The Morrison Government today announced further measures to assist Afghan nationals evacuated to Australia following the Coalition withdrawal. Afghan evacuees will have their existing visas extended for 12 months ensuring continued access to the full range of Government support services as they undertake the process of transitioning onto Australian permanent visas.
In addition, Afghan evacuees will now be able to transition to offshore permanent protection visas rather than onshore visas which would normally apply to applicants already in Australia. This legislative change provides for access to a broader range of Government support and settlement services.
On 14 October 2021 the Government announced the allocation of $6.4 million to boost the capacity of specialist legal services to support evacuees to transition to permanent visas. This funding is a part of the Government’s $27.1 million Afghan settlement package designed to support the specific needs of the recently-arrived Afghan evacuees.
On top of the legal service support, the package includes:
- $8 million in grant funding to support community led organisations to deliver grassroots and personalised support to the arrivals;
- $4.8 million in funding toward employment coaching and mentoring to skilled evacuees to support them as they navigate skills recognition, education pathways and secure suitable employment;
- $7.9 million to increase availability and capacity of specialist services to provide assistance to those in need of trauma and torture mental health support.
The Government is looking at all possible avenues to ensure that visa options through Australia’s long-standing Humanitarian and Migration Programs continue to be available to all Afghan nationals, both within Afghanistan and in other countries.
Within the Humanitarian program, the Department of ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Affairs has been instructed by the Government to afford the highest processing priority to applicants from Afghanistan.
Further information about these changes is available on the Department’s website:
