Australian Border Force reports that currently there are nearly 30,000 asylum seekers living in the community in Australia on Bridging Visas and many of these people have applied for Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) or Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEVs). If successful, TPV holders could stay in Australia for up to three years and SHEV holders could remain for up to five years or longer if they could find employment in regional Australia.

In June 2016 we presented the Tasmanian Government with our proposal for a trial supported settlement of selected communities of SHEV holders in rural regions in Tasmania with the aim of encouraging similar projects across the State once the trial has been introduced successfully and evaluated.

Our proposal (Seizing the Moment) suggests the parameters for such a trial and argues for its introduction. It is based on the evidence of other Australian regional communities that have already demonstrated the economic benefits of the supported settlement of asylum seekers.

In the last three months, we have discussed this idea with a number of regional Municipal Councils that have registered as Refugee Welcome Zones and now we have released our proposal for consideration by all Councils and rural communities.

seizing-the-moment-november-2016

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