Australia’s current approach to people seeking asylum and refugees frequently imposes uncertainty on an already vulnerable section of our community.

In the face of indifferent Commonwealth government policy and incomplete assistance, states and territories can and do intervene to ensure at least basic needs are being met.

Our report States of Refuge, highlights how refugees and people seeking asylum across different parts of Australia must navigate unpredictable, disparate and often conflicting access to essential services. It is a disparity faced by virtue of the state or territory in which they live. It also shows how difficult it is to navigate the disparate provisions of different Australian jurisdictions.

As our report concludes, there is no rational basis for this inconsistency. It’s something RAP has told every jurisdiction directly by contacting the relevant department or minister at the time of the release of our report.

In January 2019, we wrote to the Minister for Housing in Victoria about the experience of Mitra Jafarpourasr, and called on the government to live up to its progressive reputation and allow temporary visa holders to be placed on the state’s housing register.