Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the federal government has ramped up efforts to prop up businesses and assist workers who are out of work by
For some asylum seekers who are waiting for their applications or appeals to be seen, the effort to keep their heads above water during this unprecedented crisis is made even more difficult due to their ineligibility to access government support.
Abdallah* is a 47-years-old asylum seeker from Iraq. He arrived in Australia by boat in 2013.
Following a three-month stay in detention, he was released to the community on a bridging visa.
He received government support from the time of his arrival until he was interviewed by an immigration official in 2017. His asylum application was subsequently rejected and the government support was severed.
He appealed the decision in 2017 but has yet to receive a decision on his case. The COVID-19 crisis has only deepened his despair, as he says there is no work and he cannot access Centrelink support.
“I work as a carpenter, I don’t [usually] need Centrelink help, but the last time I managed to work was on January 23,” he says.
“Since then, all the work has shut down, I can’t earn anything.”
With no employment prospects on the horizon, he visited his local Centrelink office.
“I went to Centrelink, and I asked them to give me some work or help pay my rent, I don’t have money. They said I am not eligible for support.”
Abdallah’s case is not unique, says Sarah Dale, a principal solicitor and the centre director of the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS).
“We're looking at roughly 30,000 people that are in the asylum process that are not eligible for Centrelink payments that currently have no access to any coronavirus subsidies or any other supports that have been made available for the community,” she says.
She believes that while each asylum situation is different and often complicated, the government policy is clear.
“It is very clear that the government's mandate is there is no financial support for people while they are seeking asylum.”
The Department of Home Affairs offers payments to assist with basic living costs while applicants wait to hear about their immigration status, called the status resolution support service payment, or SRSS.
Ms Dale says that these government payments aren't easy to attain.
“A small percentage of people may be eligible to SRSS but as I said, that's a very small percentage of people.
“If you're at the Federal Circuit Court or you're appealing in the court on an initial decision to be refused, you're not eligible for SRSS.
“So those people can access nothing, irrespective of how vulnerable they might be.”
Many people who are in a situation similar to Abdallah’s work mainly in the industries affected by the coronavirus crisis, she says.
“They were working in cafes. They were driving your Uber. They were working in industries that have otherwise been affected by shut down to the coronavirus.
“A lot of those people that are unable to work because they're single parents or they have a particular illness which prevents or limits their ability to work.”
Abdallah says he was given the number to a charity by a Centrelink employee.
“I called them, and they said that I am not vulnerable to be helped, and they offered me some noodles and pasta,” he says.
“The main thing I need is work to be able to pay my rent.”
Ms Dale says that many charities are “already supporting hundreds of people with financial assistance to bridge that gap left by the government”.
“The SRSS budget went from $140 million to $56 million, so that's a massive gap of nearly $80 million that charities have been trying to fill,” she adds.
“But ultimately this is the government's responsibility to support people in our community. Irrespective of your visa status. Many people were contributing to this economy and their industries are now closed.
“They are our neighbours, they're our friends next door and we should be ensuring that they're supported as much as everybody else in our community.”
With his future uncertain, Abdullah reflects on his journey from Iraq.
“I have a wife and two kids that I haven’t seen in seven years, one of my kids was two years when I left, how old is he now?"
Every time he thinks of going back to Iraq, the fresh eruption of violence stops him.
He is a Sunni man in the majority Shiite south of the country and he said his safety couldn't be ensured if he returned.
“Just recently, a man in the same position as me was shot by the militias as he left his house.”
He wants the government to consider changing its regulations to allow asylum seekers to receive assistance as part of the current efforts to assist.
SBS Arabic24 has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.
* Not his real name
