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Writing to your MP

When writing to an MP you do not need to be an expert nor do you need to write a very long letter. State your concerns clearly and ask your MP to respond to your letter.

Contact details for all MP's and Senators can be found on the Parliamentary Website http://www.aph.gov.au/index.htm or search for the Political Party to which your MP or Senator belongs.

When putting a letter together use your personal experience as much as possible. If you have been supporting asylum seekers in any way state how you have done this and the impact it has had on you. Back up your personal experience with some explanation of the broader context for Bridging Visa E holders.

Below are some sample letters that you may wish to customise with your own concerns as well as some points you may wish to include in a letter of your own.

Points to include

Points you may wish to consider or include in your letter (you could also use the briefing paper on this website for further hints):

  • In 1997 regulations were introduced that have left a large number of asylum seekers on bridging visas destitute in the community, with no right to work, no right to Medicare or any other assistance

The 45 day rule

  • The 45 day rule is a law that prevents people from having the right to work, access healthcare or any form of income support if they do not apply for Protection before 45 days of arriving in Australia
  • Research from agencies such as Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project show that there are many reasons people do not apply within 45 days of arriving. These include
    • Misinformation from well-meaning family or community members; insufficient information or inability to access representation
    • Migration agent failed to lodge on time
    • Circumstances changed in home country while in Australia
    • Lack of English or understanding of the legal or immigration process
  • The 45 day rule is an arbitrary rule that means vulnerable persons who legitimately miss the deadline are denied work rights and Medicare for years while they await a decision.

Health

  • Asylum seekers, who have no means of support, have high levels of anxiety, depression, mental health issues and a reduced rate of overall health and nutrition.
  • Denying asylum seekers access to any means of support and health care exacerbates health problems and in prolonged circumstances increases the likelihood of expensive long-term health interventions.

Skills

  • Many asylum seekers have skills and experience that are in short supply in Australia. A recent skills audit of a sample of ineligible asylum seekers revealed that 71% of the 113 surveyed had skills or qualifications listed on the Skilled Occupation List for the General Skilled Migration stream. Of these 45% were listed on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL).
  • At a time when Australia is searching for ways to fill our skill shortage, denying work rights to this group does not make sense.

International Obligations

Australia has obligations under several international instruments to ensure that asylum seekers have the right to an adequate standard of living including health care including;

  • Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights

Sample letters

Dear MP/Senator (insert name)

I am deeply concerned that in 1997 regulations were introduced that have left a large number of asylum seekers on bridging visas destitute in the community, with no right to work, no right to Medicare or any other assistance. This group are asylum seekers lawfully in the refugee determination process, who lodged after 45 days and those who approach the Minister of Immigration on humanitarian grounds.

They are given no means to survive, impacting on their overall health and wellbeing. Overstretched charities and church groups have been left to support this vulnerable group.

I understand that the Department of Immigration is currently undertaking a review into issues affecting asylum seekers. With this in mind, I ask you to raise this important issue with the Minister for Immigration. If you agree that asylum seekers who have been granted Bridging Visas should have the right to work, please ask the Minister to make new regulations to facilitate this.
We have obligations to those seeking our protection. I ask that you support a fair go to asylum seekers in the community by reinstating the right to work and ensuring an adequate means to survive as they go through the legal process.

I look forward to your considered and favourable response to this important humanitarian need.

Yours sincerely,

Dear MP/Senator (insert name),

I am a member of a group that supports people living on a Bridging Visa E (BVE) while they wait for their Protection application to be determined. I am deeply concerned that there are many BVE holders living in the community with no access to work rights, healthcare or any form of income support. Volunteers and donors are left to provide them with a place to live and food. As a group, we pay for their transport, phone and medical bills. Without donations from the community or from charitable organisations these people would have no way of accessing their basic needs.

Yet many people in this position have the skills that Australia needs. I personally know several people in this position who could work and who want to work. I understand that there are 900 such people in Victoria alone. In the press, we read that there is very low unemployment in Australia now. I believe that these people should have the right to work and to sustain their basic needs rather than live in devastating poverty for years.

I ask you to support the reversal of the regulation changes made in 1997, which denied the right to work, Medicare and income support to asylum seekers who lodged after 45 days and those who approach the Minister of Immigration on humanitarian grounds. I understand that the Department of Immigration is currently undertaking a review into issues affecting asylum seekers. With this in mind, I ask you to raise this important issue with the Minister for Immigration.

I look forward to your considered and favourable response to this important humanitarian need.

Yours sincerely,

Emails and Faxes

Email and fax is a good medium for communication when you wish to convey a short message to an MP. An example may be to congratulate an MP on their public actions or comments. Alternatively you may wish to send a short email to express your disappointment at an MP's actions or comments. It is really helpful to acknowledge positive action when it occurs so don't be shy about congratulating your MP on something you believe is good!!

MP's need to hear feedback from their electorate which means you!

Notes prepared by Lorna Hannan, Community Lobbyist with Justice for Asylum Seekers; and Caz Coleman, Justice and International Mission Unit Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania