Asylum seekers have been told they will lose their welfare payments, bridging visas and right to seek asylum unless they urgently submit applications for protection, as the Turnbull government cracks down on the "legacy caseload" of boat arrivals.
The Department of Immigration has begun issuing warning notices to hundreds of the approximately 12,000 asylum seekers in the community who came to Australia by boat prior to July 2013 but are yet to make applications for refugee status.
More iPad Videos
- Video duration
- 01:33
Bishop 'clarifies' Dutton
Bishop 'clarifies' Dutton
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's description of the US refugee deal does not match Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's "understanding", as she sought to clarify from Washington on Thursday.
Up Next
Restaurant names and shames no-shows
- Video duration
- 01:12
- Video duration
- 01:12
Restaurant names and shames no-shows
Restaurant names and shames no-shows
Erez Gordon, owner of Bishop Sessa restaurant in Surry Hills, explains why he uses social media to name and shame diners who fail to honour their reservation.
Up Next
LIVE: Question Time
- Video duration
- 00:00
- Video duration
- 00:00
LIVE: Question Time
LIVE: Question Time
The first question time of the year. Live from 2pm.
Up Next
David Marr on Twitter
- Video duration
- 03:03
- Video duration
- 03:03
David Marr on Twitter
David Marr on Twitter
Georgina Robinson talks to David Marr about his stance on Twitter in 2012.
Up Next
Waiting for a transplant
- Video duration
- 05:15
- Video duration
- 05:15
Waiting for a transplant
Waiting for a transplant
Herald photographer Janie Barrett follows Tianna Formosa and her family as she waits for a life saving heart lung transplant.
Up Next
Would you wear the Shark Shield?
- Video duration
- 01:18
- Video duration
- 01:18
Would you wear the Shark Shield?
Would you wear the Shark Shield?
Shark interviews at Bondi.
Up Next
Shark interviews at Beach
- Video duration
- 02:11
- Video duration
- 02:11
Shark interviews at Beach
Shark interviews at Beach
Sharks in WA: Do beachgoers worry?
Bishop 'clarifies' Dutton
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's description of the US refugee deal does not match Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's "understanding", as she sought to clarify from Washington on Thursday.
They are being given 60 days to apply, including all necessary documentation, with some who have already missed the deadline being told their support payments have been suspended and they now face losing their ability to claim asylum.
Immigration lawyers and refugee advocates are in despair over the crackdown, arguing it has created a rush on legal services and is leaving some asylum seekers unable to submit their application or forcing them to apply without legal help.
David Manne, executive director of the Melbourne-based Refugee Legal, said it was a "draconian and potentially very dangerous" move that could see asylum seekers deported to a place of persecution without ever having had their claims heard.
"It's causing another wave of trauma and suffering," he said. "It has sent shockwaves through a community that has been left in terrible limbo for years."
The legacy caseload of asylum seekers refers to a contingent of about 24,500 people who arrived before the then Labor government changed the rules in 2013 to prohibit any asylum seeker who came by boat from ever resettling in Australia.
In 2015, the government began allowing the legacy caseload to lodge asylum claims, but did not finish lifting the "bar" for all groups until late last year.
Under the "fast-track" process, claimants must present all supporting documentation up-front and have limited redress if their applications are rejected.
The application forms amount to some 62 pages, including 184 questions plus a detailed written statement, often necessitating legal and lingual help.
"They're forcing people to lodge a very complicated set of documents which relates to their refugee claim without assistance," said Melinda Jackson, principal solicitor at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
"It's fundamentally unfair. It really is a denial of their basic rights."
Legal aid groups, including the Refugee Advice and Casework Service in Sydney and the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service in Brisbane, have added extra resources to deal with the crackdown, but say their waiting lists are still in the thousands.
Fairfax Media understands a change in policy late last year means the government will no longer accept being on a waiting list as an excuse for failure to lodge an asylum claim.
"They've had pressure to get lodgments up," Ms Jackson said following a teleconference with department officials on Thursday. "Their message is there has been a policy shift [and] it's no longer okay to say you're on a wait list to receive legal assistance."
Asylum seekers who failed to respond to the 60-day warning are now being told their payments are being ceased and that if they do not apply in 14 days, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton may rescind their right to make an asylum claim in Australia.
"We will also consider not granting you another bridging visa," says the letter, seen by Fairfax Media. "This will mean you will be an unlawful non-citizen. You will lose access to Medicare and permission to work in Australia."
Asylum seekers would then be expected to leave the country or face deportation. Ms Jackson said the letters had made asylum seekers "very distressed and anxious", and in some cases they had threatened self-harm.
A spokesman for Mr Dutton confirmed letters to the cohort – dubbed illegal maritime arrivals – had been dispatched and that "failure to apply may affect some of the support services they receive".
The legacy caseload was a result of Labor's failure to protect the country's borders while in government, he said.