Asylum seekers are not eligible for any other welfare assistance or state government support programs. A small proportion of asylum seekers receive application advice from government funded legal centres and agencies. Asylum seekers in detention receive assistance to lodge their claims for refugee status. These applications are given priority status by decision makers. The Refugee Council is strongly opposed to the imposition of this new three year Temporary Protection Visa as these new measures are contrary to our international obligations and will have a profound and lasting impact on the people concerned and the communities from which they came.
Some asylum seekers are refugees.
The act of recognition of refugee status does not make someone a refugee. This is why it is important to presume that asylum seekers are refugees until proven otherwise. Failure to do this can mean that a country does not meet its legal obligations to genuine refugees.