Asylum seekers in the community: the importance of work for a decent life

Abstract

In 2011, the Labor government released asylum seekers arriving by boat into the community on bridging visas for the first time since the policy of mandatory detention was introduced in 1992. Initially, the bridging visas included an entitlement to work. A ‘no work condition’ was added to bridging visas granted from August 2012. In December 2014, the government undertook to reinstate work entitlements to asylum seekers in the community on bridging visas. As at September 2015, there were 28,938 asylum seekers living in the community who had arrived by boat, some with work rights and some without. This article weighs the justifications and the costs of providing work rights to asylum seekers. It examines the profile of asylum seekers as workers, the impact of the no work condition, and the arguments for and against providing work rights to asylum seekers.