MEDIA RELEASE: Labor’s asylum deadline would dismantle Australia’s protection system

Media Release, Friday 11 September 2026

The Albanese Government is reportedly considering preventing people from applying for protection unless they do so within the first months of arriving in Australia, potentially within as little as 30 days.

The proposal, reportedly part of a broader migration package currently being negotiated with the Coalition, could lock people out of Australia’s protection system. Meaning that if people do not apply for asylum within a short timeframe, they would require the Minister’s personal intervention just to let them apply. The proposed timeframe and legal mechanism have not been confirmed.

People may be unable to apply immediately because they are living with trauma, trapped in exploitation or domestic and family violence, face language barriers, or cannot find or afford legal assistance. Others may only become unsafe after arriving because war breaks out or their personal circumstances change.

Specialist refugee community legal services are already severely overstretched with waiting periods. Even people who seek help promptly may be unable to obtain advice and prepare a complex protection application within an arbitrary deadline.

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre is calling on the Albanese Government to immediately rule out any arbitrary deadline for seeking protection and other changes that dismantle Australia’s commitment to the Refugee Convention.

Jana Favero, Deputy CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, said:

“We are horrified that the Albanese Government is considering abandoning the fundamental principles of the Refugee Convention and undermining the protection system. This is effectively a ban on seeking asylum, with permission required personally by the Minister just to apply to seek asylum.

“War, conflict and persecution do not operate according to a government timetable, and the right to seek safety should never be obstructed by politics and bureaucracy. A person does not stop being a refugee simply because they were unable to apply for protection within an arbitrary timeframe, whether that is 30 or 60 days.

“This is outrageous policy-making on the run, driven by political panic and a shameful race to appease the right. Labor is prepared to turn its back on people seeking safety, not because their claim is without merit, but because they missed an arbitrary deadline.

“People escaping violence may be traumatised, trapped in exploitation or domestic abuse, unable to speak English, or simply unable to find a lawyer. Locking them out of the protection system is not integrity. It is calculated cruelty, and it could send people back to persecution or death.”

ENDS

For media enquiries or interviews, contact:
Ogy Simic on 0412 034 821 or media@asrc.org.au.