Asylum – Refugee Council of Australia

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The usual way of seeking protection is to come to a country and ask for protection. This is commonly called ‘seeking asylum’, and people who come this way are often called ‘asylum seekers’. This generally means that they have not yet had their claims to be a refugee formally determined.

In Australia, ‘seeking asylum’ is often seen as being the ‘wrong’ way to come, and the ‘right’ way is to wait in a queue and be selected by UNHCR for resettlement. In fact, seeking asylum is the way most people get protection in the world, and is the way that is protected by the Refugee Convention.

Key facts

Latest on asylum

How cuts to support for people seeking asylum will affect people, states and local communities

This factsheet explains what the cuts to support for people seeking asylum are and how they will affect people, states and local communities.

SRSS facts and figures

This lists key facts and figures for the campaign against cuts to the Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) program.

Tell me more: questions and answers about changes to SRSS

This answers common questions about the changes to the income supports people seeking asylum face.

A Letter from Kamran

Kamran is a person seeking asylum who is concerned he will be affected by the recent changes to support services for people seeking asylum in Australia. He is calling on…

Starving them out: How our government is making people seeking asylum destitute

Since August 2017, the Australian government has been forcing people seeking asylum into destitution. In the coming months, more changes are likely to make thousands of highly vulnerable people in our communities homeless and desperate. Community groups and organisations around the country cannot cope. This is a humanitarian crisis in the making.

Destitute and vulnerable: the hardships of people seeking asylum

In 2013, the Australian Red Cross found that people were becoming destitute as a result of seeking asylum in its first annual report on vulnerability. The report included stories and data from 33 people seeking asylum in Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria.

Destitute and locked out: daily challenges faced by people seeking asylum

How do people seeking asylum get through the day? In 2010, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) published two reports, Locked Out and Destitute and Uncertain, that look at their harsh and often traumatic struggle to meet their basic needs.

What do we know about people seeking asylum and employment?

Misinformation about people seeking asylum and employment is widespread. A journal article, 'People seeking asylum in Australia and their access to employment: just what do we know?', examines what we do and do not know about access to employment for people seeking asylum.