Annual Report 2014-15

Annual Report
2014-15
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 1

Contents
our vision, purpose and values 3
President’s foreword 4
A message of thanks 5
Who is Racs? 6
our work 8
Timeline of legal and policy changes 10
Impact of Legal Changes on Asylum Seekers 12
Leadership in Innovation 14
Outreach 15
Fast Track Process and RACS Response to it 20
Repairing with GolD 24
How we are funded? 26
Award nominations 28
Policy and Law Reform 29
Who we are 30
our volunteers 34
Funding Partners 38
our year in review 40
Financial Reporting 2014/15 42
Glossary 55
2 Cover | Annual Photo: ReportEmma Davis

our vision,
purpose and
values
Vision
Asylum seekers and refugees who seek Australia’s protection
are able to live their lives with dignity, security, family unity
and freedom.
Purpose
RACS is an independent Community Legal Centre whose
purpose is to provide a free, specialist legal service for
asylum seekers and refugees. Through individual advice
sessions, community education and public advocacy, RACS
strives to ensure that individuals and families at risk of
persecution or other forms of significant harm, gain access
to equal and fair representation before the law and are
granted protection by Australia and given opportunities to
seek family unity, in accordance with Australia’s international
obligations.
Values
RACS’ work is premised on a commitment to fundamental
human rights, human dignity and international protection.
RACS demonstrates this commitment through its
independent, impartial and professional advice; the integrity
of its staff and volunteers; its belief in continuous learning,
including through partnerships with other organisations;
and the fair and flexible conditions it provides for staff and
volunteers.
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 3

President’s
foreword
In this our 28th year we have never been busier; and all
this activity is in circumstances where for the bulk of
our work there is no government funding. For those who
have arrived by boat, the Minister is “lifting the bar” in
order of arrival in Australia and the Department over the
next two to three years will process over 28,000 asylum
seekers who are presently here. The most positive
outcome that many of these applicants can hope for is
a temporary protection visa, requiring re-assessment in
three years time. If they are not successful before the
primary decision-maker, there is now in place a special
truncated system of merits review. To fairly present their
claims, people who seek asylum in Australia desperately
need legal advice and assistance; in other words, they
need the services of RACS.
Faced with this massive demand for our services we
have changed how we operate. We are now based
at the University of New South Wales (thanks to that
University’s commitment to our work) but we hold
interviews and clinics in a number of places such as
Auburn, Parramatta, Haymarket and Newtown. And we
have now a number of new programmes linking our
work with other organisations. It is with gratitude that
I acknowledge the assistance with accommodation
and in other ways we have received from UTS Law
School, the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Scully Fund,
the Asylum Seekers Centre, Auburn Council, Dooleys
Lidcombe, Guildford Leagues Club, Kah Lawyers, Red
Cross, Amnesty International, House of Welcome,
Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture
and Trauma Survivors, NSW Legal Aid Commission,
Immigration Advice and Rights Centre, Settlement
Services International, Marist Youth Care and United
Care Burnside.
Details of our work are given below but, in short, apart
from our work based at Randwick and our visits to
detention centres we have a large clinical outreach
program, an education and information service, a
project assisting unaccompanied children, a programme
assisting those whose bridging visas are cancelled and
a family reunion programme. Last financial year we
provided advice to around 2800 people and gave legal
assistance to over 2000 people. We also developed and
provided numerous training programmes and made a
number of submissions to government bodies.
4 | Annual Report
The Federal Government has set up a scheme this year
to fund immigration legal assistance for unaccompanied
children and other “vulnerable” people. RACS is one of
two organisations nationwide who have won the tender
to do this work. But for all the other people seeking
asylum that RACS assists we rely on ad hoc grants for
specific projects and financial support from the public.
The Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation continues to
match our fundraising with 33 cents for every dollar we
raise and we are very grateful for this support and for
this show of confidence in us.
The Management Committee publically thanks our
committed and diligent staff who worked so hard in
very difficult circumstances. We thank in particular our
Director Tanya Jackson-Vaughan for her imaginative and
effective style of management and our Principal Solicitor
Katie Wrigley who worked so hard to maintain our high
standards of legal service and to develop novel ways in
which we could help our clients. Of course, our solicitors
senior and junior (listed below), played a crucial role in
all of this. We thank our fundraiser, Andrew Kelly, for his
hard work and inventiveness in attracting the funds that
allow us to keep working and in giving us a real presence
on social media.
In our work we were greatly assisted by the provision
of secondees from Allens Linklaters, King & Wood
Mallesons and Norton Rose Fulbright and by the
generous support in other ways from Gilbert + Tobin.
The pro bono assistance of, Henry Davis York, KPMG,
Baker and McKenzie, Hicksons, Herbert Smith Freehills
and Wotton + Kearney was also indispensable. And we
could not be so productive without the generous help of
our many volunteers, legal and non-legal. We thank all of
you.
The demand for our services has never been greater.
Clearly a central problem for the coming year is to obtain
the funds we need to continue to do our work. In other
words, we need the continuing support of the “Friends of
RACS” and we ask for this.
Aurthur Glass
President

A message
of thanks
A rollercoaster year
RACS is a place where people feel safe. When they walk
into our reception, the first sign they see is “You are
welcome here”.
Asylum seekers are survivors. They have survived
torture, trauma, bombs and other terror. Many of
them had dangerous journeys fleeing the horror they
experienced in their home countries. The people we see
in our offices are strong, resilient people who have met
with multiple attempts by outside forces to break them
but they have still survived.
RACS is the place these strong, resilient people feel able,
often for the first time ever, to share the horror they have
experienced. Tales of horror that they have never spoken
of pour out in their interview with RACS lawyers.
The work the RACS lawyers do is often the difference
between someone staying in Australia or being sent
home to the place they fled.
As Executive Director of the Refugee Advice and
Casework Service, I would like to express my enormous
gratitude to all our friends who have supported us
through our first full year of surviving without full
government funding. The announcement of funding
cuts in March 2013 marked the beginning of a
rollercoaster ride .
Resilience
RACS has survived and in fact flourished in the past year.
Rather than throw in the towel, we have diversified and
grown in response to the massive need for our expertise
and assistance.
With 80% of asylum seekers no longer receiving
government funded legal assistance, RACS has had
to seek out alternative funding. We have launched a
Friends of RACS program, applied for grants , had
organisations like the National Art School and Macquarie
University (to name only a few) hold events for us, had
Allens Linklaters and King and Wood Mallesons join
our Workplace giving Program and had Vincent Fairfax
Family Foundation offer us a Challenge Grant, where for
every dollar we raise they give us 33c.
Our growing supporter base has helped us to start
weathering the storms that have come our way and
given us the courage to become stronger human rights
advocates.
Tanya Jackson-Vaughan
Executive Director
To quote the Guardian reporter, Paul Farrell in his article
“The Australian Legal Centre taking law into its own
hand for asylum seekers”
“The odds are stacked against (RACS) ……A team of
14 lawyers gets in touch with about 350 clients a week.
…..But the small team of staff and volunteers is taking
on the task of meeting the needs of thousands of asylum
seekers across New South Wales. It is trying to do more
with less, finding inventive ways to make up the funding
shortfall, and in the process is rewriting the book on how
legal aid is delivered.”
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 5

