DIMA Annual Report 1996-97
Sub-program 3.2: Onshore Protection
Objective
To protect refugees in Australia in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, through refugee determination processes which are fair, just, informal, economical and timely.
Description
The Onshore Protection sub-program is responsible for the primary decision-making process for determining onshore applications for protection visas and the management of the Asylum Seeker Assistance (ASA) Scheme.
Applications are processed by staff in the Sydney and Melbourne State offices. The Protection and Family Residence Branch provides policy and program support.
Financial and staffing resources summary
|
1996-97 |
1996-97 |
1995-96 |
|
|
Budgetary (cash) basis |
|||
|
Components of appropriations |
|||
|
Annual appropriations |
|||
|
Running costs |
17 728 |
15 536 |
18 175 |
|
Other program costs |
12 950 |
12 950 |
15 928 |
|
Total appropriations |
30 678 |
28 486 |
34 103 |
|
Less adjustments |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total outlays |
30 678 |
28 486 |
34 103 |
|
Total revenue |
- |
- |
- |
|
Staffing |
|||
|
Staff years (actual) |
250 |
229 |
261 |
Performance information
Outcomes are determined by the extent to which:
- refugees are protected;
- decision making processes are fair, just and informal; and
- decision making processes are economical and timely.
Performance outcomes
(i) Refugees are protected
As a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, Australia has an obligation to provide protection to people in Australia who come within the convention's refugee definition.
Australia is recognised by the UNHCR as having quality refugee determination procedures that deliver fair, lawful and just decisions.
The 1996-97 Humanitarian Program allocated 2 000 places for protection visa grants. This figure is a notional planning allocation and not a quota.
A total of 1 304 protection visas was granted at primary stage and 864 following review by the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT).
There were 10 267 applications received, an increase of 2 289 (22.3 per cent) on 1995-96.
Since 18 September 1995, non-citizens previously refused a protection visa have been barred from making further applications for a protection visa.
A safety net, in the form of a non-compellable and non-delegable ministerial discretion to allow a further application to be made, ensures that people in special circumstances are not disadvantaged by this provision.
The Minister allowed further applications to be made in three cases.
Increasing application rates, evident in the two previous financial years, continued in 1996-97 but fluctuated considerably from month to month.
In October 1996, 1 100 applications were received. Numbers were somewhat lower in subsequent months but peaked in June 1997 with 1 321 applications.
There were a large numbers of applications from countries with very low approval rates (that is, they are not refugee-producing countries) — 44.8 per cent (4 601) of applications received, and 44.6 per cent (6 093) of applications determined, came from the Philippines, Indonesia and the People's Republic of China.
Approval rates for these countries were 0.1 per cent, 0.5 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively.
This is indicative of some abuse in the Onshore Protection sub-program. Some applicants appear to be seeking to prolong their stay in Australia, or to access work rights or Medicare, rather than seeking to make substantive claims.
In 1996-97, the three countries (Iraq, Somalia, Iran) with the highest approval rates (60 per cent or more), accounted for only 3.4 per cent (460) of applications determined. In 1995-96 the three countries (Algeria, Iraq, Somalia) with the highest approval rates (75 per cent or more), accounted for 3.5 per cent (273) of applications determined.
On 20 March 1997, following the Review of Immigration Decision Making and in keeping with a commitment in the Portfolio Budget Statements 1996-97 performance forecast to review and benchmark the efficiency of decision-making, the Minister announced streamlined procedures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the protection visa process.
Changes included giving priority to new and straightforward applications, decision recording was streamlined and interviews with applicants are now conducted only when required.
To assist disadvantaged asylum seekers, the Department provides Application Assistance and Asylum Seeker Assistance (ASA) to asylum seekers in the community. Application Assistance is reported under sub-program 4.2.
ASA is available to eligible asylum seekers if they are awaiting a primary decision six months after lodgment of their application.
The ASA Scheme provides financial and limited health care assistance to eligible protection visa applicants unable to meet their basic needs during the decision-making process.
