Currently some asylum seekers living in the Australian community have the right to work. Recent policy changes now deny this right to others based on their time and mode of arrival in Australia.

As a fundamental human right, asylum seekers should have the right to work.
In November 2012, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced new policy changes affecting asylum seekers arriving by boat.  These changes place asylum seekers on bridging visas with no right to work and imposing waiting periods of up to five years for processing.

History has proven that having asylum seekers live on welfare without any training or skill development for five years deliberately hinders their potential to be able to gain employment when they do achieve permanent residency – and for boat arrivals 90.8% do become permanent residents in Australia. The contribution of asylum seekers to our community, economy and the Australian way of life is invaluable. As identified by the UN HIgh Commissioner for Refugees “not only will the need for assistance be diminished if the asylum-seeker is permitted to engage in employment, but dignity and self-respect are enhanced.”

It is estimated that in 2013, 10,000 asylum seekers will be released nationally into the community without work rights.  There is no guarantee of the level of support provided to these people.  This will put strain on an already under resourced sector and will impact the mental health and self-agency of thousands of asylum seekers.

As a group of concerned not for profit organisations, individuals, businesses and community groups we are seeking to address the lack of right to work for asylum seekers. This includes those who have arrived post August 13, 2012 and are subject to the new policy and those who arrived prior to August 13, 2012 who have not been granted work rights.

As a group, the signatories to this statement call for:

• An undertaking from the Minister for Immigration to make a policy change extending the right to work to all asylum seekers released into the community on bridging visas, regardless of mode or date of arrival or stage in the refugee determination process.

• The right to work is accompanied by the provision of basic employment support services to increase the asylum seekers chance of employment.

SUPPORT THE RIGHT TO WORK FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS
Go to www.righttowork.com.au
and add your name to the statement. The more names that are added to this statement the more powerful it will be when presented it to the Prime Minister and Minister for Immigration. We encourage your organisation to add their name to the statement. If you are a member of an organisation that has already signed, please show your individual support by encouraging friends and others to take action on this important issue by adding their names as well. Please promote this campaign and your support to ensure the right to work for asylum seekers.

Send A Card

Download and print a postcard from the Right to Work Website: http://righttowork.com.au/take-action/send-a-card/

Make The Call

One of the most powerful ways to take action on the right to work for asylum seekers is to call our Prime Minister and Minister for Immigration and let them know that asylum seekers living in our community should have the right to work.

Prime Minister (Julia Gillard)
(02) 6277 7700
(03) 9742 5800
(03) 9741 6213

Minister for Immigration (Brendan O’Connor)
(02) 6277 7667
(03) 8390 6166

Key points to make when calling –

• I am a voter who is concerned with the current treatment of asylum seekers in Australia.

• As a fundamental human right, asylum seekers should have the right to work.

• There is a right to work in International Law that we should uphold proudly as signatory to UN conventions such as the Refugee Convention and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

• Asylum seekers make a valuable contribution to our community and way of life.

• I care about the humane treatment of asylum seekers in Australia.

• All asylum seekers released into the community on bridging visas, regardless of mode or date of arrival or stage in the refugee determination process should be granted the right to work.

• The right to work should be accompanied by the provision of basic employment support services to increase the asylum seekers chance of employment.

Hotham Mission ASP currently manages over 15 properties throughout Metropolitan Melbourne, most of these properties are “donated” to Hotham Mission ASP by Church and Community Groups.

In addition to this number we have access to a number of Transitional Housing Properties which Hotham Mission ASP has nomination rights to.

Only a few years ago, Hotham Mission ASP managed over 25 donated properties throughout Melbourne.

“Donating” a property for no or limited financial gain has been a significant drain on the resources of many Church and Community Groups who have also been greatly affected by the Global Financial Crisis. Over the past 6 months alone, Hotham Mission ASP has lost access to over 10 properties. This greatly affects Hotham Mission ASP’s ability to house the most vulnerable people in our community.

Various community organisations have partnered with Hotham Mission ASP to provide houses in which asylum seekers can live while their claims are processed. The housing provided in this period is vital as there are no other options for asylum seekers at this time. As they have neither an income nor permanent residency they aren’t eligible for housing through the mainstream homelessness services or the private market.

