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A prominent figure in the federal government has openly criticized legal professionals who accept humanitarian refugee cases deemed unlikely to succeed.
Julian Hill, the assistant minister for citizenship, customs, and multicultural affairs, is expected to voice these concerns in a speech to the Australian Law Council on Friday, according to a draft obtained by the press.
“It frustrates me greatly when lawyers charge fees for humanitarian or protection cases that clearly have little chance of succeeding,” the draft reveals.
Hill’s remarks suggest that some of the legal advocacy he observes verges on unethical conduct.
The draft also points out a troubling aspect of Australia’s long-standing program design, noting that it may offer false hope to those seeking refuge.
Australia’s humanitarian program resettles refugees and others who are in need overseas, with 20,000 places available this financial year.
The government allocated places within its humanitarian intake to resettle Afghan refugees after the fall of Kabul in 2021, but there have been more than 400,000 applications from Afghanistan alone, highlighting the demand pressures.
‘Impossible levels of demand that Australia cannot meet’
The assistant minister describes the program as “overwhelmed with impossible levels of global demand that Australia cannot meet”.
“Even with the government’s decision to increase capacity over four years to 20,000 places annually, recognising the special commitment to Afghan refugees, the vast majority of applications are ultimately rejected.”
Hill says migration agents are running tens of thousands of cases “that will never get a visa”.
The speech goes on to highlight several additional challenges, noting that there are currently nearly 40,000 “unlinked” refugee applications before the department from people whose only connection to Australia is their application.
It also says the Special Humanitarian Program is overwhelmed with applications from distant relatives, friends and others with limited ties to Australia, while the Community Support Program has drifted from its intended purpose as a faster pathway for job-ready migrants, with approved proposing organisations clogging the pipeline with more than 20,000 applicants.
The government maintains the system is also vulnerable to rorting.
“The onshore protection visa system remains subject to unacceptable levels of abuse through non-genuine applications, despite really great progress made over the last couple of years including the ‘first in first out’ system to help break the work scam business model.”
The surging support for One Nation has meant questions about the future of Australia’s humanitarian program have been openly debated.
“The next period of politics on the right and centre right will not be pretty, as the Liberals and Nationals descend to an ugly three way with One Nation,” Hill will tell the law council audience.
“In my view they made a major strategic error some time ago, in trying to out-Pauline Pauline. As Labor learnt from the Greens political party years ago, it doesn’t work so don’t try.”
Consultations on the government’s humanitarian visa program are continuing until the end of this month.
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