Permanent visas for 19,000

One year ago today, the Australian Government announced a pathway to permanent protection for over 19,000 people whose lives had been in limbo for over a decade on Temporary Protection Visas and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas. Visa Subclass 851, known as the Resolution of Status visa, represented a monumental change in Australia’s humanitarian policy – the most significant development in over a decade. 

RACS scaled up our efforts to meet the legal need created by this announcement. Over the past 12 months, our team has worked tirelessly to provide answers for thousands of people seeking asylum, to guide them to the safety and security they have waited so long for. Permanent protection for RACS clients requires thousands of hours of legal work, from applications to interviews, to appeals and court appearances. 

“It is an immense relief to see thousands of people find safety, security, certainty these past 12 months,” says Sarah Dale, RACS Centre Director & Director.

Results for RACS clients

RACS has helped more than 2,000 people apply for a Resolution of Status (RoS)visa. Over 1,000 people have successfully obtained a RoS visa with legal advice or full representation from our team, and we’re expecting more visas to be granted over the coming months. 

These numbers represent life-changing outcomes. It means these individuals and families will soon be eligible for citizenship and will truly be able to call Australia their new home. 

“It’s a good feeling,” RACS client Maryam tells us, “because nobody can tell me ‘you don’t have a visa.’” 

Zaki Haidari, a RACS Ambassador who escaped Afghanistan in 2011, is among the RACS clients who now have permanent protection in Australia thanks to the RoS visa. 

“So many of you have journeyed with me through the limbo created for me by the Australian immigration system,” Zaki says. “I thank [RACS supporters] for standing in solidarity with me. You have kept me going all these years and energised me to keep fighting for others like me.” 

More to be done for people in limbo

According to the Refugee Council of Australia, by the end of 2023, almost 13,000 people had received their RoS visa. RACS lawyers are continuing to represent more than 400 people awaiting an outcome on their application. 

Sadly, we know the Resolution of Status visa announcement was not good news for everyone. As many as 9,000 individuals seeking asylum are, for a range of reasons, currently not eligible for the RoS visa. Despite having lived in Australia for more than a decade, these people continue in limbo with an uncertain future.  

Many of the people who are not currently eligible for a RoS were subject to a ‘fast-track’ system of refugee status determination that was plagued by strict deadlines with severe time pressures, the removal of funding for free legal assistance, withdrawn income support and restrictions on their appeal rights. The Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) was established to review refused applications for people in the fast-track system, but it failed to deliver procedural fairness or just decision-making. RACS welcomes the forthcoming abolition of the IAA and the government’s recognition that doing so is a step towards a fair hearing for people seeking asylum. However, no solution has been proposed for the  thousands of people seeking asylum who were subject to this flawed system of merits review; those who are left without a legal remedy and are at risk of refoulement.

We must also not forget the over 1,100 people who were transferred offshore to Nauru and Papua New Guinea but currently reside in Australia with no opportunity for permanent settlement in this country. RACS is committed to advocating for justice and dignity for everyone who has a right to protection in Australia.  

“Permanency affords dignity, a dignity I hope to see restored to the many others that have arrived on shores needing safety also,” Sarah affirms. “This was a momentous and celebrated change in February 2023, and I look forward to working towards continuing the fight for further change.”