Who is
Racs?
Refugee Advice and Casework Service is one of Australia’s
leading refugee legal centres providing free, specialist
legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees seeking
to reunite with their families and we fight for their human
rights every day.
We are an independent community legal centre (CLC). For
over 25 years, RACS has been protecting and advocating
for human rights for people seeking asylum, who have
made it to Australia.
We have a team of 14 lawyers, experienced in human
rights law, who dedicate themselves to achieving positive
outcomes for their clients. Our staff come from a wide
range of cultural backgrounds. We have staff who speak
Tamil, Farsi, Dari, Serbian, Urdu, Hazaragi, Arabic, Bosnian,
Romanian and Ukrainian; and several have refugee
backgrounds themselves.
RACS’ top strategic goals to protect the human rights of
asylum seekers and refugees are to:
• Provide quality legal advice, case management
and representation for financially disadvantaged
and vulnerable people seeking asylum and family
reunion
• Provide community education on changes to
Refugee law
• Provide outreach services to asylum seeker and
refugee partner organisations
• Advocate for systemic reform
• Maintain an effective and expert staff team.
6 | Annual Report

THE RACS TEAM
HELPED OVER
2827 Persons Seeking
Asylum IN 2014-15
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 7

our work
The RACS head office is based at
1-3 Eurimbla Ave, Randwick,
between the University of New South Wales
and Sydney Children’s Hospital.
Opening hours
Monday to Friday 9- 5
Telephone Advice - call (02) 8355 RACS (7227)
Tuesday and Thursday 10-1130
RACS also provides a free Face-to-Face Advice clinic
• by appointment only at our Randwick office
• at Settlement Service International, Level 1, 81
George Street, Parramatta
Outreach drop-in service for Fast Track Process assistance
People can get help with filling in FOIs, information on
TPVs and SHEVs, and referrals to the Legal Help for
Refugees Clinic
Auburn Outreach
Auburn Centre for Community, 44 Macquarie Rd, Auburn
Drop in - Monday and Wednesday 10-2
Parramatta Outreach
Jesuit Refugee Service, Arrupe Place, 4 Victoria Rd,
Parramatta
Drop in - Friday 10-2
The Legal Help for Refugees Clinic at University of
Technology Sydney
Monday and Wednesday nights 6-9pm
Assists people facing the Fast Track Process with
statements of protection claims and pre-lodgement
advice
Bookings through phone advice and outreach services at
Auburn and Parramatta
The Asylum Seeker Centre Legal Clinic
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
Assists ASC clients with the assessment of
protection claims
By appointment only
Our Family Reunion Clinic
Assistance to former clients and vulnerable refugees
with their Family Reunion Visa applications.
By appointment
Primary Application Information Service (PAIS)
RACS has the contract to provide unaccompanied
children and vulnerable people with application
assistance.
This service aims to assist those deemed vulnerable by
the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
(approx. 20% of people claiming protection) through the
Fast Track process.
Referrals from the Department only.
8 | Annual Report

From Homeless to Housed
At the beginning of the year, we were told that our
time at the Old Sydney Law School was coming to an
end. The University of Sydney has generously housed us
at the Phillip St premises since 2008. Directly opposite
the courts, it has been a wonderful place to work and we
are truly grateful to the University for its support for all
these years.
After a few months of uncertainty, we have had the
fortune to be offered a home by the University of New
South Wales. From 24th of August, RACS was open
for business at 1-3 Eurimbla Avenue, Randwick. Right
next door to the Children’s Hospital, with a regular bus
service, and walking distance from the UNSW Law
school and Kaldor Centre, we are delighted with our new
home.
RACS is incredibly grateful to the Vice-Chancellor,
Professor Ian Jacobs, and the Dean of Law, Professor
David Dixon, both of whom worked tirelessly to make
this happen.
In other great news, thanks to the support of Professor
Lesley Hitchens, the Dean of Law and Professor Paul
Redmond, the Sir Gerard Brennan Professor, at the
University of Technology, RACS’ Evening Advice and
Legal Help for Refugees Clinics will be housed at the
UTS School of Law , in Haymarket, on Mondays and
Wednesday evenings. The central location of UTS allows
us to run our Legal Help for Refugees clinic staffed by
lawyers whose day jobs are often working for large
corporates and is perfectly located for clients who use
public transport as it is a 5 minute walk from Central
Station.
Settlement Services International have offered us space
for a lawyer to see clients at their Parramatta base. Kah
lawyers has offered us a room on Fridays for our face
to face appointments. Red Cross will assist us with
desk space as required in their city office. We are most
grateful for this support.
RACS ‘ services will now be available in Randwick,
Haymarket, Newtown, Auburn and Parramatta thanks to
the support of our partners, donors and volunteers.
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 9

Timeline of legal and policy ch
who came by boat: 1 July 2014
3 July 2014
The Department advised that
asylum seekers who arrived by
boat and are found to engage
Australia’s protection obligations
will be refused permanent visas
under the “national interest
criteria.
25 September 2014
The Migration Amendment
(Repeal of certain Visa Classes)
Regulation was disallowed –
meaning Non-contributory Parent,
Remaining Relative, Carer and
Aged Dependent visas became
available again to refugees
wanting to bring their family
members to Australia.
16 December 2014
Refugee definition changed for
applications for protection visas
made on or after 16 December
2014 require applicants to show
they will be persecuted in all areas
of the country they are fleeing.
11 September 2014
Offers and grants of temporary
safe haven visas from detention
were found unlawful by the High
Court.
15 December 2014
Asylum seekers arriving by boat
can only apply for a Temporary
Protection Visa or TPV or a Safe
Haven Enterprise Visa or SHEV
regardless of date of arrival and
cannot access merits review at
the RRT
Reports of a deal that work rights
will be granted to asylum seekers
who arrived by boat as a matter of
policy but implementation of this
is slow.
11 February 2015
The High Court found the refusal
of a protection visa on the
national interest test was not
lawful.
10 | Annual Report

anges for asylum Seekers
to 30 June 2015
18 April 2015
The burden of proof for
establishing protection
obligations falls on asylum
seekers and allows decisionmakers
to draw an unfavourable
inference where new claims or
evidence is introduced later.
A heightened emphasis is placed
on providing identity documents
and visas can be refused where
refugees deliberately destroyed
documents.
Family members of refugees with
an existing protection visa can
no longer apply for a protection
visa on the basis that they are a
member of the same family unit.
19 May 2015
At a community liaison meeting
with the RRT, the Department
confirmed that the bar lift period
will be indefinite.
16 June 2015
Asylum seekers seeking
extensions of time to lodge
TPV applications outside of the
requested 28 days are threatened
with cancellation of their bridging
visas and detention for noncompliance
with conditions to
“co-operate with all reasonable
requests” from the Department.
May 2015
The Minister starts lifting the bar
for asylum seekers who arrived by
boat on or after 13 August 2012
and before 1 January 2014, and
who have never been to Nauru or
Manus Island. Applications are
requested to be lodged within 28
days.
15 June 2015
The Department indicated it
will not process Freedom of
Information (FOI) applications for
maritime arrivals unless they are
submitted by people who arrived
within a certain date range
1 July 2015
The Refugee Review Tribunal
amalgamates into the
Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
SHEV applications become
possible at law.
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 11

