Immigration detainees may be allowed to work in Australia
May 26 2009 by Bryan Palmer
Bridging visas should be awarded to Australian immigration detainees to allow them to work while their visas are being processed, according to a parliamentary committee report.
Currently, only some immigrants holding bridging visas are allowed to work in Australia, while those who are seeking judicial reviews are not permitted to work at all.
The standing committee on Australia immigration is now calling for all bridging visa holders to be allowed to work.
Under the current policy, people who are not allowed to work can only get around the rules by being able to show that they have a compelling case to work. Those effected include people who have failed to submit their application for refugee protection within 45 days of arriving in Australia.
The committee’s report also made recommendations that the federal government set up a volunteer repatriate scheme for detainees and that legal advice and migration counselling should be provided to detainees on a means-tested basis.
The committee say that the Rudd government has made some positive changes to Australian immigration policy, but that “we must do much better,” to help people who are struggling to work in Australia or who are having to wait while their visas are being processed.
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