Advocating for pathways to permanency for migrants
KEY PROJECT | Migration Justice
Australia’s migration laws should aim to reunite people with their loved ones, not deliberately keep them apart. The Human Rights Law Centre advocates for an end to cruel migration policies that intentionally separate families.
Everyone should have the chance to plan for the life they want. But over the last 25 years, successive Australian Governments have set-up a complex maze of migration policies which have made it increasingly difficult for people to settle here long term and enjoy the same rights as others.
Australia’s migration policies contain many structural barriers that prevent migrants from becoming permanent residents or citizens. This has resulted in a huge growth in the number of people in Australia on temporary visas living in limbo, many without access to permanent residency. It is increasingly common for people to live and work in Australia for more than 10 years on temporary visas without having any pathway to permanently migrate and build a home here.
Over the past five years, the time taken to process visa and citizenship applications has also blown out significantly. These two factors have resulted in people experiencing a prolonged period of uncertainty and instability during their time in Australia. Migrants are unable to find permanent and secure jobs, sponsor family, enrol kids in school without paying exorbitant fees and otherwise plan for the future.
Not only is this system placing people in a cruel and unnecessary limbo, it is resulting in rampant exploitation of migrant workers. Temporary migrants must rely on the goodwill of their employers obtain certification of their skills, to accrue the points necessary in the cut-throat process of skilled migration, or to sponsor them for employment-based visas. From bullying to wage theft, predatory bosses are getting away with it because migration laws are set up to silence workers – to ensure that if they speak up, they will risk their visa and permission to stay in the country.
The Human Rights Law Centre is working to address these systemic problems with Australia’s migration system. We recently shone a light on the features of this system which are leading to exploitation of migrant workers in a joint report with the Migrant Justice Institute. This report outlines legal reforms we could make to ensure migrant workers are protected when they speak out against employers holding them to ransom.
We are also advocating directly to decision makers and engaged with the Albanese Government’s 2023 review of the migration system. We will continue to advocate for migration policies that treat people with the equality and respect they deserve and allow people to settle and build a life in Australia.