Last year the ASRC published a report called Dumped At the Gate. Our report highlighted the practice of DIMA dumping long – term detainees in the community with no support. DIMA responded to our report by denying this was in fact happening. Sadly, this year nothing has changed, we continue to see asylum seekers released from detention with no care plan, no referrals being made, no support, no arrangement for medicare and centrelink before released (if eligible for it) or released onto administrative detention arrangements. Such arrangements leave asylum seekers particularly vulnerable. The community becomes their place of detention and they have no entitlements whatsoever including no right to work or medicare or income. Just recently we had a man released after 4 years on such arrangements and he could not cope such that he asked us to help him be admitted back in Baxter Detention Centre and we had to talk him out of it. What a disgrace.

Kon Karapanagiotidis
CEO
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

Tags: