The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) has welcomed the federal government’s announcement of extra resourcing to fix the “broken” visa processing system, which the refugee sector has been calling for as a critical step towards restoring a fair refugee status determination process.
The $160 million package will address visa processing delays by investing in new members for the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and judges at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and funding for legal representation.
The government will also increase resources for the Department of Home Affairs to reduce delays in processing protection visa applications.
ASRC principal solicitor Hannah Dickinson said the previous system sets people up to fail.
“Complexity, delays and hostility have made it inaccessible to most people without legal support. As a result, refugees are up to seven times more likely to have their status recognised at review stages if they are represented by a lawyer,” she said.
“We regularly witness refugees being denied protection visas because of defects in the system. This includes victim-survivors of severe gender-based violence and people from countries such as Afghanistan and Sudan.
“Comprehensive reform is urgently required. Addressing delays and a lack of support is a key first step, but to succeed, it is critical the government ends the untenable politicisation of refugee policy.”
The ASRC has urged the government to continue reforming unfair policies that harm people seeking asylum, such as providing work rights to people seeking asylum as they are vulnerable to exploitation without these protections.
Saajeda Samaa is a former refugee who has experienced long delays while waiting for protection who said sheI has family members who are still waiting for their permanent visas after 10 years.
“The immigration system is designed to punish people who come to Australia in search of safety. No one would leave their home and families behind until that’s the only choice they have to make,” she said.
“The immigration system is complex and expensive as people cannot afford to have lawyers. It breaks my heart to see what communities are going through in the indefinite years of limbo and uncertainty that is causing severe mental health issues, financial hardships and years of family separation. The government needs to understand that their policies are causing suffering to thousands of human beings who are losing their hopes and dreams and in some cases their lives too.
“There is an urgent need of humanising refugee policies to allow people to live a meaningful life.“