Rent Free Properties

As you can imagine there is always more need than available properties. For this reason, whenever a tenant in a rent-free property finds themselves with an income (either becomes eligible for an ARC program/income or secures employment) we ask these people to move into private rental properties in the community so as to ensure that rent-free properties are kept for those most in need.

If a Housing Donor is able to offer their property to Hotham Mission ASP on a rent-free basis, then Hotham Mission ASP would be able to offer all rooms to asylum seekers who have no income and no other access to housing. Hotham Mission ASP will cover all utility costs.

Rental Properties

We understand that any Housing Donor who offers Hotham Mission ASP a property may find themselves in the position where they have to charge rent. Given that Hotham Mission ASP is not able to cover full rental payments, Hotham Mission ASP will offer the property to people seeking asylum who have an income. Tenants who have an income (either through the ARC or through employment) are expected to pay 25% of that income in rent (in keeping with Office of Housing Public Housing Standards) and cover their own utility costs. Where the ASP may be able to subsidise client rental payments to secure a house, each property offer would be considered on a case by case basis.

“Australia’s hidden homeless: community-based approaches to asylum seeker homelessness”.

1. HUNDRED HOUSES CHALLENGE – OUTLINE AND CONTACTS

Hotham Mission ASP is calling on Victorians who own a rental property to register their interest in making their property available for transitional housing for asylum seekers. If agreed by State and Federal Governments, this pilot scheme would see rental agreements funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and administered by the Victorian Department of Housing.

To indicate your interest in pledging a property or to find out more specific information related to your needs, please call Emma Pullen on 9326 8343 or email emma.asp@hothammission.org.au

This pilot program is the main recommendation of “Australia’s Hidden Homelessness: community-based approaches to asylum seeker homelessness” a major national and international study released by Hotham Mission ASP in August 2010. The report proposes a model that would relieve profound suffering, within existing structures for addressing homelessness. The pilot is in harmony with an emerging trend internationally towards community-government and private sector-government partnerships, to address the needs of vulnerable communities in ways that cause less drain on existing social services budgets.

Hotham Mission ASP’s Director Ms Caz Coleman, who led the research team, said that in the UK, Sweden and Canada, whether to provide adequate medium term housing for asylum seekers was not a question. “These countries have brought legislation into line with their obligations under the human rights treaties they have signed, and so should we,” she said. “The model we are proposing would avert needless suffering, and bring benefits to the Australian community, by laying the foundations for the integration and productivity of those whose claims are upheld, and for better outcomes for those who must return.”

The first step in Hotham Mission ASPs plan for the pilot scheme is to demonstrate to Government the willingness of house owners in Victoria to make suitable properties available to the scheme. The terms of the rental agreements would see house owners letting their properties for fixed periods to the government authority at 80% of market rental value, but with guaranteed income and maintenance provisions, and no agents fees, which would result in minimal if any disadvantage in net terms.

Ms Coleman said the model could be implemented with limited or no additional pressure on the mainstream housing and homelessness services system. She said the model was cost-effective with a per bed price of approximately $31.30 for a single asylum seeker living alone and less than $12 per day for asylum seekers living in shared housing.

To download the full report “Australia’s Hidden Homelessness: community-based approaches to asylum seeker homelessness”, please click on the filename above right. The study, launch and publication were funded by the Truby and Florence Williams Charitable Trust managed by ANZ Trustees under their Strategic Impact Program.

2. WHAT WE NEED

At this stage we are looking for a commitment of 100 houses to show the Government that our proposed model is feasible.

You are able to help us in pledging a house if:

You have a house that you are willing to rent for 80% of market value (no real estate fees) for at least 6 months.
You have a house that meets the requirements of the project. Please have a look through the information on this website and contact us to have a talk in person about your particular situation.
Please note that the house does not need to be currently vacant. You will have time to prepare. Any pledge made now isn’t binding as it will be re-assessed at the time of implementation.

Your pledge is invaluable as it demonstrates to the government that this model is economically viable for members of the community, that there is interest in the community, and that the model will provide a sustainable housing option.

