scheme may mean legitimate refugee claims are rejected
The federal government has cut all taxpayer funded legal advice to
asylum seekers who have arrived in Australia through unauthorised
channels, drawing criticism from immigration law experts who say it will
jeopardise thousands of refugee protection claims.
The Coalition
pledged to make the cuts to the Immigration Advice and Application
Scheme (IAAAS), which will save $100m, before last year's federal
election and it is understood cases have not been referred to the scheme
since November.
The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, said
on Monday cutting legal access to asylum seekers lodging protection
claims in Australia did not contravene obligations under international
law.
“If people choose to violate how Australia chooses to run our
refugee and humanitarian programme, they should not presume upon the
support and assistance that is provided to those who seek to come the
right way, and they should certainly not receive additional assistance,
as they did under the previous government,” Morrison said.
But international standards written by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) say the right to legal advice during the claims process is an “essential safeguard”.
“Asylum
seekers are often unable to articulate the elements relevant to an
asylum claim without the assistance of a qualified counsellor because
they are not familiar with the precise grounds for the recognition of
refugee status and the legal system of a foreign country,” the UNHCR
says.
Morrison said the government would offer a “small amount of
additional support” to those the department of immigration considers
vulnerable – including unaccompanied minors.
David Manne, chief
executive of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, said the cuts
could endanger the lives of asylum seekers fleeing persecution.
“This
is a complex process and people need legal advice and support to
understand what’s required, and present their case in a way which can be
properly assessed by the government. Without this advice, people will
seriously struggle to understand the system or properly present their
case,” he said.
“The bottom line is – it’s about the government
getting the right decision on what are often life or death matters so
that we don’t reject people whose safety is at risk.”
Morrison
said asylum seekers would be free to access legal advice offered on a
pro bono basis and would be assisted by the department of immigration.
But
Rachel Ball, director of advocacy and campaigns at the Human Rights Law
Centre in Melbourne, told Guardian Australia the department had already
refused an offer to provide asylum seekers with a list of free legal
services.
According to correspondence with the department seen by
Guardian Australia, the department said it would be inappropriate to
provide a list in case it was seen to be “favouring or endorsing
particular persons or organisations”. Ball said this response was
“nonsense”.
“There is a limited number of services that can
provide pro bono assistance and they can’t possibly meet the demand.
This is not a case where providers are competing with each other for
lucrative business; they’re providing the services for free,” she said.
Tanya
Jackson-Vaughan, chief executive of the Refugee Advice and Casework
Service, which is one of nine groups in receipt of IAAAS funding for
boat arrivals, said the cuts would mean more asylum seekers “failed the
test” for refugee status.
“Access to justice is a fundamental
human right – there’s been a longstanding commitment from successive
governments to provide legal assistance to asylum seekers in recognition
of this right and that legal assistance assures an effective refugee
status determination process,” she said.
Labor's immigration
spokesman, Richard Marles, described the cuts as “mean-spirited” and
“ripping away assistance for people who have been through traumatic
experiences and are often vulnerable”.
“This is an unfair and harsh announcement from a government with twisted priorities,” Marles said.
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