Impact of Legal Changes on
Asylum Seekers
Bar on applying for protection August 12 2013-May 2015
On August 13, 2012, the Rudd government appointed
Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers announced that there
would be “no advantage” given to people who had come
by boat seeking asylum.
“No advantage” as a term has always been somewhat
ambiguous, but the 24000 or so people who arrived after
that date have faced the risk of being sent to Nauru or
Manus, had a bar preventing them from applying for
protection in Australia and were not allowed to work.
These measures resulted in thousands of people
languishing in a legal limbo, stagnating, their lives on
hold with little hope of settling in Australia or seeing their
families again.
Visa product = Temporary Protection Visa or Safe Haven
Enterprise Visa. What is the difference?
The Coalition government, as we can see from the
timeline on the previous page, finally got the visa product
they were after – the Temporary Protection Visa (TPV).
Cross bench lobbying resulted in an additional temporary
protection visa product, the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa
(SHEV), being on offer. However, people who arrived by
boat seeking safety and hope for a future away from
harm will never be granted permanent protection under
these new changes.
The TPV lasts 3 years, allows people to work and
study, but they cannot sponsor their family, apply for
citizenship or travel outside the country unless they have
permission from the Minister for Immigration.
The SHEV, in addition to having similar criteria as
the TPV, lasts 5 years, requires people to indicate an
intention to work or study in a regional area, offers a
pathway to visa options, which may lead to permanent
residence visas (a Skilled, Student, or Family visa) if
regional work/study pathway requirements are met.
These requirements are working or studying in a
designated regional area for a total of 3.5 years out of
the 5 year visa.
12 | Annual Report

Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 13

Leadership in
Innovation
“We can’t solve all the world’s problems relating
to refugees. But at RACS, we can change the lives
of refugees and asylum seekers who are here in
Australia.” - Jemma Hollands
Removal of funded legal services for people who
came to Australia by boat seeking protection has
created a significant obstacle in accessing justice
for people who have fled persecution and are often
traumatised.
How do people whose first language is not English,
who often cannot read or write in their own language,
understand what the new Fast Track process means,
fill in the detailed forms, link what they fear with the
new definitions of a refugee, if they don’t have a legal
expert helping them?
Over the past 18 months, RACS has developed
several new programs to meet the growing demand
for legal help from people who are scared of being
returned to the country they fled from. Most of this
work is un or underfunded and only possible with the
help of hundreds of volunteers.
14 | Annual Report
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 14

Outreach
In order to provide effective legal advice and assistance
to asylum seekers and refugees in NSW, RACS has
partnered with a number of other organisations to form
outreach programs for asylum seekers in both Auburn
and Parramatta.
Auburn Asylum Seeker and Refugee Legal Outreach
With the assistance of Auburn Council and Dooleys
Lidcombe, we established an outreach service in Auburn,
a suburb with the highest asylum seeker population in
Sydney. The service is based at the Auburn Centre for
Community and provides advice to drop-in clients as well
as people with appointments.
Our outreach is part of an asylum seeker hub at the
Centre, with House of Welcome and Settlement Services
International providing alternating fortnightly meals and
a Refugee Health Nurse available for much need medical
services. This is a truly exciting initiative, providing a
service in the suburb where many people who seek
asylum live, saving them money and helping them to
avoid the challenging journey into the city.
In 50 days,
1196 individuals
from 29
nationalities
were assisted
Thanks to Dooleys’ continuing financial support , in
2015/16 we will now be able to provide this service 2 full
days a week.
As a local government area, Auburn is home to the
highest number of asylum seekers in NSW, around 1000
people are waiting to have their protection claims heard.
The project has been an outstanding success. Due to
the changing needs of asylum seekers in the first half
of 2015 the demand for services and assistance at
the outreach services has increased dramatically. The
outreach service has been extremely successful in terms
of its ability to provide service to such a large number of
clients in such a short space of time. It is now one of the
primary gateways for asylum seekers and refugees to
access RACS legal services.
Main topics of advice:
• Bridging visa (e.g. conditions, reporting, expiry,
cancellation, Code of Behaviour)
• Protection visa applications (e.g. application
process, legal tests, explaining letters and
decisions, refusal, appeals)
• Ministerial intervention
• Family reunion (e.g. partner visa, child visa,
humanitarian visa)
• Completing forms (e.g. visa application
forms, FOI requests for access to documents,
applications for AFP certificates)
• Explaining and facilitating correspondence with
Department of Immigration
• Referrals for assistance through other RACS
services, other legal services and welfare
services.
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 15

Partnership with Jesuit Refugee Service
RACS also has a partnership with the Jesuit Refugee
Service , funded by the Scully Fund till December 2015,
to provide an outreach legal service in Parramatta at 4
Arrupe Place. To quote Paul Farrell once again:
“The outreach program runs once a week at Parramatta on
Friday morning out of a little cottage owned by the Jesuit
refugee service. Another outreach clinic is available in
Auburn. At each, RACS has seen up to 50 asylum seekers
coming through the doors on a single day.
At first glance it’s chaotic. Asylum seekers from Iran, Sri
Lanka and Afghanistan are lining up to see Julia . A small
team of volunteers, including law students undertaking
practical training, help her triage the clients each week.
It’s not a sterile, corporate office though. It’s a place for
people to talk and catch up. Sandwiches and biscuits are
shared. It’s a new kind of legal aid that goes beyond the kind
of services lawyers ordinarily provide.”
The outreach program operates similarly to the
Auburn program, once a week on a Friday between
10am and 2pm. It is staffed by one RACS lawyer and
combinations of RACS and JRS volunteers. The JRS
volunteers provide lunch for people on the day. Similar
to the Auburn service, the demand for this service
increased dramatically at the beginning of 2015, and
similar strategies were used for managing this demand
effectively, including holding large group sessions in a
number of different languages.
16 | Annual Report

more than 60
education sessions
were provided
across 2014/15 in 9
different languages
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 17

