"It is where enormous economic value is currently going to waste, largely unnoticed.”

Queensland-based community stalwart Shyam Ratan Das has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division for his long-standing service to the Indian community.

Dr Kunwarjit Singh Sangla, based in Queensland, was recognised for significant service to endocrinology and to rural and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the state.

Melbourne-based neurosurgeon Dr Rondhir Jithoo has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division for his decades-long service to neurosurgery, as part of the Australia Day 2026 Honours List announced by Governor-General Sam Mostyn.

"Supporting a migrant women-led organisation recognises the incredible contribution migrant women make to our small business sector, often overcoming significant barriers to build successful enterprises.”

Failed asylum seekers who remain in Australia have passed 100,000 for the first time, reaching 101,976 as of 31 October, with a further 26,298 claims awaiting decisions.

Ley’s comments came in the wake of the case of civil engineer Matthew Gruter, a South African national who moved to Australia in 2022 on a work-sponsored visa.

“Migrant women, refugee women, ethnic women and women of colour are not a footnote in the equality story. We are, my friends, central to it.”

Recent anti-immigration rallies across the country have brought it further into the public spotlight.

‘March for Australia’ rallies in nine cities on 31 August are being led by an anti-immigration group that has singled out Indian migrants, framing recent arrivals as “replacement plain and simple.”