How to vote for refugees in the federal election

“Since 13 August 2012, asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat without valid visas have been subject to ‘offshore’ or ‘third country’ processing either in the Republic of Nauru (Nauru) or on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Offshore processing involves asylum seekers being detained and undergoing health, security and identity checks in Australia, before being forcibly transferred to Nauru or PNG at the earliest possible opportunity and undergoing refugee status determination (RSD) in those countries.
 
All asylum seekers who have arrived by boat since August 2012 have been liable to removal to Nauru or PNG, even if they applied for asylum immediately upon arrival in Australia or had characteristics warranting special consideration (such as being an unaccompanied minor, a survivor of torture and trauma, or a victim of trafficking; or having special health needs requiring treatment in Australia, or immediate family already living in Australia). However, while all asylum seekers have been liable to be sent offshore, in practice some remained in Australia due to a lack of space in the offshore facilities or for other reasons. At various times asylum seekers have also been brought back from Nauru or PNG and permitted to remain in Australia, either temporarily or on an ongoing basis.”
 
Excerpt from the Kaldor Centre ‘Offshore processing: an overview’

 “Australia’s detention policies, specifically the Migration Act 1958, requires all “unlawful non-citizens” (that is, people who are not Australian citizens and do not have a valid visa) to be detained, regardless of circumstances, until they are granted a visa or leave the country. This policy was introduced in 1992 and has been maintained by successive governments.
 
Mandatory detention applies to many groups, including people who overstay their visas or breach their visa conditions. However, the policy disproportionately affects people seeking asylum who arrive in Australia by boat without authorisation.
 
There is no time limit on immigration detention in Australia. This means that, under Australian law, a person can be detained indefinitely – theoretically for the course of their natural life – unless the Australian Government decides to grant them a visa, or they agree to leave the country.
 
Immigration detention is meant to be administrative, not punitive. The purpose of detaining people seeking asylum who arrive without authorisation is to allow for health, identity and security checks to be carried out so as to mitigate any potential risks to the community. It is not a way of punishing people seeking asylum or deterring them from arriving without authorisation.
 
Even in cases where a person has been found to pose no risk to the community, or where continued detention is causing a person serious harm, the Australian Government is under no legal obligation to release them from detention. This has resulted in many people remaining in detention for very prolonged periods, for several years in some cases.
 
The lack of a time limit on immigration detention also means that people in detention do not know whether or when they will be released. Depending on what the Australian Government decides, a person could be detained for a few weeks, or several years. This lack of certainty about their future causes serious stress and anxiety amongst people who are detained, which tends to worsen as detention becomes more prolonged.”
 
Excerpt from the Refugee Council of Australia

“For decades, Australia has been protecting refugees under its Refugee and Humanitarian Program. Every year, the Minister of Immigration sets the number of people that will be taken under this Program and determines the priorities for deciding who will be accepted. This Program is separate from the much larger Migration Program, which includes business, skilled and family migrants.
 
For many decades, Australia has been a leader in bringing some of the most vulnerable refugees in the world from overseas, and supporting them to settle in Australia. It is a voluntary commitment designed to provide durable solutions for the many refugees who can neither remain where they are nor return home. Australia’s contribution is important, as relatively few countries resettle refugees. This commitment is even more valuable today when it is harder than ever for refugees to find protection in a safe country.
 
Australia’s resettlement program is one of the longest-standing and largest in the world.  In recent years, the Program has been set at 13,750 places, but this has gradually increased since 2015-2016 to 18,750 places expected in 2018-2019. However, this number has not increased in proportion either to the global need for resettlement, which has grown to an unprecedented size, or in proportion to our increased in migration intake.”
 
Excerpt from the Refugee Council of Australia

"In December 2014, the Australian Government changed the way it determined the refugee claims of people who came by boat. The Australian Government calls this new process ‘fast tracking‘. This affects people who came by boat on or after 13 August 2012.

There are also people who came before 13 August 2012, but did not have their protection visa application finalised by 18 September 2013. These people are assessed under the old process. The two groups are referred to by the Department as the ‘Legacy Caseload’.

‘Fast tracking’ replaced the previous independent merits review system with a new body, called the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA). Under new rules, the IAA would no longer hear directly from people claiming asylum, and would generally be restricted to information before the Department of Immigration.

The Refugee Council and its members have consistently expressed strong concerns about the fairness of this process and the significant risks it creates that people will be returned to persecution or other serious harm."
 
Excerpt from the Refugee Council of Australia
 

The temporary protection law was introduced in 2014, and applies to all people seeking asylum who had not been given a permanent visa, even if they arrived before the law changed. Under the rule, even if people who came by boat are found to be refugees, they would only get temporary protection and would need to reapply until the end of their lives.
 
This means that refugees cannot live with a sense of safety or certainty, for fear that the next time they apply they may be rejected and have to leave Australia. There is strong evidence that this uncertainty contributes to mental illness, especially among children and young people who cannot plan for a stable future.
 
Temporary Protection Visa holders can work, get Medicare, and get some social support payments through Centrelink payments. However, they cannot sponsor family members to come and live with them in Australia, and they cannot leave and return to Australia without permission. Even if they live in Australia all their lives, they cannot get the same services and supports that others can – for example, they cannot get government-funded financial assistance for further education.
 
Excerpt from the Refugee Council of Australia
 

“The Asia-Pacific region currently hosts over 8.4 million persons of concern to UNHCR (a group that includes refugees, stateless persons and internally displaced persons).1  Of this population, 3.5 million are refugees, the largest number of refugees in any region in the world.2  The region also contains the world’s largest protracted refugee situation, with around 2.4 million registered Afghan refugees in prolonged exile in Iran and Pakistan.3 

...

A proper regional cooperation framework would be based on the objective of providing effective protection to those who have been displaced.22  It would address the conditions that cause people to take boat journeys to Australia, rather than simply seeking to ‘stop the boats’.23  It would seek to ensure fair and timely resolutions to protection claims, so that asylum seekers and refugees would not feel that their own real option were to get on a boat.24”
 
Excerpt from the Kaldor Centre ‘Regional Cooperation’