Veterans argue Australia is unfit for UN Security Council seat over treatment of Afghan allies

A DFAT spokesperson said: “The government remains committed to assisting those who helped Australia’s mission in Afghanistan.“

The spokesperson said more than 2000 Afghan locally engaged employees have been certified by the Australian government and more than 5700 employees and family members have arrived in Australia.

Wong told the Senate in August that Labor confronted a “mess” on Afghan visas when it came to office, including a massive backlog of applications.

The government has certified more than 660 applications from locally engaged Afghan employees, more than the total approved under all previous foreign ministers combined since the program began, she said.

The scheme for local Afghan employees was shut down in 2024, but the government committed to finalise all remaining certifications and visa applications as a matter of priority.

Women’s rights activist Susan Hutchinson, who has helped hundreds of women escape Afghanistan, wrote earlier this month that Afghans seeking a new life in Australia were being forced into danger by being required to collect biometric data in Pakistan.

“Five years after Australian personnel left Afghanistan, too many veterans are experiencing ongoing moral injury because their colleagues have been left behind when they were promised they’d be brought to safety,” she wrote.

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