Cases / Fishing ban · Tuvalu · 2023
Australia and Tuvalu sign Falepili Union with annual ballot for migration visas
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Under a 2023 treaty, Australia recognised Tuvalu's statehood independent of climate impacts and offers 280 visas a year by ballot as sea levels rise. Tuvalu's fixed maritime boundaries underpin fishing-licence income of about USD 30 million a year.
What?
Australia recognised Tuvalu's statehood under the Falepili Union, which offers 280 visas a year by ballot to Tuvaluans. Lowy Institute
Where?
Tuvalu and Australia Lowy Institute
When?
Falepili Union signed 9 November 2023; first visa ballot reported in 2025 (Devpolicy). Devpolicy Blog
Who?
Gained
- Tuvalu — statehood recognised and maritime boundaries fixed in its 2023 constitution PINA / Reuters
Lost
- Applicants not selected by ballot — 280 visas a year, drawn by ballot, against 8,750 registrations in the first ballot Devpolicy Blog
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
A treaty recognising statehood, combined with a ballot for 280 visas a year; Tuvalu's constitution fixes its maritime boundaries. Lowy Institute
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Australia recognised Tuvalu's statehood independently of climate impacts under the Falepili Union, signed on 9 November 2023, which offers 280 visas a year selected by ballot (Lowy Institute 2026).
The first ballot drew 8,750 registrations (Devpolicy 2025).
Tuvalu's 2023 constitution declares statehood permanent and fixes its exclusive economic zone coordinates; 15 governments signed supporting declarations, and fishing licences bring in about USD 30 million a year (PINA/Reuters 2024).
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: NASA projects that daily tides would flood half of Funafuti by 2050; Funafuti is where 60% of Tuvalu's population lives.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: a USGS-based model projects that most atoll islands would flood every year by mid-century; the model is generalised from a single atoll.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: a 1971 to 2014 study reporting a 2.9% net increase in the area of Tuvalu's 101 islands; the source of this figure was not identified.
- None on record The number of visas actually issued under the Falepili Union is not established in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers
Press and investigations
- Sinking Tuvalu fights to keep maritime boundaries as sea levels risePINA / Reuters · 2024-09-25
Researchers
- Australia and Tuvalu's Falepili Union was only half the answerLowy Institute · 2026
- The first Falepili Union visa ballot: a preliminary assessmentDevpolicy Blog · 2025-08-26
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Great Barrier Reef 'in danger' listing delayed Australia · 2021–2025
- Government of Australia (Government) — here: signed the Falepili Union and set the visa ballot; there: Government that lobbied committee members
- Great Barrier Reef Foundation A$443m grant (Australia) Australia · 2018–2025
- Government of Australia (Government) — here: signed the Falepili Union and set the visa ballot; there: Grant provider
- Nauru and Banaba phosphate mining compensation Nauru · 1920–1993
- Government of Australia (Government) — here: signed the Falepili Union and set the visa ballot; there: Reported payer of A$107 million (unverified)
- World Court says fossil fuel production may be a wrongful act under international law Global · 2022–2025
- Government of Australia (Government) — here: signed the Falepili Union and set the visa ballot; there: respondent to the 2022 finding