research?

Learn how to interpret primary sources, use our collection and more.

Get help

Acknowledgement of Country

National Archives of Australia acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to the people, their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging.

Connect with us

  • Facebook Facebook
  • Twitter Twitter
  • YouTube YouTube
  • Instagram Instagram

Subscribe to our newsletter

Site map

  • Contact us

    • +61 2 6212 3600
    • archives@naa.gov.au
    • ABN: 36 889 228 992
  • For researchers

    • RecordSearch
    • What's in the collection
    • Using the collection
    • Ask us a question about our records
    • Getting started with your research
    • Research guides
    • Grants and scholarships
    • Our other websites
  • For government

    • Agency Service Centre
    • Check-up survey
    • Building trust in the public record policy
    • Getting started with information management
    • Information governance
    • Records authorities

    For students & teachers

    • School programs
    • Plan a school visit
    • Competitions and special programs
    • Learning resources
  • Shop

    • Browse our products

    Visit us

    • Admission to the Archives is free
    • Events and exhibitions
    • Research centres
    • Our locations
  • About us

    • What we do
    • Our organisation
    • Our services
    • Our history
    • Partnerships
    • Work for us
National Archives of Australia
  • Privacy
  • Freedom of information
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility
National Archives of Australia