The government’s intervention to grant permanent residency to the Biloela family is long overdue. But the irony was not lost on me that next week marks 10 years since the then-Labor government introduced the very measures that left thousands of families like the Nadesalingams living in limbo.
They are known as the ‘legacy caseload’.
While the Biloela family has put a human face to hardline policies aimed at deterring people seeking asylum in Australia by boat, there are up to 2,000 Australian-born children without a pathway to a permanent home in the country they were born in, according to figures from the Refugee Council of Australia.
This dates back to 2012, when government restrictions were introduced that initially prevented people seeking asylum who arrived in Australia by boat after 13 August 2012 from making an application for protection. This affected over 31,000 people.
The punitive measures inflicted on this group were subsequently enhanced with changes from the succeeding Coalition government, which restricted access to permanent protection visas for this cohort. This group has become known as the ‘legacy caseload’.
So what has that meant for individuals and families? It has resulted in 10 years of uncertainty – 10 years of attempting to flesh out a life that is at, or below, the poverty line due to varying restrictions on access to employment and support.
Perhaps most heartbreakingly, it means that around 2,000 children born to these individuals – children born in Australia – face an uncertain future as either themselves or their families are stuck on rolling temporary visas.
Their circumstances closely mirror those of Tharnicaa, the youngest daughter of the Nadesalingam family, who was born in Australia but subsequently spent years in detention with her family while her visa status was resolved.
Khadija* is one young mother that I’ve gotten to know since she came to Australia by boat to seek asylum in 2013. She is from the Rohingya minority and has five young children, three of whom were born in Australia.
She is a contributing community member, volunteering with other refugees and people seeking asylum, and putting money back into our society like any other working mother.
Khadija and her children have been found to be refugees. Her Australian-born children are luckier than others in the ‘legacy caseload’. They are entitled to citizenship, thanks to a government loophole granting access to children of individuals who are both stateless, like the Rohingya.
But Khadija, her husband and her two older children live on rolling visas that don’t offer a permanent future in Australia or entitle them to – among other things –full Centrelink benefits or government-subsidised tertiary education.
A lack of access to education is one of the most common concerns I hear from families in this cohort. Without permanent visas, children and teenagers are treated as full fee-paying international students, putting tertiary education outside their reach.
Regardless of the method of arrival, people who seek refuge in Australia face many unique challenges. These include language barriers, mental health challenges, chronic physical issues and limited medical support, and difficulties accessing stable employment and affordable housing.
For families like Khadija’s, however, these are compounded by the temporary nature of their visas and lack of security about their futures in Australia.
Consequently, people from a refugee background living on insecure visas experience significantly greater PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms and suicidal ideation, compared to those on a secure visa and access greater support from community organisations and charities.
Prime Minister Albanese has promised to lead a government that will unite our country with “no-one held back, no-one left behind and a parliament all Australians can be proud of”.
So how can we continue to leave out in the cold families like Khadija’s? Children who have known no other home but Australia?
While Australia has a right to assess whether people seeking asylum meet the agreed criteria for protection, this needs to be done in a humane, procedurally fair and timely way.
This anniversary is an opportunity for our new government to consider permanent protection for anyone who is part of the legacy caseload and is found to be a permanent refugee, along with fast-tracked processing to determine refugee status for those who don’t have it. And I feel optimistic that our new government will bring about this long overdue change.
In this way, we can reduce the negative impacts of prolonged uncertainty on the lives of people seeking asylum. We can give families like Khadija’s a safe, secure home where they can live lives free from war and persecution.