The Asylum Seekers Centre Legal service
The Asylum Seekers Centre Legal Service was
established at the ASC in Newtown last May. It was
funded for 12 months through the ASC by a major
donor and is a collaboration between ASC and RACS,
providing legal assistance to ASC clients and casework
support through a clinic staffed by volunteers from
Gilbert + Tobin. The clinic is innovatively structured to
bring together the strengths of each partner involved
and recognises the inter-connected legal, social, health
and financial problems faced by asylum seekers seeking
protection in Australia. The collaboration of RACS, ASC
and G&T to provide a weekly legal clinic for asylum
seekers is a unique partnership in the refugee sector.
This partnership has been nominated for the 2015
Justice Awards.
RACS - the specialists in assisting unaccompanied Children
“When we speak to the child and explain they are the boss,
and they have to instruct us what to do, they show a sense
of relief. For the first time they feel they have control over
their own destiny.” Sarah Dale
The Children’s Project funded by the Scully Fund works
to provide advice and assistance to unaccompanied
children arriving in Australia. We have helped 133
children through this project.
the most vulnerable with legal assistance through the
Fast Track process.
Sarah Dale has been nominated for the prestigious
Justice Medal 2015, for her work with these vulnerable
children and the difference she has made in their lives.
Volunteers on this project worked weekends to take
statements from the children out of school hours. We
are grateful for their commitment to justice.
Gemma Lardner, Grant Mason, Jess Harvie, Nicola Cannon
and Vanessa McGlynn
“My friend says you’re the best. Can you help me?”
An unaccompanied child
Education
More than 60 education sessions were provided in 2014-
15 to assist asylum seekers understand the protection
process and independently submit applications.
Delivered in 9 languages: Dari/Farsi, Urdu, Pashto, Arabic,
Rohingyan, Burmese, Bengali, Tamil and Nepali
CPD sessions were provided to our volunteer lawyers on
a regular basis
We are particularly proud of this work. Now, we have
3 lawyers who are “child expert lawyers”, a team
led by Sarah Dale, whose work resulted in all the
unaccompanied children on Christmas Island and
in NSW becoming a client of RACS. Without Sarah’s
support at least 30 children would have been sent to
Nauru to languish in offshore detention.
The development of our expertise in this area may
have resulted in RACS winning the tender to provide
application support to unaccompanied children and
vulnerable people through PAIS – protection application
information service, a DIBP funded program to provide
18 | Annual Report

we assisted clients from
over 90 different countries
or 45% of the world
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 19

Fast Track Process and
RACS Response to it
Fast Track Process Legal Assistance Project
The aim of the current government is to “process” the
24000-30000 people who came by boat seeking safety
after August 2012 within 3 years.
The new refugee assessment process that has been
introduced is called the Fast Track process and
removes the right of the applicant to a review of their
Departmental decision. If the person is not excluded
from the right to review, however, the review of the
decision will only be on the papers and new information
will not be able to be put forward.
The opportunity to have a hearing at the Administrative
Appeals Tribunal, with an independent decision maker
making a fresh assessment of a person’s claims, and
accepting new information that supports those claims,
has gone for people who used a boat as a means of
reaching Australia’s waters to seek protection.
The new law, introduced in December 2014, established
that in exercising the power to remove a non-citizen from
Australia, it is irrelevant whether Australian has nonrefoulement
obligations in relation to that person. This
new law explicitly authorises violations of Australia’s
international obligations under the Refugee Convention,
Convention against Torture (CAT) and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as it
requires removal even where Australia’s non-refoulement
obligations have not been considered.
In an environment, where few asylum seekers will be
able to access legal advice due to the massive funding
cuts organisations, like RACS, have experienced, these
changes are terrifying for people facing the prospect of
claiming protection under this new Fast Track process.
RACS Fast Track Process Legal Assistance Project
A fundamental part of RACS’ rewriting the book on
delivering legal aid has been the development of our Fast
Track Process Legal Assistance project which aims to
provide free immigration and legal assistance and advice
to asylum seekers who face the prospect of applying for
protection without access to such advice elsewhere.
In order to meet the unprecedented demand for legal
services in a political climate hostile to asylum seekers,
RACS has developed close ties with community groups,
funders, pro bono law firms and committed individuals
who support human rights for people seeking safety no
matter how they arrived on our shores.
This project would not have been possible without the
collaboration and support of organisations like Red
Cross, Settlement Services International, the Jesuit
Refugee Service, Balmain for Refugees, pro bono
assistance from Norton Rose Fulbright, Allens Linklaters,
King & Wood Mallesons, Baker & McKenzie and Wotton
+ Kearney, as well as funding support from Dooleys
Lidcombe Catholic Club, Auburn Council, the Scully Fund
and Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation.
There are at least 24,000 (9000 in NSW) unrepresented
people seeking asylum who will not receive free legal
assistance with their claims for protection. All they have
had to assist them are information kits prepared by the
Department of Immigration and Border Protection. This
is far from adequate.
As UNHCR has noted, ‘[a]sylum seekers are often unable
to articulate the elements relevant to an asylum claim
without the assistance of a qualified counselor because
they are not familiar with the precise grounds for the
recognition of refugee status and the legal system of a
foreign country’.
20 | Annual Report

Waiting for
permission to
apply
Receives
permission to
apply
Preparing
application
Submitting
application
Attending
interview
Receives decision
Post IAA review
Information sessions about refugee law and
process (and supporting fact sheets) (RACS)
Assistance to make FOI request
(RACS)
Assistance writing statement (priority given to
people with permission to apply) (RACS volunteer
lawyers)
Volunteer groups assist to
complete 790 & 866 forms
in languages (RACS provides
training and support)
Prelodgement
advice
sessions
(RACS)
Information sessions and videos about attending an
interview (and supporting fact sheets) (RACS)
Limited info through Telephone Advice Line and outreach drop-in services (RACS)
JR assistance and referral
(RACS). Volunteer barristers to
assist with merits assessments.
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 21

Legal Help for Refugees Clinic
In response to funding cuts, RACS decided to establish
a Legal Help for Refugees Clinic to help people in the
Fast Track Process who will never receive free legal
assistance. The Legal Help for Refugees clinic has been
the glue binding the services that come under the Fast
Track Process Legal Assistance Project.
Initially coordinated by existing RACS lawyers with
volunteer lawyers providing legal support, the prospect
of assisting the 9000 asylum seekers, who live in NSW,
with no extra resources was daunting if not impossible.
Therefore, RACS approached Legal Aid regarding the
possibility of funding to support this work. We are
very grateful that, in April 2015, we received a one off
Legal Aid grant of $80,000, which allowed us to hire a
migration agent lawyer and a legal admin staff member
for seven months.
The clinic provides great value for money and is
incredibly efficient.
Employing two people to co-ordinate the 80 lawyers, and
63 interpreters who “work” in the clinic means that we
can leverage volunteers in an effective, strategic way to
provide much needed assistance to large numbers of
people needing essential legal support. About $350,000
worth in volunteer hours.
Coordinated by RACS and supervised by RACS’ lawyers ,
in the past 18 months, volunteer lawyers and interpreters
have helped over 570 people to draft statements setting
out their refugee claims with the assistance of legally
trained volunteers. RACS’ Fast Track Process Legal
Assistance project receives on average between 30-35
new referrals for assistance per week, assists between
20-25 asylum seekers write statements per week and
provides additional advice to asylum seekers who need
to lodge applications urgently. RACS has also assisted
clients in detention centres throughout Australia without
access to other legal and migration advice and has
helped train community groups to assist refugees
applying for protection in Australia.
The project is an innovative response to a crisis in the
provision of legal services for people seeking protection.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection
has only recently commenced processing of the fast
track applications but the demand for legal services is
growing exponentially as people realise how challenging
the Fast Track process is.
22 | Annual Report

“Thank you so much RACS for
helping, I will never forget what
you have done for me.”
Former Client
“Thank you RACS for
giving me hope.”
RACS’ current client.
“I have suffered a lot in my home
country. When I arrived in Australia, I
found out about the new laws. I lost
all my hope until I heard about the
RACS’ Clinic.”
An elderly Clinic client
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 23

Repairing with
GolD
There is a traditional Japanese art-form originating in the
15th century, called Kintsukuroi which means “repairing
with gold”. It adds a unique aesthetic quality to broken
ceramic vessels, by repairing them with gold or silver
lacquer, and in turn creating an object more valuable
than the unbroken original.
Here at RACS, a dedicated group of lawyers and support
staff work to obtain safety and protection for ordinary
people from all over the world.
Each person we serve has endured a journey full of
travails before reaching our front door.
Each person is as unique as their story.
And each one of these wonderful human beings has
held on in the belief that tomorrow will be better than
yesterday.
This important work done by RACS, of “repairing with
gold” is only possible because of the contributions by
you, our loyal, firm and humane supporters.
Amid the funding and legislative uncertainty of the
past two years, RACS simply asked our expanding
circle of supporters for leadership on the issue of
seeking asylum. And in that time RACS has experienced
tremendous support by individuals, institutions and
organisations determined to be counted on the better
side of humanity.
We are especially grateful for the generosity of the
growing Friends of RACS circle. Thank you for making
a commitment in your personal budget to support our
work with a monthly donation. It provides RACS with
both financial certainty and encouragement.
Our sincere thanks to the grant makers and institutions
which have demonstrated philanthropic leadership
well before the cause of seeking asylum reached the
front pages of the newspapers. These leaders include
The Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation, The Scully
Fund, Dooleys Lidcombe, The Chill Foundation, The Sky
Foundation, The Law & Justice Foundation, the Durham
Family and The Nordia Group.
We thank our pro bono partners for providing the
technical expertise and in-kind donations which enable
us to leverage our resources. Our gratitude to: Allens
Linklaters, Gilbert + Tobin, King & Wood Mallesons,
Norton Rose Fulbright, Wotton + Kearney, Herbert Smith
Freehills and Baker & McKenzie.
Thank you to our University partners The University
of New South Wales, The University of Sydney, the
University of Technology, Sydney, Macquarie University,
Australian National University, the University of
Wollongong, the Western Sydney University, and Notre
Dame University for being active in promoting human
rights and social justice to your students on campus,
and to your alumni further afield. Our special gratitude to
the University of New South Wales for providing a new
premises for RACS.
We appreciate the efforts of everyone who organised
and attended one of the many events held for our
benefit during the year. These include the RACS Alumni
Night, Good Lie Screenings, RACS Speed Dating Nights,
Auburn Council’s Refugee Camp In My Neighbourhood,
Crossing Borders at the National Art School, the Dooleys
Christmas Fair, the Macquarie University Law Society
Trivia Night, the UTS Law Society Ball, the Freedom From
Fear Conference, the Scarborough Pub Big Afternoon
Out, Andrew Guy’s “Nobody Needs To Know” Show,
One Day Sundays, Origin-Transit-Destination at Casula
Powerhouse and the Game Day at The Games Den.
We acknowledge the significant support of the staff and
management of our Workplace Giving partners Allens
Linklaters and King & Wood Mallesons.
24 | Annual Report

And we have been encouraged by the generosity of the
EthicalJobs.com.au and Schwartz Media, both of whom
introduced RACS to their audiences and stakeholders.
Finally, we extend our deep gratitude to the numerous
volunteers who give of their valuable personal time to
further the claims of those seeking safety.
transformational outcome in the life of one ordinary
person. For this we say thank you. Together we are
“repairing with gold”.
Andrew Kelly
Fundraising Manager
It is eminently true that RACS would be much diminished
without the efforts and sacrifices of each and every
one of our supporters. Each contribution produces a
Photo: Jonathon Shannon
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 25

How we are funded?
$1000000
$1,000,000
800000
$800,000
compared to 2014,
600000
$600,000
Donations increased by
400000
200000
$400,000
$200,000
over $200,000
2015 2014
0
0
Dentention
Contracts
Community
Contracts
Task Force
Contracts
Donations &
fundraising
Public
Purpose Fund
Other
Grants
Interest
Income
Other income
Only 29% OF RACS INCOME
CAME FROM DIBP
6% INTEREST INCOME
31% OTHER GRANTS
3% OTHER INCOME
LESS THaN 1%
DENTENTION CONTRACTS
29% Community
Contracts
COMMUNITY CONTRACTS
7% public
purpose fund
24% Donations and
fundraising
26 | Annual Report

$2,000,000
2000000
$1,500,000
1500000
Expeneses = $1,753,068
1000000
$1,000,000
Revenue = $1,294,359
$500,000
500000
0
0
Revenue
Expenses
90% OF RACS Expenses for
2014/15 was employee salaries
1% Premises expenses
LESS THaN 1% Leasing (Printer) expenses
LESS THaN 1% Sundry expenses
1% Depreciation expenses
2% Administration expenses
2% Fundraising expenses
4% Casework and
Taskforce expenses
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 27

Award
nominations
2014 Justice Awards
Refugee Advice and Casework
Service was a finalist for the
CLCNSW Justice Award for the
Legal Help for Refugees Law Clinic
2014 Human Rights Awards
The Refugee Advice and Casework
Service was a finalist for the
Community award #LOGO for
awards
RACS’ nomination was based
on 25 years of “...protecting and
advocating for human rights for
vulnerable asylum seekers and
refugees through the provision of
legal advice, case management
and representation; community
education; outreach services
to partner organisations; and
advocacy for systemic reform.”
2015 Zest Awards
The Refugee Advice and Casework
Service was a finalist in two
categories
• Outstanding Project
promoting Social Cohesion
and Community Harmony
• Exceptional Community
Partnership Project in a LGA
RACS’ nomination was based on
our successful Auburn Refugee
& Asylum Seeker Legal Outreach
Service, in partnership with Auburn
Council and Dooleys.
28 | Annual Report

Policy and
Law Reform
RACS, as one of the leaders in provision of legal
assistance to people who seek asylum, has expertise to
advocate for reform in refugee law and policy:
• RACS has written numerous submissions on
the draconian changes to migration law as it
pertains to people seeking asylum;
• RACS has visited Senators in Canberra to make
representations in order to argue for a more
considered approach to people seeking asylum;
• Spoken to the media on issues of concern.
• Informed the Australian Human Rights
Commission’s inquiry into children in detention
about the infringements of our clients’ human
rights
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 29

Who
we are
THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
The Constitution and Rules of RACS provide that
organisations and individuals may nominate
representatives and individuals to the Management
Committee.
RACS is very grateful for the contribution of the
Committee, which meets monthly to assist with
governance and organisational matters.
The following individuals were office-holders during
2014-15:
President Dr Arthur Glass, Senior Visiting Fellow
at UNSW
Vice President Ariel Spigelman, Account Director
at a AMR
Treasurer Lien Pham, Finance Manager
at Grant Samuel
Secretary Lucy Morgan, Policy officer at Refugee
Council of Australia
Public Officer Lachlan Murdoch, Deputy Director
of STARTTS
Committee Members
Anthea Lowe, Workplace Consultant
Liz Biok, Solicitor, Civil Law Division, Legal Aid – retired
mid 2015
Tim Gordon Partner, Gilbert + Tobin
Heidi Nash-Smith Partner, Wotton + Kearney
Chris Yoo Investment Director, Crescent Capital Partners
STAFF
Tanya Jackson-Vaughan – Executive Director
Legal Team
Katie Wrigley - Principal Solicitor
Outreach Team
Jemma Hollonds - Senior Solicitor
Sharara Attai, Melisa Cicak, Nadia Khan & Nargis Rajab
– Solicitors
Policy & Legacy Casework Team
Scott Cosgriff - Senior Solicitor
Rawan Arraf, Elyse Trotter – Solicitors
Sylvia Arzey, Melisa Cicak & Rachael Pliner - ASC lawyers
2014-15
Legal Help for Refugees Clinic Team
Ben Lumsdaine - Senior Solicitor
Alison Ryan - Clinic Coordinator
Thulasi Wingeswaran - Clinic admin
Primary Application & Information Service Team
Julia Steward - Senior Solicitor
Simon Bruck – Solicitor
Sarah Dale - Child Specialist Lawyer
Laura Hibbert - PAIS Coordinator
Stephanie Blaker - Legal Admin
Administrative Team
Maja Bulut-Hallett - Office Manager
Jane Turner - Client Coordinator
Emma Somyden Davey - Volunteer Coordinator
Financial Team
Christina Portman - Business Manager
Dana Dumitriu – Acting Business Manager
Uma Ramprasad - Accountant
RACS would like to express its gratitude to Paul Reid of
KPMG, for his assistance for many years auditing our
finances.
Fundraising Team
Andrew Kelly - Fundraising Manager
Tina Posunkina - Assistant in Admin, Fundraising and
Communications
30 | Annual Report

Secondees
Secondees from King & Wood Mallesons, Allens
Linklaters and Norton Rose Fulbright joined RACS once
again this year.
King & Wood Mallesons - Jacob Offen and Michael
Forgacs.
Allens Linklaters - Jonathan Hall Spence
Norton Rose Fulbright - Alex Kennedy and Amritha
Thiyagarajan.
RACS is immensely grateful to our partner legal firms for
their ongoing support and to the individual lawyers who
joined us. The hardest thing is saying goodbye at the end
of their 6 months as they so quickly become an essential
part of our team
Amritha Thiyagarajan –
secondee from Norton Rose
Fulbright
Working at RACS was
both a humbling and
enriching experience.
I was given significant
autonomy in running client files, and I learnt about
the processes involved in developing the best
strategy to give your client the highest chance of
success. Although it was challenging at times, I
feel really fortunate to have had this opportunity
through the secondment program at Norton Rose
Fulbright. The lawyers at RACS inspired me every
day with their tenacity and passion for what they
do. I am proud to have worked alongside such
exceptional individuals, and to have contributed
to such valuable work. I’m sure I will take this
experience forward as one of the highlights of my
legal career.
Aarthi Sridharan 2015
– secondee from Mallesons
I have thoroughly enjoyed
being the KWM secondee
to RACS (Aug 2015 to
Feb 2016). I have truly
appreciated the opportunity
to observe highly intelligent and passionate
solicitors and staff at an organisation which does
crucial work for its clients in an ever changing and
challenging legal environment. Having been given
responsibility for approximately 40 casework files,
I have learnt invaluable legal and advocacy skills,
which I will take with me for the rest of my legal
career. Aside from casework, I have also had the
chance to give telephone advice on a regular basis
and to participate in other RACS staff sessions. The
collaborative and encouraging RACS environment
has also allowed me to make life long friendships
with truly inspirational staff and volunteers.
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 31

Volunteers
Reflections
Erin Steward, Law Student- University of Missouri
Kansas City, School of Law an intern at the
University of Santa Clara
On my first day at RACS, I was warmly greeted by
everyone and was able to get right to work within a
day of starting. I have spent my time here working
to support asylum claims of unaccompanied
minors who came to Australia by boat. I conducted
a lot of research on the country conditions from
the different countries from which these clients
originated. I was able to help build claims to aid
these clients and their lawyer in court and hopefully
win their claims of asylum.
Although I only spent 6 weeks at RACS, I feel as
though I was able to really become infused into
how the Australian processes of refugee asylum
works through both my research and the several
trainings I attended while working here.
Will De Waal, student volunteer
I’ve been volunteering at RACS since mid-2014. I
draft legal submissions, complete country of origin
research, and assist RACS lawyers with a vast
range of other tasks. Along the way, I’ve had the
pleasure of working closely with many of RACS’
clients, and a large portion of the RACS team.
Even now, I find each day challenging - but also
immensely enjoyable and rewarding. RACS’ clients
are in an exceptionally precarious position, and
RACS is their lifeline. This means that the work
RACS does is serious business - but it also fosters
a close, warm RACS family, united by the pursuit for
justice. The team is extremely passionate, spirited
and resilient, and they continue to inspire me to be
a better advocate and a better person.
I will really miss everyone at RACS because
they made my experience here that much more
enjoyable. I certainly won’t have an issue reaching
out to anyone at RACS in the future about any
questions I may have about Refugee Law. I will
have lots of wonderful things to tell my family and
friends upon my return to the United States!
Thank you RACS for the fantastic volunteer
internship opportunity!
32 | Annual Report

