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‘I Feel Like a Beggar’: Asylum Seekers Living in the Australian Community Without the Right to Work

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  • Caroline Fleay

    (Curtin University)

  • Lisa Hartley

    (Curtin University)

Abstract

While numbers of asylum seekers received by Australia are small compared to global figures, a range of deterrence measures have been implemented in response to increasing numbers arriving by boat in recent years. One of the more recent measures was denying asylum seekers who arrived by boat after 13 August 2012 the right to work upon their release from immigration detention into the community. There are around 26,000 asylum seekers who have been subject to this policy with most still waiting for their initial interview for refugee status and none have had their refugee claims resolved. This paper examines the findings of a study that explored the implications of this policy for asylum seekers. It draws on 29 semi-structured interviews with asylum seekers and highlights the distress and fear that many are enduring, caused by the denial of the right to work and ongoing uncertainty about their refugee claims. The study’s findings provide support for the conclusions of earlier research that highlight the importance of the right to work and securing employment for the mental health of asylum seekers, as well as studies that found there were negative mental health consequences of forcing asylum seekers to live for long periods with uncertainty around their protection claims.

Suggested Citation

  • Caroline Fleay & Lisa Hartley, 2016. "‘I Feel Like a Beggar’: Asylum Seekers Living in the Australian Community Without the Right to Work," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1031-1048, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:17:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s12134-015-0453-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s12134-015-0453-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steel, Zachary & Momartin, Shakeh & Silove, Derrick & Coello, Marianio & Aroche, Jorge & Tay, Kuo Wei, 2011. "Two year psychosocial and mental health outcomes for refugees subjected to restrictive or supportive immigration policies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(7), pages 1149-1156, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Phillimore, Jenny & Cheung, Sin Yi, 2021. "The violence of uncertainty: Empirical evidence on how asylum waiting time undermines refugee health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    2. Sataporn Julchoo & Mathudara Phaiyarom & Pigunkaew Sinam & Watinee Kunpeuk & Nareerut Pudpong & Rapeepong Suphanchaimat, 2021. "Analysis of Policies to Protect the Health of Urban Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Thailand: A Qualitative Study and Delphi Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-13, October.
    3. Bjertrup, Pia Juul & Bouhenia, Malika & Mayaud, Philippe & Perrin, Clément & Ben Farhat, Jihane & Blanchet, Karl, 2018. "A life in waiting: Refugees' mental health and narratives of social suffering after European Union border closures in March 2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 53-60.
    4. Phillimore, Jenny & Cheung, Sin Yi, 2021. "The Violence of Uncertainty: empirical evidence on how asylum waiting time undermines refugees’ health," SocArXiv mzsnf, Center for Open Science.
    5. Alessandro Maculan, 2022. "Asylum Seekers, Power Relations, and Everyday Resistance Practices: an Ethnographic Study," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 431-447, June.
    6. Mary Anne Kenny & Nicholas Procter & Carol Grech, 2023. "Mental deterioration of refugees and asylum seekers with uncertain legal status in Australia: Perceptions and responses of legal representatives," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(5), pages 1277-1284, August.

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