Fact Sheet 65 – Onshore Processing Arrangements for Irregular Maritime Arrivals

Policy announcement

The Australian Government will allow some people who have arrived by boat to live in the Australian community on bridging visas while their refugee claims are assessed. Mandatory detention for irregular maritime arrivals (IMAs) will still occur while appropriate heath, identity and security checks are undertaken. The government announced that following these initial checks, eligible boat arrivals who do not pose a risk to the Australian community will be progressively considered for release into the community on bridging visas while their asylum claims are assessed.

A Bridging visa E (BVE) can be granted to a person to allow them to remain lawfully in Australia while their immigration status is being resolved. The act of granting a BVE to an IMA will not affect their protection claim.

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship's media release on 25 November 2011 is available on the minister's website.
See: Minister's Media Centre

From 24 March 2012 the department will move to a single protection visa process for both boat and air arrivals, using the current onshore application arrangements. All reviews of departmental decisions relating to protection claims will now be heard by a single independent body, the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT).
See:
Fact Sheet 61a – Complementary Protection
Implementation of a single process for Irregular Maritime Arrivals (Questions and Answers) ( 38KB PDF file)

Commonly asked questions

How quickly will people be moved out of detention?

• There will be a staged process to assess the detention population for suitability for grant of a bridging visa and placement in the community.
• A specific target for release has not been set, although it is expected that at least 100 people will be granted bridging visas each month.

What criteria will determine who will be moved out of detention?

• There will be case-by-case consideration of whether to grant a bridging visa to an IMA while their protection claims are being assessed.
• Initial priority will be given to people who have been in detention for long periods and to vulnerable people.
• People will undergo initial checks including health, security and identity prior to being considered for grant of a bridging visa.
• Other key considerations include cooperation with the department and behaviour while in detention.
• People who pose an unacceptable risk to the community will remain in an immigration detention facility.

Do bridging visas replace the community detention program as a means of moving people out of detention?

• The government will continue to use the successful community detention program for particularly vulnerable people and for unaccompanied minors in particular, given the additional support that this program provides.
• The department will continue to monitor the placement of all people who remain in immigration detention to ensure that they are accommodated appropriately for their individual circumstances.
• The grant of bridging visas to IMAs adds to the tools available to flexibly manage IMAs. They work alongside the existing detention network, which ranges from higher security immigration detention centres, through to lower security facilities such as immigration residential housing and immigration transit accommodation, and to community detention.

What checks will be undertaken before a person is granted a bridging visa?

• The department will ensure that appropriate identity, health and security checks are undertaken prior to moving clients into the community.
• Just as with people granted community detention, the minister's decision as to whether to grant a person a bridging visa is informed by the advice of security agencies in determining whether it is appropriate for a person to be placed in the community.
• People who are considered to be a security risk, including people who are the subject of an adverse security assessment, will not be placed in the community.

Will people granted bridging visas be able to work?

• Yes, the bridging visa will have work rights.

Will people on bridging visas have access to Centrelink benefits or any form of government payment?

• No. People on bridging visas will not be eligible for benefits through Centrelink.
• Access to financial and other support will be in line with arrangements for other vulnerable bridging visa holders in the community.
• Upon grant of a bridging visa, people will go through an assessment to determine their individual circumstances and support networks to identify what, if any, transitional and ongoing support they may require.
• Those who are unable to support themselves or require some transitional support will be eligible for assistance through existing department-funded programs such as the Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme (ASAS) and the Community Assistance Support (CAS) program, which are administered by the Australian Red Cross.
• They will also be required to report to either a departmental case manager or a Community Status Resolution Officer depending on the complexity of their case and the level of vulnerability.
• They will be able to use interpreters through the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) National, which is provided by the department 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to any person or organisation in Australia requiring interpreting services.
• Some people who are granted bridging visas will also have family, friends or other support mechanisms available to them in the community.

What sort of transitional and ongoing support and assistance will be provided?

