Abstract
This article examines the legal challenges asylum seekers arriving by boat to Australia experience when seeking assistance with their claims and its impact on their mental health. The authors outline the experiences of asylum seekers in the “legacy caseload” group who have been waiting up to four years to have their protection claims assessed. The complex interplay between legal assistance to support refugee claims and the way those making claims inevitably struggle to understand, engage and participate in the process is analysed. It is argued that provision of legal assistance for this group will be essential to ensuring that the refugee status determination process is fair and allows asylum seekers to understand and participate more fully in the process. Recent changes to the assessment of claims combined with a reduction in funding for legal assistance create significant hurdles and combine to compound existing stress and emotional trauma leading to detrimental outcomes on the mental health of asylum seekers.
Highlights
The following is an account from an immigration lawyer describing her interaction with an asylum seeker during a legal advice session at a community legal centre in Queensland, Australia.He pushed an envelope across the table that contained a letter
This paper examines the cataclysm facing asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by boat between August 2012 – December 2013 that have come to be known as the “legacy caseload”
Legal assistance and fair refugee status determination In referring to the withdrawal of funded legal assistance the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection said ‘Australia's protection obligations do not extend to providing free immigration advice and assistance to those who arrived in Australia illegally’ (Morrison 2014)
Summary
The following is an account from an immigration lawyer describing her interaction with an asylum seeker during a legal advice session at a community legal centre in Queensland, Australia.He pushed an envelope across the table that contained a letter. The authors set about explaining the complex interplay between legal assistance to support refugee claims and the way those making claims inevitably struggle to understand, engage and participate in the process and the profound impact this has on their mental health.
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