A total of 366 volunteers
assisted RACS this year
The sustained impact on RACS of the professionalism, willingness to
learn and patience of each volunteer as they support our solicitors in
a complex system, the community support and networks that they bring
with them, and the positive ambassadorship on asylum seeker issues that
they are then able contribute to their own communities is priceless
To put a dollar value on their support is hard but we estimated
RACS was provided a total of
$896,000 in volunteer support
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 33

our
volunteers
Volunteers for the Legal
Help For Refugees Clinic
86 Volunteer Interpreters
Ahsan Ali Khan
Nisar Ali Yawari
Noorulhaq Abdul Mutalib
Ibthal Ahmed
Ali Ali
Sonia Ali
Akhgar Amena
Christine Asani
Nour Aslalemi
Akhtar Azhar (Ozzie)
Ali Aziz
Elspeth Carruther
Jessie Cheng
Alan Dadban
Musood Darwoosh
Tamara Dawood
Viji Dhayanathan
Norma Diaz
Elaheh
Vivian Escudero
Fatima Fayiz
Aarti Gautam
Marion Gevers
Batool Haidary
Behzad Hajari
Kholoud Halabi
Sayed Hashemi
Xing He
Antonio Hernandez
Zahwat Hoballah
Lutfun Hossain
Mohsen Hussaini
Anwer Jabeen
Shalini Janaki
Selvarani Kala
Keeth
Anzer Khan
Faaris Khan
Bernard Khoshaba
Brian Lee
Jack Meng
Sharly Mesbahamin
Kim Michelle
Dale Mundey
Annas Nadeem
Nagaratnam
Ahmad Naman
Ahmed Naman
Nada Obaidy
Paheer Paheerathan
Mohammad Qabba
Qasim
Maheen Qazi
Sun Qi
Ahmed Rahman
Kumar Ratnakumar
Mohammad Raza
Ahmad Reza Khedry
Alia Saab
Hala Saab
Ayesha Saeed
Faranak Safaei
Julia Sakr
Sangaralingam
Juliana Seiguerman
Sujan Selven
Marwa Shaban
Fatima Shafaie
Vivek Shah
Garry Singh
Muhammad Sukhera
Ramsha Sulaman
Maissa Swellam
Shukufa Tahiri
Yasir Talib
Atina Tavan
Jey Thirukumar
Jennifer Toisuta
Ulaganayaki (Ula)
Dilini Withanage
Vivi Yangyang
Jing Zhang
Supervising Migration
Lawyers for Legal Help for
Refugees Clinic
5 Volunteers from
Legal Aid
Elizabeth Biok
Simon Bruck
Yolanda D’Aquino
Bill Georgiannis
Anne Himmelreich
3 Clinic Supervisors
Steven Glass
Rachael Pliner
Amelia Avery Williams
107 Statement Taking
Lawyers for Legal Help for
Refugees Clinic
Nina Abbey
Matthew Algie
Ali Ali
Arnjali Amara
Indira Beqaj
Christine Bourke
Georgie Bright
Sarah Brown
Rosemary Bullmore
Matthew Butt
Matthew Byrnes
Nicola Cannon
Julia Catanzariti
Babu Chokkappa
Emily Collett
Hamish Collings-Begg
Félix Delhomme
Rhiannon Dimitri
Jerome DORAISAMY
Jasmin Douglas
Dominic Eberl
Sheri Enkeshafi
Daniela Fazio
Mary Flanagan
Jannelle Gaggin
Daniel Garan
Kate Gauld
Katie Gauld
Erin Gavin
Hannah Gray
Parisa Hart
Jess Harvie
Miran Hosny
Atika Hussain
Luke Jacob
Adikari Jaya
Minji Jeong
Anita Joseph
Lisa Kastropil
David Kennedy
34 | Annual Report

Nathan Kennedy
Sherry Khalili
Rose Khalilizadeh
Hee-Jung Kim
Anastasia Krivenkova
Gemma Lardner
Rebecca Leabeater
Trieu Leculier
Norm Lee
Jimmy Li
Philippa Macaskill
Philippa Macintosh
James Mack
Abarnaa Mahendran
Mary Mansfield
Sapna Mantena
Grant Mason
Rosie Mathlin
Michael McCarthy
Harriet McCormick
Isobel McGarity
Vanessa McGlynn
Greg McKay
Janette McLennan
Rachael Miles
Riona Moodley
James Moshides
Aparna Nanayakkara
Maria Nawaz
Marco Nesbeth
Heather Ng
Enda O’Ceallachain
Aurora Pack
Hashini Pandaitharatne
Lucia Pante
Haren Pararajasingham
Antonina Pilat
Qasim Rafool
Jalal Razi
Clementine Rendle
Kim Rowlands
Tali Rubinstein
Hala Saab
Phillip Saggers
Alison Saunders
Charlottee Saunders
Rozita Serkhani
Felipe Serra- Martins
Deepak Shankar
Rimmika Shankar
Sally Shrubb
Michael Simmons
Pallavi Sinha
Kimberly Soleymani
Lara Song
Rebekah Stevens
Sophie Swart
Rachel Swift
Violeta Torbarac
Kanagasabai Vasan
Alex Vaughan
Julian Vido
Ben Williams
Susan Winfield
Chris Chi Wong
Ken Wong
Kathy Zonnoorian
23 Student Volunteer
Form Fillers
Anna Braye
Shamma Clarke
Brett Doull
Christine Harb
Sally Hewetson
Rachel Ho
Joo Ik Kim
Caleb Kim
Jiao Li
Kate Luckman
Barnaby McDonald
Kamilya Nelson
Kemi Olafuyi
Lauren Oliver
Bonnie Paton
Dilara Reznikas
Jacinda Valeontis
Elizabeth Vasta
Tanya Vithilingum
Anna Vu
Jacinta Wang
Jackson Wherret
Genevieive Wilks
29 Evening Advice
Migration Lawyers
Amelia Avery-Williams
Emma Bathurst
Louise Boon Kuo
Stuart Brady
Babu Chokkappa
Tess Deegan
Michael Forgacs
David Freyne
Steven Glass
Jonathan Hall Spence
Hagen Jewell
Alex Kennedy
Hee-Jung Kim
Anastasia Krivenkova
Trieu Leculier
Kate McCrossin
Haley McEwen
Melanie Montalban
Hai-Van Nguyen
Jacob Offen
Haren Pararajasingham
Rachael Pliner
Annabel Pope
Jessie Porteus
Hannah Quadrio
Philip Saggers
Michael Simmons
Josh Strutt
Amritha Thiyagarajan
100 Student Volunteers,
Practical Legal Training
Students and Work
Experience Students
AYalda Ali
Adwar Alkhamesi
Samar Alrawi
Selma Bekric
Andrew ell
Willabel Grindley Bennett
Kristine Biason
Michael Brull
Rebecca Campbell
Rachel Cao
Charis Chan
Christina Choi
Jung Yeon Choi
Adam Coles
Caitlin Comensoli
Hugh Dalton
Musood Darwoosh
Will de Waal
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 35

