Migration justice
All people deserve dignity and safety, no matter their country of origin or visa status.
Barriers to justice
Australia’s immigration system denies people their rights to due process, safety, and dignity.
Long periods in immigration detention cause and worsen physical and mental illness. Access to health and social services in detention centres is limited, even in life-threatening situations. For people in offshore processing centres, outcomes and access to services are far worse.
Darshan arrived in Australia by boat over a decade ago. He is currently in immigration detention because of minor criminal charges that led to the cancellation of his bridging visa. Darshan has a mild cognitive disorder, substance dependency and has been impacted by a history of trauma. He has been engaging with mental health treatment and has completed rehabilitation programs to address the root causes of his criminal offending. His behaviour in detention has been good.
Despite this, Darshan’s application for a bridging visa was refused based on an assumption he may engage in criminal conduct. Darshan challenged the refusal, and the Tribunal found that Darshan’s total offending happened in a short period of time and was driven by substance use as a coping mechanism for stress and grief. The Tribunal also accepted evidence of Darshan’s reformed character. Despite the Tribunal remitting the matter, the Department of Home Affairs has continued to delay his application.
Prolonged detention has had a significant impact on Darshan. His mental health is poor as he is separated from his partner and child. He struggles with immense shame and guilt, and his partner is struggling to provide for and raise their child on her own. Indefinite detention has caused significant anxiety about his visa status, and separation from his family. Darshan is further harmed by the detention staff’s insistence on handcuffing him when escorting him to, and during, medical appointments. He describes the use of handcuffs as triggering the trauma of his previous experiences of detention and torture in his country of origin. He is now refusing any medical treatment for fear of being handcuffed, despite needing treatment for persisting pain.
Despite Darshan’s low-level offending, consistent good conduct in detention, demonstrated rehabilitation, and strong community support, Darshan remains indefinitely detained.
Laws create arbitrary rules about what visa a person can apply for – and when, if, or where they can apply for protection. Laws that allow Australia to grant temporary visas to people recognised as refugees deny them their right to permanent safety. This leaves people facing the constant risk of being returned to unsafe countries and separated from family members who include Australian residents or citizens.
Expensive fees, administrative backlogs and policies that are not sensitive to the challenges faced by refugees mean that people can be separated from their family for long periods or indefinitely. Some refugees are excluded from sponsoring family members for free because they arrived in Australia by boat. Family separation can have harmful effects on people’s mental health and settlement outcomes.
Domestic laws also allow Australia to send anyone who is not a citizen to a third country without safeguards against detention or deportation. This includes people we have recognised as refugees and violates international human rights law.
Many people seeking asylum living in the community are not allowed to work, or to access social security payments, Medicare, and other social services and supports. This forces people into poverty and homelessness and worsens health and mental health outcomes.
The Australian Government has responded very differently to different global crises. Some people escaping conflict have been able to urgently access visas in Australia, as well as the right to work and study, and access to healthcare and social welfare. Others have been left with little or no support.
People in prison who are seeking asylum or have another immigration legal problem are often denied due process. Limited access to the internet and phone services means people can’t speak to their lawyers or lodge applications online. Migration legal services generally don’t have access to prisons, or the resourcing to assist people in prisons.
Mohammad, a low-risk offender in prison, has found it hard to acquire a C3 Certification allowing him to work outside of the prison due to his visa status. This has had adverse impacts on his mental health, agency, and ability to gain skills and experience as he prepares for release.
The migration system causes harm to people on temporary visas experiencing gender-based violence. Complex systems and lack of access to legal advice leave many women fearful they will be deported and separated from their Australian citizen children if they leave a violent relationship. Many do not feel safe speaking to the police, and many who do report unsatisfactory outcomes. The Department of Home Affairs has no policy in place to support women whose visas are cancelled because they report their partner’s violence.
Tahmina and her family faced years of uncertainty before securing temporary Safe Haven Enterprise Visas in 2015. Tahmina’s then-husband inflicted severe family violence on Tahmina and her children, and his visa was consequently cancelled. Tahmina’s and her children’s visas were then also cancelled as a result, and access to legal support and Centrelink were stripped away. Tahmina was a single mother with no right to work. Tahmina reached out to a community legal centre, which worked with her for two and a half years to secure permanency for Tahmina and her children, and to connect her with support services to heal.
Migrant workers on temporary visas experience higher rates of workplace exploitation by employers but are denied access to redress schemes. Migrant sex-workers face border profiling, police harassment and unjust detention and deportation – especially transgender women.
Mila was employed at a bed and breakfast for over 55 hours per week and only compensated with a bed to sleep in and meals. Her employer had told her that this was normal for new workers to Australia. When Mila questioned her lack of payment, she was dismissed from employment and accommodation, and she is now homeless. The community legal centre assisting Mila estimate her underpayment to be well over $100,000.
Migrant workers on temporary visas experience higher rates of workplace exploitation by employers but are denied access to redress schemes. Migrant sex-workers face border profiling, police harassment and unjust detention and deportation – especially transgender women.
Our vision for justice — migration justice
Australia respects the human rights of people who cross national borders and meets its international human rights obligations with respect to the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.
Offshore detention and processing are abolished. Australia cannot and does not remove asylum seekers to third countries for processing or resettlement.
People who are held in immigration detention centres are treated with dignity and their rights to medical care and due process are respected. No children are held in immigration detention facilities.
All refugees and people seeking asylum, regardless of how they arrive, can access due process and clear pathways to permanent residence. People can reunite with their families in a timely and accessible way.
People awaiting immigration decisions live in the community and receive timely outcomes. All people regardless of citizenship or visa status can access the basics for a safe and dignified life, including employment, income support, Medicare, and health and social support services.
The Australian Government has a strategic and equitable response to humanitarian crises. This allows for the evacuation, resettlement, and reunification of people and families at risk of harm.
People on temporary visas who experience domestic, family and sexual violence and wish to leave the violent relationship and remain in Australia are supported to do so without fear of detention, deportation or separation from other family members.
Migrant workers are safe and fairly paid at work. If mistreated, they can change their employer without risk of visa cancellation, and access support, legal redress, and compensation.
People who have an immigration legal problem can access free, high-quality, and timely specialised legal help in the community, in immigration detention centres, and in prisons. Governments recognise the expertise of specialist immigration legal assistance services and provide adequate funding, including for social workers, financial counsellors and other integrated practice professionals.
