14 May 2025
The Hon. Rose Jackson, MLC
Minister for Housing and Homelessness
52 Martin Place
SYDNEY NSW 2000
Subject: Urgent need for access to housing and homelessness services for people seeking asylum in NSW
Dear Minister Jackson,
I am writing to highlight the urgent and growing barriers facing people seeking asylum in New South Wales who are experiencing homelessness and destitution. As an organisation working closely with affected communities, we are deeply concerned about the exclusion of nonresidents and people seeking asylum from mainstream housing and homelessness support in NSW. Refugee and asylum support agencies have been working in close partnership with local councils and community representatives in areas such Cumberland, Fairfield, Parramatta, Blacktown as well as Sydney’s inner city to respond to the growing needs of people seeking asylum who are experiencing homelessness.
We welcome the NSW Government’s efforts to develop the Homelessness Strategy 2025–2035 and acknowledge the strong foundation it sets by recognising that housing is a fundamental human right and that inclusion, lived experience and prevention must be central to all homelessness responses. We strongly support these principles and urge that they also be meaningfully applied to non-residents, including people seeking asylum, who remain among the most vulnerable members of our community.
The recent exclusion of non-residents from the draft Homelessness Strategy, combined with the cessation of emergency assistance funding in 2023 by the NSW Government, has left many vulnerable asylum seekers in crisis situations — particularly women escaping domestic violence, families with young children, and those with chronic health issues — without access to housing or a financial safety net.
In our feedback to Homes NSW, we have highlighted that people seeking asylum intersect with many disadvantaged groups identified in the draft NSW Homelessness Strategy, including women, people escaping domestic violence, people with disability and LGBTQI+ individuals. People seeking asylum should also be recognised in the strategy as a distinctive group facing systemic and practical barriers, as well as discriminatory obstacles, that require specific policy and service responses.
People seeking asylum are currently not eligible for Centrelink benefits, public housing or mainstream social services. Many are also denied the right to work and excluded from the federally funded Status Resolution Support Service (SRSS). While access to Federal support remains limited, the responsibility often falls on local and state-level services to meet the needs of people who are part of our communities. Unfortunately, these services are not adequately resourced or structured with many asylum seekers being denied specialist homelessness services, rent assistance and crisis accommodation.
Despite these systemic gaps, the small charities that provide vital direct support to people seeking asylum, do so with no regular government funding. This is not sustainable and more people seeking asylum are becoming vulnerable to poverty, homelessness and exploitation.
Recent estimates indicate that approximately 5,000 people seeking asylum are living in crisis and destitution across Australia, including around 2,000 in Sydney. A survey of 49 people seeking asylum in Sydney found that 71% experienced some form of homelessness with many seriously unwell. Additionally, data from the City of Sydney shows 19% of people with uncertain visa status are sleeping rough in the inner city.
The Refugee Council has been working closely with frontline asylum agencies, health organisations, legal centres and Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) to address these barriers. Despite our collective advocacy at both the federal and state levels, critical gaps persist, leaving people seeking asylum without the housing and support services they urgently need. Incorporating people seeking asylum into the Homelessness Strategy 2025–2035 will:
- Enable access to social housing, transitional, crisis and emergency accommodation
- Integrate housing services with frontline asylum agencies and emergency services
- Strengthen cross-sectorial collaboration, referral systems and wrap-around supports
- Enhance data collection of people from asylum backgrounds to inform targeted policy
responses - Contribute to more effective homelessness prevention efforts across NSW
We urge you to include non-residents and people seeking asylum in NSW’s homelessness policies and programs, as a vital step toward building a sustainable and inclusive housing strategy for all people living in our state.
We welcome the chance to meet and discuss the issues further with your office to identify practical and durable solutions moving forward.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.
Yours faithfully,
Adama Kamara
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Refugee Council of Australia
Cc:
The Hon. Jodie Harrison, MP Minister for Women, Minister for Seniors and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Mr Stephen Bali, MP Member for Blacktown
Ms Donna Davis, MP, Member for Parramatta
Ms Julia Finn, MP Member for Granville
Mr David Saliba, MP Member for Fairfield
Ms Linda Voltz ,MP, Member for Auburn
