31,000 people remained in legal limbo, having come by boat years before. The Federal government defunded legal assistance for these people.

After re-introducing Temporary Protection Visas and commencing the ‘Fast Track’ system, the Government started processing the 31,000 people. Long-standing, fundamental legal safeguards were stripped away. It left people like Ali, an Afghan Hazara, with little English, to complete at least 62 pages of forms with 184 questions and a detailed statement of his fears – all in English. We helped thousands of people to lodge this complex, onerous and critical paperwork.

13,500 remaining people – many of them on wait-lists like ours – hadn’t yet been able to apply. The Government suddenly started issuing 60-day deadline letters. This rule change caused panic and distress as people rushed to meet their deadline.

7,500 people who hadn’t yet been able to apply were suddenly issued with another arbitrary deadline – this time, to ‘lodge or leave’ by 1 October 2017. People who missed the deadline risked being deported without the Government even hearing their cases for protection.

We assisted thousands of people – who’d fled from human rights atrocities in places like Mynamar, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka – to apply by the deadline.

Under this second phase of processing, 15,000 people across the country now face their last chance interview with the Department, or limited review if refused. Legal help continues to be absolutely essential under this process. Without it, the risks are real and dire. Thousands of people need our expert legal help as they face their final fate.