The Albanese Government’s election eve budget entrenches cruelty, abandons fairness and compassion for refugees

In its final budget before the Federal Election, the Albanese Government has failed to deliver fairness, compassion or lasting solutions for refugees and people seeking asylum.

What was announced in Canberra tonight blatantly fails to address the unprecedented demand charities like the ASRC are facing. Every week, thousands of people seeking asylum are turning to us for emergency food, crisis housing and urgent medical care. The Government had the resources and opportunity to relieve this pressure and provide people with basic safety nets.

Again, the Government has left community organisations to carry the burden of policy failure.

The ASRC outlined clear, achievable steps the Government could have taken to reverse course and uphold Labor’s own policy platform in its pre-budget paper, here.

Initial analysis of the budget papers reveals:

• No new money to help people seeking asylum with a safety net, including through the Status Resolution Support Service (SRSS). The current funding equates to around 70 cents a day for every person seeking asylum.
• No funding or commitment to evacuate refugees from PNG or Nauru to Australia, instead spending over half a billion dollars a year on detention in Nauru and an undisclosed amount to deport people to Nauru.
• $1.36 billion to continue onshore detention, a $100 million increase.
• No mention of funding or policy reform to address the Fast Track legacy caseload or facilitate people’s transition to permanency.
• The budget does not include specific funding to expedite family reunion processes or reduce visa backlogs for separated families.
• No dedicated mention or funding to guarantee or expand work and study rights for refugees and people seeking asylum.
• No increase in the humanitarian intake, including for Gaza or other urgent crises, despite the Government promising to increase the intake to 27,000.

Some positive measures, include:

• $3.5 million over three years (and $1.2 million per year ongoing) to embed the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement program following the conclusion of a pilot. However, this is not an increase in the humanitarian intake.
• $7.7 million in 2025–26 to extend the Economic Pathways to Refugee Integration program to boost refugee employment. While this is a welcome investment in building stable futures, it comes without broader structural reforms or pathways for the many people still locked out of work or study due to restrictive visa conditions.

This was the Government’s last chance to set a humane agenda before voters head to the polls. Instead, it has entrenched policies that cause harm, force people into poverty and destitution and keep families apart.

The failure is even starker following last year’s rushed, punitive migration legislation, which stripped away rights and further dismantled Australia’s protection framework.

The ASRC will continue to stand with refugees and people seeking asylum – and hold the Albanese Government to account for the fairness and compassion that they committed to.

Kon Karapanagiotidis, ASRC CEO and Founder, said:

“This was the Labor Government’s last chance to show real leadership – and instead they’ve chosen politics over principles.

“The Labor Government continues to spend public money on cruelty behind closed doors. In this year’s Budget, a secret amount has been allocated to facilitate deportations to Nauru – a clear signal that the  cruel offshore detention regime is being quietly maintained. There is no transparency, no accountability, and no explanation as to how much is being spent or on whom. This is money funding suffering, and the public has a right to know where it’s going and why.

“This budget isn’t just numbers on a page—it reflects the choices and priorities of a government. The Albanese Government came to office promising to restore integrity, rebuild trust, and treat refugees and people seeking asylum with dignity. But tonight’s budget reveals how far they have strayed from those commitments.”

Sobia Shah, Founder of the Professional Migrant Women’s Network, said:

“Right now, people seeking asylum are struggling to make ends meet. Many are locked out of work, study and Medicare and the Federal Government has again failed to fix this in this year’s budget.

“For those that can work, many are also locked out of the child care subsidy – and it’s hurting parents and children. We want to contribute, to work, to fill the gaps in the workforce – but we can’t do that if our kids are missing out on early learning and support.

“Even children who are Australian citizens are being denied access to support services just because their parents are seeking asylum. It’s completely unfair – these kids are growing up here, but they’re locked out of the same opportunities and support every other child gets.

“And when it comes to higher education, young people like me who are ready to study and give back are being shut out. We have the energy and potential – but the system keeps putting up barriers instead of opening doors.”

Rathy Barthlote, Human Rights activist who fled Sri Lanka in 2013, said:

“The Labor Government had a chance with this budget to finally fix the harm caused by Fast Track – but they didn’t. Thousands of us have been waiting for over a decade, living in fear and uncertainty. People are desperate and waiting for permanency.

“We came here when Labor was last in power. We’ve built our lives here, raised our children here. But after three years in government, they’ve still done nothing to review our cases.

“We’re scared of what might come if a more conservative Government is elected. Labor had the power to act with fairness – this was their last chance before the election, and they failed us.”

– ENDS-