Corinne Deall
Katie McCarthy
Vanessa Trang
Matt Ottley
Felix Simon Delhomme
Jocelyn McGarity
Olivia Vallieres
Felix Palmer
Jenna Dolecek
Christina McLellan
Rachel Walgers
Lucy Pedrana
Nadia Elads
Lara Emery
Vivian Andrea Escudero
Eliza Fitzgerald
Aavriti Gautam
Lachlan Gell
Suraya Ghaznawee
Hannah Gray
Rebecca Greenwood
Thandiwe Gudu
Ella-Jane Harris
Ursula Hartung
Tamanna Hashemee
Reuben Hernandez
Catherine Holbeche
Saya Hussain
Luke Jacob
Stephanie Jones
Anita Joseph
Selva Kala
Marium Khan
Jooik Kim
Kyu Won Timothy Kim
Young-Joon (Dan) Kim
Celine Lai
Kristy Lee
Jonathan Leung
Yasmine Lewis
Larissa Lima-Smith
Courtney Lor
Sean Loughland
Erasmus Lovell-Jones
Suvan Madan
Abarnaa Mahendran
Catherine Clare Meehan-
McCarthy
Geraldine Menere
Manna Mostaghim
Sahana Navaratnam
Likim Ng
Grace O’Connor
Nirubamathy Palanivel
Parisa Parto
Lucy Pedrana
Udit Pillay
Chelvaretna Poheerelhan
Brodie Purdon
Rachelle Rahme
Sarah-Jane Rantzen
Kate Read
Rebecca Rolls
Zita Rush
Hannah Ryan
Meredith Rynan
Arnjali Sabapathy
Marcela Salcado Mar
Felipe Serra-Martins
Chandan Sharma
Emily Shipp
Aditya Shivam
James Souter
Thikshika Sribalakrishnan
Nina Stammbach
Rebecca Stokes
Nicholas Swart
Magny Taame
Nathan Tew
Jordan Thurling
Julianne Tonini
Lorraine Walsh
Michelle Yu
Zeinab Zein
Casey Zuiderwyk
Fundraising & Events
Volunteers
Abraham Ajok
Abed Al Zireg
Selma Becrac
Michael Brull
Bianca Caruana
Ying Chin
Erin Cooney
Hugh Dalton
Emma Davies
Will De Waal
Kate Delany
Will Dunn
Emily Elise
Jackson Gallagher
Isabella Giovinazzo
Tamanna Hashemee
Ruben Hernandez
Claire Higgins
Atika Hussein
Hina Khan
Nadine Koroleva
Jonathan Leung
Julia Mahoney
Aaron Manhattan
Jocelyn McGarity
Isobel McGarity
Sen Raj
Kate Read
Georgia Regan
Felipe Serra Martins
Jeremy Shaw
Larissa Smith
Tiksi Sribalakrishnan
Jordan Thurling
Julianne Tonini
Rachel Walgers
Eric Waterstadt
Counsel
Michael Finnane QC
Victor Kline
Jonathan Simpkins SC
Ben Symons
Stephen Tully
executive assistant
volunteer
Erin Cooney
36 | Annual Report

Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 37

Funding
Partners
AUBURN CITY COUNCIL
Many Cultures One Community
The Scully Fund
Chill Foundation
Sky Foundation
Nordia Foundatoin
Durham Family Trust
38 | Annual Report

Significant Donors
Anne-Marie Allgrove
Sarah Andrews
Peter Banki
Deborah Barlow
David Barrow
Dominic & Patrice Beirne
Lisa Byleveld
David Chan
Azadeh Dastyari
Edward Genocchio
Catherine Greenhill
Yoram & Rachel Gross
Joe Harman
Michael & Margaret Hogan
Yoshi Jones
Andrew Kaldor
Mary McCallum
Haley McEwen
Bruce McGarity
Paul Mulroney
Peter Murphy
Cate Poynton
Colin Roden
Jeff Siegel
Malcolm Stephens
Anthony Tanti
Andrew Tingley
Reece Turner
Kristen Walker
Vera Yee
Christopher Yoo
One Day Sundays
Strategic Partners
University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
Law Faculty
Univeristy of Technology Sydney
Jesuit Refugee Service
Red Cross
Pro Bono Partners
Allens Linklaters
Baker & McKenzie
Gilbert +Tobin
Henry Davis York
Herbert Smith Freehills
Hicksons
King & Wood Mallesons
Norton Rose Fullbright
Wotton & Kearney
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 39

our year in review
2977
Telephone Advice Sessions
Projects No. Unique pieces of advise No. of Clients
Auburn Outreach 512 441
Parramatta Outreach 213 192
ASC Outreach 378 217
Family Reunion 220 118
Detention 7 7
730
Face-to-Face
Advice Sessions
20 Family reunion
133
Unaccompanied
Children
people seeking asylum assisted to complete
Freedom of Information forms: 1000+
people seeking asylum assisted to write their statement of why they
cannot return home ( 3 hour appointment with volunteer lawyer): 570
Referrals made to community organisations to complete 866 or 790
application forms: 88
Pre-Lodgement Legal Advice appointments provided with a
Migration Agent: 61
Referrals to Amnesty International to assist asylum seekers with
country information related to their claims: 15.
40 | Annual Report

Adélie Land (France) 4 Afghanistan 389 Algeria 2 Argentina 1 Australia 23
Bahrain 1 Bangladesh 119 Belarus 1 Bhutan 1 Brazil 3 Burkina Faso 1 Burma
(Myanmar) 157 Burundi 11 Cambodia 3 Cameroon 13 Chad 1 China (excludes SARs
and Taiwan Province) 57 Colombia 6 Congo 2 Congo, Democratic Republic of
2 Cote d’Ivoire 2 Czech Republic 1 Egypt 27 Eritrea 4 Estonia 1 Ethiopia 4 Fiji
37 Finland 1 France 1 Gaza Strip and West Bank 1 Georgia 11 Ghana 3 Guinea 4
Honduras 1 India 38 Indonesia
20 Iran 546 Iraq 230 Israel
1 Jordan 13 Kenya 1 Korea, Democratic
People’s Republic
of (North) 8 Korea,
Republic of THE RACS TEAM HELPED (South) 1 Kuwait
12 Kyrgyz Republic 1
OVER 2827 Persons Seeking
Lebanon 31
Liberia 2 Libya
7 Lithuania
Asylum from 90 different
1 Malaysia
18 Mauritius 1 Mexico 1
Mongolia 7
countries in 2014-15
Morocco 3
Nepal 20 New Zealand 1
Nicaragua 1 Nigeria
31 Northern Ireland
1 Not stated 110 Pakistan 192 Palestine 16 Papua
New Guinea 13 Peru 2 Philippines 6 Poland 1 Qatar 1 Reunion 1 Russian Federation
8 Rwanda 6 Saudi Arabia 5 Sierra Leone 5 Singapore 1 Somalia 27 South Africa
5 Sri Lanka 398 Stateless 5 Sudan 21 Sweden 1 Syria 30 Tanzania 2 Thailand
1 Tonga 2 Turkey 20 Uganda 10 Ukraine 6 United Arab Emirates 2 Uruguay 1
Venezuela 1 Viet Nam 22 Western Sahara 1 Yemen 7 Zimbabwe 7
Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 41

Financial
Reporting
2014/15
42 | Annual Report

Refugee Advice and Casework Service | 43

44 | Annual Report

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Glossary
AFP – Australian Federal Police
ASC – Asylum Seekers Centre
CPD Session – Continuing professional development
session
DIBP – Department of Immigration and Border
Protection
FOI – Freedom of Information
IAAAS - Immigration Advice and Application Assistance
Scheme
JRS – Jesuit Refugee Service
PAIS – Primary Application Information Service
RACS – Refugee Advice and Casework Service
SHEV – Safe Heaven Enterprise Visa
SSI – Settlement Services International
STARTTS - Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation
of Torture and Trauma Survivors
TPV – Temporary Protection Visa
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