April 1975

April 1976

Fishing Boat KG4435, with the first Vietnamese refugees, lands in Darwin. Those aboard are accepted on humanitarian grounds. By 1981 a total 56 boats with 2,100 people will reach Australia.

1979

Australian and Vietnamese Governments agree on the Orderly Departure Program with an emphasis on family reunion. Refugees accepted to Australia are processed in camps in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Two thirds of arrivals over the next few years are women.

1980

12,915 Vietnamese arrive in Australia. This surge coincides with the nationalisation of the South Vietnamese economy and business by Communist government. Many of those fleeing are Catholics or ethnic Chinese.

1981

A total of 43,400 Vietnamese have arrived in Australia. 95% by legal resettlement programs and just 5 % by boat. The refugee intake averages 8,000 a year for the next decade.