Australia
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER : UNHCR is not registered
as a migration agent. Anyone using these resources should obtain
advice from a registered migration agent or a practicing lawyer.
There may be errors or omissions in the resources. UNHCR has
attempted to ensure that the resources are current and accurate,
but it is not responsible for the consequences of any errors
or omissions.
Australia Country Information
Australia is
a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol
relating to the status of refugees. It
has long-established systems for determining refugee
status which
are administered by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural
Affairs (DIMA).
How do I seek asylum in
Australia?
I cannot speak English, who can I
contact to help me?
Where can I get legal advice?
Can I appeal a decision
from DIMA?
?
What can I do if I disagree with a decision made by the Refugee Review Tribunal?
Can UNHCR Help?
Who can I contact for torture and trauma counselling?
Background information:
Temporary Protection Visa and Permanent Protection Visas
New Measures for TPV and THV holders
How do
I seek asylum in Australia?
You should contact the Department
of Immigration, and Multicultural Affairs
(DIMA) in your area. The department will provide
you with
the assistance to make your application, including
an interpreter if needed. To contact DIMA in your State click
here.
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I cannot speak
English, who can I contact to help me?
You can contact
the Telephone
Interpreter Service (TIS).
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Where can I get legal advice?
In NSW - The Refugee
Advice & Casework Service (RACS) or
the Refugee & Immigration
Legal Centre.
In Victoria - Refugee & Immigration
Legal Centre (RILC) or Victoria Legal Aid.
RILC
also provides assistance to TPV
holders who need to prepare
further Protection Visa applications for lodgement with the
DIMA.
In South Australia - The Legal Services Commission of South Australia.
In Queensland - South
Brisbane Immigration And Community Legal Service.
In
Western Australia - Legal
Aid Western Australia
In Northern
Territory - Northern Territory
Legal Aid Commission.
For a list of where to get free advice and assistance for asylum seekers in each state, click here
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Can I appeal a decision
from DIMA?
You
have the right to appeal a negative decision from Department
of Immigration
and Multicultural
Affairs
to the Refugee
Review Tribunal or the Administrative
Appeals Tribunal (AAT) , depending on the basis for refusal.
An applicant has effectively 28 days
from the
date of notification of the DIMA
decision to lodge an application
to the RRT. Please note that this time limit is only
7 days if the applicant is in immigration detention.
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Can I appeal a decision
by the Refugee Review Tribunal?
You have
the right
to appeal to
the Minister
of Immigration and Multicultural
Affairs. The
Minister has a personal power to intervene and
grant a visa where
there are broader
public
interest grounds. A letter to the Minister can
be written, per s417 of the Migration
Act, asking
for a visa
to be granted on humanitarian
grounds.
It is also possible to seek judicial review to the court. For information visit
DIMA's
Fact Sheet No. 9.
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Can UNHCR Help?
UNHCR
can review an individual case as part of its monitoring role
on application of the 1951 Refugee
Convention, only
if it has been
through the Australian
domestic appeals process. The individual or
his/her legal representative needs to
send to UNHCR the decision from DIMIA, RRT
and/or the Courts, as the case may be.
For further information,
contact UNHCR RO Canberra on 02-6273 2733. If
UNHCR finds that the case has been unfairly
denied refugee status, it can make a representation to the Government.
However, UNHCR
has
no power
to overturn
decisions
undertaken by Australian authorities.
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Who can I contact
for torture and trauma counselling?
The Forum
of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma
(FASSTT) for the name of the local
organization in
your state. The FASSTT is a coalition of agencies that
respond to the needs of survivors of torture and trauma who
have
come to Australia from overseas. There is an agency in
each state and territory of Australia.
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Background information
on migration regulations relating to asylum seekers and refugees
in Australia
Temporary Protection
Visa and Permanent Protection Visas
Only those refugees who
arrive in Australia with a valid - holiday, student, working
visa - are able to apply
for a Permanent
Protection Visa. Those who enter Australia outside
the migration zone, through excised territories; Cocos Island,
Christmas
Island and the Ashmore Reef- or on route to Australia
have transited a 'safe country' (as determined by Australia)
for more than seven days will not be entitled to apply
for
this
Permanent Protection Visa.
Temporary Protection Visas
(TPV) are three-year visas given to some asylum seekers
who arrive in Australia
without
documents. A TPV does not allow the person to leave
Australia over the
three years. TPV status also denies the holder access
to family reunion. An asylum seeker may then apply
to change
their TPV
to a permanent visa after 30 months.
From 1994, until
the Migration Regulation changed in October 1999 all
asylum seekers who were found to be
refugees and
owed protection by Australia, and entered legally
on genuine documents
and met health and character requirements, were granted
a Protection Visa (PV) which gives them permanent
residence. This visa is
a Permanent
Visa, subclass 866.
With the Migration
Regulation changes on 20 October 1999, Asylum seekers
who are found to be refugees
but entered
Australia without formal documentation are granted
a Temporary Protection
Visa (TPV), provided they met health and character
requirements. This provides them with residency
for three years, known
as Temporary
Visa, subclass 785.
Other changes to
the migration legislation, made on 27 September 2001,
affected TPV holders' eligibility to
obtain permanent
residence in the future. People who have been
granted a TPV and who make a further Protection Visa (PV) application
are not able to access a permanent PV
if,
since leaving
their
home
country, they have resided for at least seven
days in a
country where they could have sought and obtained
effective protection.
However, they can receive a further TPV if there
is a continuing need for protection.
Any TPV holder who did not reside for at
least seven days in a country where
they could have
sought and
obtained effective protection and those TPV
holders who applied
for a further
Protection Visa before 27 September
2001, would
continue to
have access to the permanent protection
visa (subclass 866) after 30 months, if they were
assessed as
still needing
protection.
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New Measures
for TPV and THV holders
From
27 August 2004 new regulations introduced allow temporary
protection visa (TPV) and
offshore temporary
humanitarian
visa (THV) holders to apply for mainstream
visas to enable them
to remain in Australia , without
needing to leave the country to lodge their
applications.
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Refugee Protection in International Law