The Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime was established in 2002 as a non-binding, international, multilateral forum designed to enhance regional cooperation, promote information-sharing, and support the development of effective policies and practices on irregular migration across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. It provides a unique platform for dialogue and engagement among governments, regional organisations, and other stakeholders, facilitating the exchange of knowledge, lessons learned, and coordinated responses to complex cross-border challenges.
Bali Process Working Groups serve as the operational mechanism of the Process, bringing together government officials, practitioners, and subject-matter experts from Member States and participating organisations to address priority issues and emerging threats. These Working Groups focus on areas such as human trafficking, people smuggling, law enforcement capacity building, and victim protection, ensuring that initiatives are both evidence-based and aligned with regional needs. By fostering collaboration, the Working Groups enable timely responses to new challenges, support the implementation of best practices, and strengthen regional networks for the prevention, detection, and disruption of transnational criminal activities related to irregular migration. In doing so, the Bali Process continues to play a central role in shaping a cooperative, multi-stakeholder approach to migration governance in the Asia-Pacific region.
Structure
The Bali Process is co-chaired by the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Australia and Indonesia. Ministerial Conferences are held every two years to bring together ministerial representation across Bali Process Members and Observers, to review progress and to confirm priorities and future focus areas. Following a Ministerial Conference, the Co-Chairs release a Co-Chairs’ Statement and supporting documentation such as an updated Declaration and Strategy for Cooperation, to set out agreed priorities and objectives.
Objectives and Priorities
The objectives and priorities of the Bali Process are set out in a Co-Chairs Statement and supporting documents, such as Ministerial Declarations and a Strategy for Cooperation. The Eighth Bali Process Ministerial Conference took place on 10 February 2023, recalling and reaffirming the principles and direction set out in the 2016 and 2018 Ministerial Declarations and Co-Chairs Statements, and recognising enduring priorities from 2018 Strategy for Cooperation, as well as new priorities for cooperation.
The Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime was held over 9-10 February 2023 in Adelaide. The event was co-hosted by Senator The Honourable Penny Wong, Australian Foreign Minister, and Her Excellency Retno Marsudi, the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs
At the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Bali Process, Ministers acknowledged regional and global developments that increase risks to regional stability and irregular migration. These include the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, conflict, misuse of technology, trafficking in persons linked to online scams, and natural and humanitarian disasters, including those related to climate change.
Ministers endorsed the updated 2023 Adelaide Strategy for Cooperation, designed to reinvigorate a flexible, relevant, and responsive Bali Process more than 20 years after its establishment. They reaffirmed the need for a forward-looking approach to address changing patterns of people smuggling, trafficking in persons, and related transnational crime across the Bali Process region. The 2023 Adelaide Strategy for Cooperation outlines activities undertaken by Bali Process Working Groups, other engagement mechanisms, and the Regional Support Office (RSO), focused on eight priority areas of cooperation.
At the Eighteenth Meeting of the Ad Hoc Group of Senior Officials, held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 21 May 2025, members reflected on their ongoing commitment to implement the 2023 Adelaide Strategy and reviewed progress since the Eighth Ministerial Conference in Adelaide on 10 February 2023. Participants highlighted the growing and evolving threat posed by trafficking into cyber-scam centres for forced criminality. These operations have expanded beyond Southeast Asia, affecting regions including the Middle East, the Pacific, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. They are increasingly using sophisticated technologies, including social media and artificial intelligence (AI), to reach larger audiences and exploit more victims.
The 2023 Adelaide Strategy for Cooperation includes activities conducted by Bali Process Working Groups, other engagement mechanisms, and the Regional Support Office (RSO), focused on eight areas of cooperation.
The eight areas of cooperation are:
(1) Law enforcement
(2) Stakeholder engagement
(3) Information sharing and public information campaigns
(4) Irregular Migration and Related Transnational Crime
(5) Border Management
(6) Victim Protection and Migration Management
(7) Returns and Reintegration
(8) Coordination and support
Meetings and Working Groups
Ministerial Conferences
Ministerial Conferences are held every two years to bring together Ministers from the Bali Process Members and Observers, to review progress against objectives, and to confirm priorities and future areas of focus – which are then agreed and set out in an updated Declaration and Strategy for Cooperation.
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Senior Officials Meetings
Senior Officials Meetings occur annually with the Ad Hoc Group. Senior Officials Meetings of the full membership of the Bali Process also take place ahead of Ministerial Conferences. Such Meetings include presentations from Member States and Member Organizations, Bali Process Working Groups, the Regional Support Office, and the Government and Business Forum and Observers. The meetings enable a review of developments in the Bali Process region, and progress of activities undertaken. The presentations and discussions are used to shape the agenda for the next Ministerial Conference.
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Bali Process Steering Group
The Bali Process Steering Group is responsible for ensuring Bali Process objectives and priorities reflect regional needs, by taking into account emerging trends and issues. The Steering Group sets the agenda for Ministerial Conferences and includes Ministerial and Senior Official level representation from Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Thailand and senior representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The group also directs changes to the Bali Process governance – for example, determining any expansion to the Ad Hoc Group membership.
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Ad Hoc Group Meetings
The Ad Hoc Group mechanism allows greater responsiveness in addressing situations impacting rates of trafficking in persons and people smuggling on a case-by-case basis. The group consists of a smaller membership of states who may take collective lead on an issue and maintains a regular program of working group level activities.
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Bali Process Working Groups
The Bali Process Working Groups bring together practitioners and experts from Bali Process Member States and Organizations to progress work around key issues. Dialogue and consensus around new, collaborative approaches are driven through the Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, the Working Group on Disruption of Criminal Networks involved in People Smuggling and Human Trafficking, the Technical Experts Group on Returns and Reintegration, and the Taskforce on Planning and Preparedness.
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Government and Business Forum
The Bali Process Government and Business Forum (GABF) provides a strategic platform for constructive engagement with the private sector, bringing together influential business leaders and ministers from across the Bali Process membership. The Forum aims to expand legal and legitimate opportunities for labour migration by promoting and implementing good labour practices throughout supply chains.
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Bali Process Consultation Mechanism
The Consultation Mechanism was established following the 2015 irregular migration events in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. Ministers at the Sixth Bali Process Ministerial Conference in 2016 acknowledged the need for more agile and timely responses by Bali Process members on time-sensitive migration issues. Ministers agreed to create a mechanism that would authorise the Co-Chairs to consult and convene meetings to discuss specific urgent irregular migration issues and consult with members to formulate possible regional responses. Participation in the meetings is voluntary and non-binding.
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Member States
The Bali Process brings together 45 Member States and four Member Organisations – the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime and the International Labor Organization – as well as 18 Observer States and nine Observer Organisations. Our Member States cover a wide geography across the Asia Pacific and reach across Europe and North America.
Coordination of The Bali Process
The Bali Process is co-chaired by the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Australia and Indonesia. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (KEMLU) are responsible for the coordination of Bali Process Official Meetings, under the leadership of the Bali Process Senior Official Co-Chairs.
The Regional Support Office
The Regional Support Office of the Bali Process (the RSO) provides a unique function and resource – delivering practical, on-the-ground support for the Bali Process and its Working Groups.