The scheme is administered by the Australian Red Cross.
In the context of the 1996-97 Budget the Government announced changes to the ASA scheme. As of 1 October 1996, ASA was restricted to people at the primary stage of processing. From that date, no assistance was available to applicants in the review stage.
The scheme assisted 3 712 clients and the Australian Red Cross received $12.95 million to operate the scheme ($15.9 million in 1995-96).
Funding consisted of $10.3 million for income support, $0.5 million for limited health care and $1.4 million for administration by the Australian Red Cross, with $0.7 million carried forward for July 1997 funding.
Streamlined protection visa processing procedures introduced in March 1997 contributed to a significant improvement in processing rates.
ii) Fair decisions
The protection visa process is a two-tier system (primary and review). Primary determinations are made on a case-by-case basis by experienced departmental case officers.
Applicants are entitled to seek a review of a negative primary decision by a member of the independent RRT. The activities of the RRT are presented in its own annual report.
About two-thirds of primary stage refusals applied for review by the RRT, consistent with the experience in previous years.
The RRT determined 5 202 applications of which 699 (13.4 per cent) set aside the primary decision.
All cases where the RRT affirms the primary decision to refuse the grant of a protection visa are examined against the Minister's Guidelines for Stay in Australia on Humanitarian Grounds.
The Minister intervened under Section 417 of the Migration Act 1958 to grant visas on humanitarian grounds in 79 cases, representing 107 people.
Procedural fairness is incorporated into the determination process, benefiting all applicants and ensuring transparency of decision-making.
The Onshore Refugees Procedures Manual, launched in March 1996, has been reviewed, including a review of the decision record, and is being incorporated into the Departmental Procedures Advice Manual (PAM).
In consultation with inter-governmental and non-government organisations, gender guidelines were released by the Minister on 15 July 1996, to help decision-makers deal sensitively and consistently with gender-based claims.
Work continued in association with the Refugee Council of Australia on a training module to assist decision makers dealing with asylum seekers with special needs, such as the elderly, unaccompanied minors, people with physical or psychological disabilities, and survivors of torture or trauma.
The determination process is non-adversarial and informal, with the application form, letters to applicants and the decision record written in plain English.
The applicant is able to submit material to the Department up to the time of decision. Interviews are organised if required and interpreters are provided.
The Department continued its commitment to consult with stakeholders in the refugee determination process to enhance the fairness, consistency and quality of primary decision-making.
Participants in these regular consultative forums — UNHCR, non-government organisations, client groups and migration agents — have commented favourably on the dialogue such forums promote and on the progress made in improving service to clients.
The Department liaises closely with and seeks advice from the UNHCR to ensure processes are fair and just and procedures are transparent.
(iii) Timely decisions
The Government allocated $9.6 million to the sub-program to ensure that processing targets for protection visa processing would be met.
The Government also authorised a resource agreement with the Department of Finance to cover the processing of protection visa applications.
Under the agreement, the Department was funded to make 9 227 decisions.
In order to deny the benefit of processing delays to those seeking to abuse the system, and in recognition of the higher application rate, resources were diverted temporarily, from other areas, to deal with the backlog.
Some 13 667 primary applications were determined (7 709 in 1995-96).
Approximately 25.1 per cent of cases determined were finalised within three months of lodgment (11.7 per cent in 1995-96 and 8.5 per cent in 1994-95).
Processing priority was given to applications from people in detention, victims of torture and trauma, recipients of ASA and to new applications.
For applications from people in detention, the average processing time (from application to finalisation) was 72 days; for applications from people who have suffered torture and trauma 258 days; and for applications from people in receipt of ASA 495 days.
Some 96.9 per cent of applications from people in detention received a primary decision within six months of application; 82.5 per cent of applications from people who have suffered torture and trauma received a primary decision within 12 months of application.
As a result of the large number of applications finalised, despite the high numbers of applications lodged, the number of applications-on-hand was reduced significantly, from 9 055 applications on hand in July 1996, to 5 672 applications in July 1997.
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