Right now, 15,000 people are living in deep poverty while seeking asylum in Australia.

Help us secure them a safety net.

Over 70,000 people who have sought refugee protection in Australia are waiting for the government to make a decision on their applications. Of those, approximately 15,000 people – including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities – urgently need a basic safety net to help them survive while they wait.

These 15,000 people are facing desperate poverty, chronic food shortages, malnutrition, homelessness and dire health issues while they wait years for a decision on their protection applications.

This can all change with a simple decision by the Australian Government; we just need you to tell them it’s time to act. Email your MP today using the form on the right.

The Australian Government’s Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) Program is meant to offer that basic safety net, providing people seeking protection in Australia with minimal but vital assistance of $42 a day, limited casework support and sometimes access to torture and trauma counselling.

It’s not a lot, but it can help people escape deep poverty and homelessness. 

In recent years, successive governments have cut the program by 94%, or over $280 million. The number of people assisted has dropped from more than 29,000 in 2015 to just 1,600 now.

Frontline asylum support charities and community groups simply cannot meet the demand for their services. Food insecurity has reached a catastrophic point, with children from asylum-seeking families being treated for malnourishment and associated developmental delays because they do not have access to sufficient nutritious food. Parents are going two or three days without food to ensure that the small offerings gathered from food pantries will go to their kids first.

Please help us change this by emailing your MP and asking them to call on the Minister for Immigration, Andrew Giles, to expand SRSS eligibility so these 15,000 people can access this basic safety net.

No legal amendments are necessary. No regulatory change is needed. And there’s no need to go before Parliament. The Minister simply needs to instruct the Department of Home Affairs to redesign the SRSS program to be a true safety net for those in need and expand the eligibility criteria so the 15,000 people currently in urgent need can access this safety net.

Please email your MP today about urging the Minister to make this simple, yet hugely impactful change.

Photo credit: BalkansCat

Dear Member of Parliament,
Right now, up to 15,000 people seeking asylum are living in deep poverty in Australia. I’m writing to you as a member of your constituency to ask for your help in calling on the government to change this. 
Over 70,000 people who have sought refugee protection in Australia are waiting for a decision. Of those, approximately 15,000 people – including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities – urgently need a basic safety net to help them survive while they wait. 
Australia is a safe and wealthy country, yet today, these 15,000 people are facing desperate poverty, chronic food shortages, malnutrition, homelessness and many dire health issues, while they wait years for a decision on their protection applications. 
The Australian Government’s Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) Program offers that basic safety net, providing people seeking protection in Australia with minimal but vital assistance of just $42 a day. The SRSS Program replaced the support program for people seeking asylum first introduced by the Howard Coalition Government in 2006.  
The SRSS program provides a basic living allowance (capped at 89% of the JobSeeker allowance), very limited casework support and sometimes access to torture and trauma counselling. 
It’s not a lot, but it can help people escape deep poverty and homelessness.  
Tragically, the program has been cut by 94%, or over $280 million, in recent years. The number of people assisted has dropped from more than 29,000 in 2015 to just 1,600 now. 
Frontline asylum support charities and community groups, have shared the extreme situations that people seeking our protection are facing, including imminent homelessness, insufficient food, and the inability to fill life-saving prescriptions. Like others, they are facing the worsening rental crisis, but with little or no income, their risk of homelessness is far greater. 
Food insecurity has reached a catastrophic point, with children from asylum-seeking families being treated for malnourishment and associated developmental delays because they do not have access to sufficient nutritious food. Parents are going 2 or 3 days without food to ensure that the small offerings gathered from food pantries will go to their kids first.
Charities simply cannot cope with the demand for their services. This will only become worse as crisis support from state governments is coming to an end and is unlikely to be renewed. 
Please help by raising this issue with Minister for Immigration, Andrew Giles, and ask him to expand SRSS eligibility so the 15,000 people who are facing destitution can access this basic safety net.
No legal amendments are necessary. No regulatory change is needed. And there’s no need to go before parliament. The Minister simply needs to instruct the Department of Home Affairs to redesign the SRSS program to be a true safety net for those in need and expand the eligibility criteria so the 15,000 people currently in urgent need can access this safety net. 
We need to show the Federal Government that this matter is sufficiently urgent to warrant a change in the program guidelines. 
Please call on Minister Giles and the Federal Government to expand the eligibility criteria for the SRSS program to help up to 15,000 people in desperate need right now.
 
Sincerely,

Right now, 15,000 people are living in deep poverty while seeking asylum in Australia.

Help us secure them a safety net.

Join our movement for refugee rights