Fact sheet – Asylum Seekers
Access to services
The following advice confirms eligibility for access to homelessnessservices for asylum seekers, and provides a general overview of access to health and human services in Victoria.
Who are asylum seekers?
The Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Border Protection define asylum seekers as people who have left their country of origin, have applied for recognition as a refugee or sought protection on Complementary Protection grounds and are awaiting a decision on their application.
The Refugee Convention defines a refugee as a person who owing to a well founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion is:
- outside their country of nationality
- unwilling or unable to return to or seek the protection of that country
Asylum seekers have arrived in Australia from over 50 countries, and reside in the country on bridging visas, student visas, working visas and a range of substantive visas, in community detention, or immigration detention centres.
What services are asylum seekers eligible for?
Asylum seekers have differing rights to access state funded mainstream services and Commonwealth funded services.
At a Commonwealth level, the right to work and access to Medicare isdependant on a person’s visa status and date of arrival. There are many asylum seekers living in the community without work rights. Asylum seekers are not eligible for income support or Health Care Cards through Centrelink.
In Victoria, asylum seekers may have access to a range of health and community services including public hospital and ambulance services, Community Health and Home and Community Care program services, dental services, immunisation, public transport concession and some education services.
The Department of Health and Human ServicesDiversity in Health websitehas a Guide to asylum seeker access to health and community services in Victoriaand A guide to access to Victorian public health services for people living in community detentionto provide information onentitlements and specialised programs.
Asylum seekers are eligible to access a range of human services including the Aids and Equipment Program for people with a permanent or long term disability, and to homelessness services, including financial support to assist with access to short and medium term housing options.
Specialist asylum seeker services
The Red Cross, AMES Consortium and Life without Barriers are funded by the Commonwealth Government to provide specific supports to asylum seekers. The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and other specialist organisations provide general support to individuals and families who have made an application for protection in Australia and are living lawfully in the Victorian Community.
Specialist services provide case managed responses to asylum seekers at each stage of the application determination process. The majority of those supported are at the primary or application assessment stage through the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Homelessness assistance program guidelines
The Homelessness Assistance Program Guidelines 2014-15 state that:
A no-income status, as may be the case for asylum seekers and new migrants awaiting residency status, does not preclude homeless people from access to transitional and crisis accommodation. Their state of homelessness is the criterion for entry. When presenting for housing assistance, people who are asylum seekers and others presently without income must be assessed for eligibility on the basis of their immediate need for housing and other types of appropriate assistance, regardless of their financial status and
It is likely that most applicants for Housing Establishment Funds (HEF) will be in receipt of a full or partial Centrelink income or low wages. However, HEF may be provided on a discretionary basis to assist applicants who do not meet the income eligibility criteria but are in significant housing difficulty.
Exclusion of an individual or family due to lack of income is not person-centred practice and is not supported. Similarly, asylum seekers are not eligible for Health Care Cards, which should not be used as a basis for exclusion from access to available services.
Further advice on specific issues for your service or community may be obtained by contacting the Department of Health and Human Services Local Engagement Team at the divisional office in your service catchment area.
To receive this publication in an accessible format phone9096 9779or emailAuthorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.
© State of Victoria, April 2015.
Asylum seekers – Access to homelessness services1