The Regional Support Office of the Bali Process

The Regional Support Office of the Bali Process (RSO) was established in 2012 to provide practical and technical support to Bali Process Members that strengthens cooperation on international migration management and protection of refugees, including as relates to people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime.
About us
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The RSO is the only cooperation mechanism of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region and draws on policy knowledge, technical expertise and operational experience from Bali Process Members and other key stakeholders to develop practical initiatives. This includes supporting Member States through a whole-of-government approach, to improve border and migration management, protection of vulnerable persons and responses to transnational crime.
The Bali Process

The Bali Process

The Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime is a non-binding, international and multilateral forum that supports collaboration, dialogue and policy development relating to irregular migration in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Established in 2002, and co-chaired by the Governments of Australia and Indonesia, the Bali Process brings together 45 Member States and 4 Member Organisations, covering a wide geography ranging across the Asia Pacific, and reaching across to Europe, Africa and North America.

Visit the Bali Process website
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From Regional Cooperation to Operational Capability: Insights from Fifth RSO Border Forum

7-8 October 2026 • Bangkok, Thailand 

How can regional cooperation translate into more effective responses to challenges that cross national borders? 

This question was central to the Fifth RSO Border Forum, which brought together over 130 delegates from 35 Bali Process Member and Observer States, alongside 10 international organisations and partners. Over two days, delegates exchanged operational experiences, explored common challenges, and identified practical opportunities to strengthen cross-border cooperation.
20 October 2026
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Capability Development

Capability Development

The RSO works with Bali Process Members to translate Bali Process commitments into action and real-world impact—through partnerships and policy development, knowledge transfer, operational capacity-building and training and the sharing of information and best practice. The RSO brings Member States together through training activities, research, policy briefs, workshops and roundtables—supporting dialogue, and policy development and coordination.
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Thematic Areas
Thematic areas of focus for the RSO include supporting Member States in efforts to counter people smuggling and trafficking in persons, to stay ahead of evolving modus operandi of transnational criminal networks and emerging opportunities and challenges around technology, and to support understanding of irregular migration and regional priorities across the Bali Process region.
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Operational Capacity Building and Training
The RSO works with regional partners to support the knowledge and skills development of operational personnel across the Bali Process membership, including law enforcement officers, border and immigration officials, maritime officers, government officials and wider practitioners in countering trafficking in persons and people smuggling.
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Research and Regional Trends
A focus on research and enquiry enables the RSO to support Bali Process Member States to identify regional priorities relating to irregular migration trends, and to develop strategies to enhance regional awareness and improve the knowledge base.
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Engage with us

Engage with us

Find out more about some of the different ways Bali Process Members can engage with the RSO, contribute to our activities and shape our Work Plan. The RSO welcomes suggestions for collaboration and ideas for new activities and projects from across the Bali Process membership. If you would like to partner with the RSO in any way, or to suggest new programmes of activity or support, please get in touch at info@rso.baliprocess.net.
Engage with us
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RSO Networks
Stay connected with peers from across the Bali Process membership and with the RSO. Our networks include the RSO Alumni, and a proposed refresh of the Regional Information, Liaison and Outreach Network (RILON) Initiative.
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Secondments
The RSO Secondment Programme supports the hosting of officials from Bali Process Member States in a four to six month placement in the RSO offices in Bangkok, Thailand to work on a discrete project. Secondments support strengthening of technical capacity across Member States, and allow Member States to share good practices and high-level capacities through and with the RSO.
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RSO Flagship Events
The RSO holds a series of flagship events to bring together the Bali Process membership to support ongoing dialogue, connections and sharing of knowledge and expertise.
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RSO Resources

RSO resources support Bali Process members to access up-to-date information and trends across the region.

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RSO Publications
The RSO supports the work of Bali Process Members and Working Groups, through the development of practical resources and information.
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Regional Directory
The Bali Process Regional Directory brings together the various Regional Consultative Processes addressing migration and refugee protection-related issues.
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RSO Documents
You can find key RSO documents here, including our Strategy and Impact Reports, previous issues of our Quarterly Newsletter RSO Highlights, and a library of Outcome Statements from RSO events.
RSO Documents