Book Examines How Bureaucracy Shapes Refugee Law
Dr Regina Jefferies's new book compares refugee law implementation in Australia and the United States through frontline officials' decision-making.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Immigration
Dr Regina Jefferies, a researcher at the Kaldor Centre, has published Rethinking Compliance: How Street-Level Bureaucrats Implement International Refugee Law with Hart in 2026. The book uses comparative case studies of Australia and the United States to examine how frontline officials put refugee law into practice.
Why it matters
The book argues that legislation, legal decisions and treaties alone cannot explain why states pursue policies that pressure refugee protections. Its focus on everyday bureaucratic decision-making offers a different lens on how refugee protection works in Australia.
The book is a comparative study of Australia and the United States, published by Hart in 2026 and available to order now. Kaldor Centre subscribers receive a 35% discount, while the extraction does not detail specific outcome figures for refugees.
The players
Dr Regina Jefferies
Dr Jefferies is a researcher at the Kaldor Centre and the author of Rethinking Compliance.
Kaldor Centre
The Kaldor Centre is a research centre at UNSW focused on international refugee and migration law.
The details
The book examines how organisational culture and national security frameworks shape refugee protection norms, and how frontline officials implement refugee law within bureaucratic systems. An Author Meets Readers event hosted by the Kaldor Centre and UNSW Law & Justice will explore what the findings mean for refugee protection, accountability and policy reform.
Timeline
11 November: Author Meets Readers event at the UNSW Bookshop, with guest respondents Angela Smith and Sara Dehm.
10 December: Online ANZSIL event featuring Dr Jefferies and Daniel Ghezelbash.
Big Picture
The book extends the Kaldor Centre's research on refugee law by focusing on frontline officials rather than legislation alone. It adds a comparative Australian and US perspective to ongoing debates about how international refugee obligations are carried out.
Readers interested in refugee policy can order the book now, with Kaldor Centre subscribers receiving a 35% discount. The 11 November event and 10 December online discussion offer opportunities to hear the authors' findings directly.
The takeaway
Reforming refugee protection may depend as much on the everyday decisions of frontline officials as on the laws they apply. Those interested can attend the upcoming events to test these ideas against current policy.
What happens next
An Author Meets Readers event will be held on 11 November at the UNSW Bookshop, and an online ANZSIL event will take place on 10 December.
Further reading
Explore more on Immigration coverage in Australia.
Source note: This article includes information reported by UNSW Sites.