• The level of support that an IMA on a bridging visa will be eligible for will depend on their individual circumstances and specific needs.
• Once a person is granted a bridging visa, their circumstances are regularly reviewed and an assessment will be made about need for ongoing support, if any, either through ASAS or CAS.
• Depending on the person's individual needs and circumstances, people may have access to any or all of the following through ASAS:
  • help with basic living expenses (those eligible for ASAS may receive payments of limited financial assistance—89 per cent of the equivalent special benefit Centrelink rate—to avoid destitution)
  • rental assistance (89 per cent of the equivalent Centrelink rate)
  • torture and trauma counselling
  • other help to meet basic welfare needs.
• Transitional support, provided through the CAS program, may be available on a short-term basis where a person can demonstrate a need. The provision of transitional support is consistent with existing practices for people who are transitioning to the community after release from immigration detention.
• CAS provides similar services to ASAS, but is designed for people with particular needs and vulnerabilities, as it provides the additional support of a departmental case manager and a Red Cross caseworker to assist with resolving their status.

Will people on bridging visas have access to Medicare assistance?

• People granted bridging visas will be eligible for Medicare assistance.
• People on bridging visas will receive no preferential treatment or access to medical services and will be subject to the same waiting periods as the general public.

Can people on bridging visas choose where they live?

• As holders of bridging visas, people will be free to choose where they live. However, it is a requirement of the bridging visa that the person advise the department of their address, any change to that address, and to report in to the department on a regular basis.
• In many cases, people will reside with or close to family and/or community ties and support networks or may choose to reside close to employment opportunities.

Will people on bridging visas have access to public housing?

• People on bridging visas will not be provided with public housing.
• Most people will find their own accommodation in the private rental market, just like anyone else in the community. Others may be provided accommodation by friends and family.
• Where a person can demonstrate a particular need, they may be eligible for transitional accommodation support on a short term basis immediately following their release from immigration detention.
• Such support will be provided through the CAS program and will range in length from a couple of nights to a few weeks.

Will people have access to settlement services?

• No. People granted bridging visas have not been granted permanent visas and will therefore not have access to settlement services.

Will children have access to education?

• Children on bridging visas will have the same access to education as others in the community on bridging visas, in line with relevant state or territory policies.

Will adults have access to any type of formal training?

• Bridging visas are temporary visas and it is not standard to provide educational and training support services on such visas. People will be free to undertake study or training at their own cost.

How will reporting requirements work?

• As a condition on their bridging visa, people will be required to report to the department on a regular basis.
• They will also be required to provide their residential address to the department and to advise if they move address.

How long will bridging visas be granted for?

• The bridging visa will remain in effect while their cases are resolved. The length of the visa may vary, dependant on the stage of a person's processing but initial grants will usually be for a number of months. Further bridging visas can be granted if needed, based on the progress and status of an individual's case and taking into account their compliance with visa conditions.

What if someone breaches their visa conditions?

• As with all visa holders in Australia, bridging visa holders are expected to abide by all visa conditions.
• Where a person fails to abide by a visa condition, they will be liable for visa cancellation and detention under existing laws and cancellation powers.

What happens if someone commits a criminal offence?

• They will be subject to the same laws and obligations as anyone in the Australian community.
• People who fail to abide by visa conditions or who pose a risk to the community will be liable for visa cancellation and detention.

What will happen if a person's claims are finally determined to be unsuccessful?

• A person's placement and reporting conditions will be reviewed regularly as they progress through the protection assessment process.
• The department has well-established, effective strategies to resolve onshore compliance cases and achieve departures from the community and these strategies will be extended to the IMA caseload.
• In fact, experience has shown that rates of voluntary return from the community are higher than from detention.

Information on the number of IMAs granted BVEs is available online.
See: Onshore Processing Statistics

Further information is available on the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au

The department also operates a national general enquiries line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Recorded information is available outside these hours.

Fact Sheet 65. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Last reviewed April 2012.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2011.