Australia’s engagement in Afghanistan: interim report

January 2022

© Commonwealth of Australia 2022
ISBN: 978-1-76093-335-7

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Committee Members

List of Recommendations

Chapter 1—Introduction

  Referral of the inquiry
  Conduct of the inquiry
  Structure of this report

Chapter 2—Australia's objectives in Afghanistan

  Australia’s military footprint in Afghanistan
  Australia’s objectives in Afghanistan
  Issues raised in relation to Australia’s engagement in Afghanistan

Chapter 3—Costs of Australia's engagement in Afghanistan

  Costs of Australia’s engagement in Afghanistan
  Costs for the Afghan people

Chapter 4—The collapse of the Afghan government

  Fragility of the Afghan government and Afghan National Defense and Security Forces
  Perspectives on the capability of the Taliban to govern
  Resistance in Afghanistan

Chapter 5—Australian withdrawal and evacuation operations

  Australia’s preparations to withdraw from Afghanistan
  Evacuation of Australian citizens, permanent residents and visa holders

Chapter 6—Aftermath of Australia's withdrawal and issues with the LEE program

  Australian citizens, permanent residents and visa holders remaining in Afghanistan after the immediate evacuation efforts
  Issues relating to the Locally Engaged Employee program

Chapter 7—Visa pathways and settlement arrangements for Afghan nationals in Australia

  Visa applications and grants to Afghan nationals

Chapter 8—Ongoing engagement with Afghanistan and support for veterans

  Ongoing engagement with Afghanistan
  Australia’s key priorities
  Overseas development assistance to Afghanistan
  Assisting Australian Defence Force personnel and veterans

Chapter 9—Conclusions and recommendations

  Australia’s military, diplomatic and development engagement in Afghanistan
  Australia’s withdrawal from Afghanistan
  Australia’s ongoing response to recent developments in Afghanistan

Australian Greens additional comments

Appendix 1—Submissions, tabled documents, answers to questions on notice and correspondence

Appendix 2—Public hearings and witnesses

Appendix 3—Timeline of events

Committee Secretariat contact:

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Phone: +61 2 6277 3535
fadt.sen@aph.gov.au