3. HOW TO PLEDGE A HOUSE

If you are interested in finding out more information about pledging a property please call us to have a chat and find out more specific information related to your needs. Please call Emma Pullen on 9326 8343.

Please call us if you are either interested in donating a property for our current housing program or pledging a property towards the ’100 houses challenge’.

Charitable Status: Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient and all donations are tax deductible.

4. HOW ASYLUM SEEKERS WILL BE SUPPORTED IN THE HOUSES

There are only a few agencies in Victoria (or Australia) who work with people seeking asylum. Of these, the three main agencies in Victoria are the Australian Red Cross (ARC), the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) and Hotham Mission ASP. People seeking asylum who are in the ARC programs receive an income (about 89% of a Centrelink Special Benefit) due to the fact that the two ARC programs are fully funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. However, there are strict eligibility criteria for the ARC programs and not many people seeking asylum are successful in receiving this income. Therefore, most people seeking asylum are seen by the Hotham Mission ASP and the ASRC. All three agencies work closely together to try to ensure that people seeking asylum receive the best possible service. Hotham Mission ASP receives referrals of possible tenants from both the ASRC and ARC. Hotham Mission ASP priorities access for children and families. If Hotham Mission ASP provides a property to an ASRC client then Hotham Mission ASP takes over the primary casework. However, for funding reasons the ARC must maintain primary casework of all their clients, even if they are living in a Hotham Mission ASP property.

Therefore, every person seeking asylum who is involved with Hotham Mission ASP (referred to as clients) has a primary caseworker, either from Hotham Mission ASP or from the ARC. These caseworkers facilitate the tenancy and housing issues, any casework issues (including health, legal and welfare needs) and also assist in exit plans for when the person is ready to move out or is no longer eligible.

Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project envisions a future Australia in which those seeking asylum are treated with compassion, fairness and timeliness.

We support and advocate for the most vulnerable asylum seekers in our community. We support and provide alternatives to mandatory detention.

We welcome the recent announcement by Minister Bowen that many people who arrived in Australia by boat after 13^th August 2012 (following the release of the Houston Report) will be released from closed detention to live into the Australian community. Our research “Australia’s Hidden Homeless” clearly shows that community based approaches for people seeking asylum make sense for the benefit of / improved physical and mental health, as well as being economically effective.

However, we deplore the announcement that this group of people will be denied the right to work. The right to work and support oneself and family is central to not only avoid homelessness and destitution, but also for sustained / improved mental and physical health

Further, the proposal that people may remain on a bridging visa for 5 years, even if refugee status is confirmed, intensifies uncertainty for people. Research shows that this uncertainty – uncertainty as to visa processing times, health and welfare of family members in their country of origin, prospects of family reunification – is detrimental to mental health.

The prospect of “transfer” to Nauru or Manus Island at any time during the 5 years will further exacerbate the mental and physical health needs of people seeking asylum. Not only is this inhumane, it ensures a higher cost for our health and settlement system once a protection visa is provided.

It is unclear under which legal system this group of people will be processed – we strongly support that any person seeking asylum living in the community in Australia be processed entirely through the Australian legal system and settled in Australia once refugee status is confirmed.

These proposed measures will not, we believe, “deter” desperate people from making a desperate journey. They will only serve to exacerbate financial, emotional and physical distress of already traumatised people.

We note that at least one member of the Expert Panel, Paris Aristotle, has said that these measures were not envisaged by the Houston report.

We call on Minister Bowen and the Australian government to provide adequate income support to all people seeking asylum who are living in the community, to allow them the right to work and to provide certainty once refugee status is confirmed.

For further comment, please contact Helga Svendsen
on 03 326 8343 or 0418 536 447.

Read the Refugee Advocacy Network submission to the expert panel, and find HMASP’s contribution to the submission here, as well as our 2010 report on the housing challenges faced by people seeking asylum, Australia’s Hidden Homeless: Community-based approaches to asylum seeker homelessness.

Our submission proposes that legislation changes be made to include children who are seeking asylum as a group of children who are at risk or vulnerable in Australia.
Our very own Kimberlea Cooper has been asked to present our submission to the Senate Committee on Friday 8th June! Click here to read our submission, as well as 54 others including submissions from the Brotherhood of Saint Laurence and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.