Asylum Seekers means displaced people seeking asylum from persecution or war outside their own country. Not all asylum seekers will have necessarily been assessed as being refugees by UNHCR.

CALD Communities means Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities.

Humanitarian Victims means people forced to flee from their home country because of extreme suffering (for example, famine) but who do not fit the definition of a refugee.

Internally Displaced People means people who have fled their homes because of persecution or violence, but remain within the boundaries of their country.

LGA means Local Government Area.

Migrants means people who move between countries because of lifestyle, employment, or family connections, etc.

Non-Refoulement is the principle contained in the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees ‘of not forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country in which they are liable to be subjected to persecution’. (Oxford English Dictionary)

People Groups means an ethno-linguistic group with a shared self-identity. Asylum seekers are often minority people who do not identify with their ‘nationality’ (for example, the Karen & Chin peoples from Myanmar).

Refugee Welcome Zone means a Local Government Area that has made a commitment in spirit to welcoming refugees into the community, upholding the human rights of refugees, demonstrating compassion for refugees and enhancing cultural and religious diversity in the community.

Refugees are asylum seekers assessed by UNHCR as having fled their country because of a reasonable fear of persecution.

Regional Australia is a term used by the Australian Government  to promote non-urban areas of the nation, including for immigration.

Resettlement means the process whereby asylum seekers move from their country of origin through a transit country to a third host nation. About 1% of all asylum seekers are resettled.

SHEV means a Safe Haven Enterprise Visa. SHEV holders commit to live in a regional area. SHEV holders may stay for up to five years.

UNHCR means the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.