Tens of thousands of Australians are stranded overseas

It’s time for stranded Aussies to unite and demand change

The Stranded Aussies Action Network Toolbox

Our mission is to empower every Australian everywhere to stand up for their right to return home.

Get Informed

If it is safe to bring in a 1200 strong tennis entourage, it is safe to allow Stranded Aussies home. See our facts, figures and explainers, and the plan we are putting to political leaders.

Get Loud

Use our self-advocacy toolbox to register with DFAT, add your name to petitions and contact your elected representatives.

Get Heard

Put yourself out there. Tell your story to the Australian public in any way you can. See our media contact list and tips for speaking with the press.

Get Support

Living with the uncertainties and challenges that come with being stranded will likely be taking its toll. Use our support toolbox to access up to date information and links to financial, emotional, and emergency assistance.

“You save yourself or you remain unsaved”

—Alise Sebold

Stranded Australians

A year into the coronavirus pandemic, at least 40,000 Australians remain stuck overseas with over 5,000 on the vulnerable list. This situation was preventable and it’s getting worse.

Australia’s political leaders have expressed no willingness to assist those they have abandoned abroad. Furthermore, over 50% of Australians think that closing the borders entirely is a reasonable solution.

The only way to make Australia’s leaders address this massive political failure and breach of human rights is as a united voice. We are calling on Stranded Aussies and everyone impacted by this crisis to get informed, get loud and get heard.

Who we are

The Stranded Aussies Action Network (SAAN) is an informal network founded by a group of individuals impacted by the Stranded Aussies crisis

Social channels

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The Stranded Aussies Action Network mission

The Stranded Aussies Action Network (SAAN) is an initiative that formed in January 2021 when the Australian government halved its international arrivals caps. The government did so at a time when the number of registered stranded Australians had grown to 40,000. The caps should have been doubled to stop the crisis from deteriorating further.

Both levels of the Australian government continue to resist addressing the humanitarian emergency that they have created. Political leaders refuse to acknowledge the numbers of citizens and permanent residents stranded and have ignored solutions recommended by their own experts.

SAAN’s objective is to make the critical facts and figures widely known and to provide tools to help all of those impacted to advocate for themselves and their loved ones.

Importantly, SAAN offers a plan for expanding Australia’s quarantine capacity to sustainable levels. It is modelled on systems provided by two countries leading the world in their humanitarian coronavirus response.

That plan, however, requires a genuine willingness from political leaders to help the Australians they are harming. It requires bipartisan cooperation from both levels of government.

SAAN’s founders – the authors of the strandedaussies.com website and resources – are volunteers, currently in different parts of the world, who have been impacted by Australia’s travel ban. They understand the experience of being locked out of their home country.

SAAN is an informal network that is not politically partisan. It is not affiliated with any other group or initiative other than removethecap.com. Its founders are not involved in any proposed legal actions or rescue flights. SAAN requires no membership and it will not collect or store names or personal information. It will not collect money.

Unfortunately some predatory operators are exploiting the crisis. SAAN recommends that stranded Aussies take care when sharing any personal information or making financial contributions to any proposed initiatives.

SAAN’s objective is to empower those impacted by the travel ban. It provides the informal means for all of those affected to form a unified force that can compel political leaders to act.