Thousands forced into destitution unless Labor restores safety nets in Federal Budget

MEDIA RELEASE:

The ASRC is calling on the Albanese Government to restore safety nets for people seeking asylum in the Federal Budget – starting with urgent investment in social support and ensuring people have the rights to work, study and access medical care.

Between 2016-2022, social support for people seeking asylum was cut by a staggering 95%, with successive Federal Governments forcing people seeking asylum further into poverty, sickness and homelessness while they wait anywhere from two – 10 years for protection claims to be fairly processed.

People seeking asylum continue to be among the most marginalised in Australian communities, often denied work rights and access to any form of mainstream Government support. Minimal financial support can be provided through the Government’s Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS), yet continued cuts to funding and hardline eligibility criteria saw just 1.2 % of the 88,500 people currently seeking asylum able to access any sort of payments in 2022-2023.

For people on some designated temporary visas that are given work rights, the requirement to renew visas every 3-6 months can make it virtually impossible to find long-term employment, forcing people to rely on charities to meet their basic needs to survive.

The ASRC joins other charities struggling to fill the vacuum left by an abyss of successive Federal Government funding, providing over 66,000 nights of crisis shelter to people at risk of homelessness in 2022-2023 and close to 5,500 health appointments for people and families who have been denied access to Medicare.

With the cost of groceries increasing on average by 8 % each year, people seeking asylum are struggling to afford food and feed their families. ASRC serves close to 8000 community meals a year, and spends over $700,000 on groceries for members and their families.

In 2022-2023, the ASRC supported 469 households struggling to afford basic essentials, pay utility bills, and buy necessities for their children and babies such as nappies and formula. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, 57 % of the people accessing support for basic needs through ASRC have reported they are already experiencing homelessness, with an increase in women and children presenting in need of safe housing.

Despite the clear and urgent need for investment in social support, the Albanese Government spent only $15 million of the $36.9 million it had allocated for ‘asylum seeker support’ in 2022-2023, and only $37 million was earmarked for 2023-2024 – down from $300 million in 2015-2016.

This Budget is a clear opportunity for the Albanese Government to finally meet its election commitments for more compassionate treatment of people seeking asylum, and to prevent further harm to the thousands of people successive Governments have abandoned.

When the Budget is handed down next Tuesday, ASRC will also be playing close attention to the Government’s commitments on Australia’s humanitarian intake, spending on offshore detention, and whether a pathway to permanency is finally provided for the approximately 7,500 people seeking asylum failed by the flawed and failed Fast Track system.

“Arriving at work each day, families are lining up outside the centre waiting for us to open to get nappies, milk, bread and, at the moment, blankets. At the ASRC we’re spending at least $10,000 a month on rice to help keep families from starving while people are denied the right to work and must wait years for the Government to process their protection claims.

“The ALP policy promises were to provide appropriate health and welfare services for people seeking asylum and time is running out for Labor to make good on those commitments. We’re approaching this Federal Budget hoping the Albanese Government finally delivers investment in line with its promises for more compassionate treatment of refugees and people seeking asylum.”

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