“Profoundly dangerous”: ASC condemns Coalition’s immigration policies
Sydney, 14 April 2026 — In response to the Coalition’s newly announced immigration policies, the Asylum Seekers Centre warns the… Read More
Calling for a Federal Budget that reflect our values
In his election night speech, Anthony Albanese said Australians had voted for “fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all. For the strength to show courage in adversity and kindness to those in need”.
Budgets are where those words are tested.
As the federal government prepares its first Federal Budget since the 2025 election, it faces a clear choice: maintain a broken system that leaves thousands of people seeking asylum in poverty and uncertainty, or take practical steps towards a more humane, consistent approach that is aligned with the values it claims to represent.
Here’s what that choice looks like in real terms.
Fix the safety net
People seeking asylum are locked out of mainstream social support. Instead, very few are eligible for the Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) program, which caps the highest level of support at around 89% of the JobSeeker allowance.
The program, which is the last remaining lifeline for vulnerable people seeking asylum, has been cut to a fraction of its former size. Spending on the program has been slashed from $300 million in 2015-16 to just $20.2 million in 2025-26.
This isn’t just a policy gap. It’s a pipeline into destitution. When people have no income, they don’t disappear – they fall into homelessness, crisis services, and lasting poverty.
We’re calling for SRSS support to be given to all people seeking asylum who meet the vulnerability criteria, regardless of their visa stage.
Learn more about our Fix the safety net campaign.
Housing based on need, not visa status
Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis and people seeking asylum are disproportionately affected. Many are excluded from public housing entirely, regardless of how vulnerable they are. Meanwhile, there is almost no tailored homelessness support available to LGBTQI+ people who have fled persecution.
The result is predictable: people already in precarious situations are pushed into homelessness or unsafe accommodation.
One in two of the people we provide casework support to are either homeless or are at immediate risk of homelessness.
We’re calling for additional funding to states and territories to support people seeking asylum with access to emergency and temporary accommodation because the criteria should be on the degree of need, not visa status.
Healthcare as a human right
People lawfully seeking protection can lose access to Medicare in a deliberately complex, punitive system. Visa conditions shift, and Medicare and work rights can be revoked arbitrarily – sometimes for minor issues, sometimes due to bureaucratic delays beyond their control.
At the Asylum Seekers Centre, around one in three people we support don’t have Medicare. When care is denied, conditions worsen, putting greater pressure on emergency departments further down the line.
Access to healthcare is a human right and we’re calling for all people seeking asylum in our community to be granted Medicare access regardless of their visa status.
Learn more about our Healthcare for all campaign.
A humanitarian program that matches the rhetoric
The Labor Party pledged to increase Australia’s humanitarian intake to 27,000 places when first entering office. That target still hasn’t been met, with the program remaining at around 20,000 places.
In global and domestic terms, this is an unambitious fulfilment of Australia’s humanitarian obligations.
We’re calling for the Government to strive towards a larger program, akin to the 27,000 spaces promised in the Australian Labor Party’s previous policy platforms.
Ending a cruel and costly system
Offshore detention continues to absorb hundreds of millions of dollars each year while drawing sustained criticism from international human rights bodies. Beyond the moral argument, there’s a practical one: it is an extraordinary waste of taxpayer dollars on cruelty.
The 2025-26 Federal Budget allocated $581 million for offshore processing on Nauru alone. Over time, the scale becomes even clearer: on the 12-year anniversary of offshore detention in 2025, the total cost to taxpayers had exceeded $13 billion.
This Federal Budget, we want to see the Albanese Government commit to winding down the regime and bringing Australia in line with its international human rights obligations.
Learn more about the history of offshore detention and why we must end this cruel policy.
Resolution for the so-called “transitory cohort”
For a group of around 7-800 people, many of whom have now spent more than ten years in Australia, uncertainty has been a constant. Transferred to Nauru and Papua New Guinea under offshore processing and later brought to Australia for urgent medical treatment, they have since rebuilt their lives here – working, studying, raising families, paying taxes, and contributing to our community.
And yet, they remain trapped in limbo.
We’re calling for this group of community members to be granted a clear pathway to permanent residency in Australia.
