Our next L4R meeting will be held on Wednesday 29 July at 6.30pm on Zoom

NOTE THAT OUR JULY MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE ONE WEEK LATER THAN USUAL.

Anyone who supports our L4R goals is welcome to attend.

Minutes of our last meeting on the 24 June 2026 follow L4RNSW-ACTMinMtg24Jun26 

NSW Labor Conference – what happened? Brief Background After conducting a campaign for the NSW Labor Conference, to gain support for our refugee motion on homelessness, we sent our motion to the NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson early this year.  L4R then met with the Minister on the 31 March 2026.  Shortly afterwards, a wording was agreed to by both the Minister and L4R. However, a few months later, we become aware that the Minister had changed her mind and we discovered that our motion, together with its Background, which appeared in the Policy Committee’s Report under the Chapter “Social Justice and Legal Affairs”, was only being supported in principle, instead of being supported outright.  We next attempted a compromise on words that would be acceptable to both parties.   The Minister’s Deputy Chief of Staff then came back with a significant one word change to our motion which was a proposal to delete the word “shelter” and replace it with “support”.  Not happy with this change, our Office Bearers decided to leave the final decision to our members.  After a discussion at our June meeting, members unanimously decided to reject this change.  It was felt that “support” could mean anything or nothing, so we may as well leave our motion in its original form. To recap, the motion (without the Background) follows: Homelessness Support Should be Based on Need and not Visa Status – That this NSW Labor Conference recognises the right to housing is a human right. Humans include people in our community without visas and we recognise that the Commonwealth controls who gets visas and when, as well as the conditions on those visas, including withholding the right to work.  In these circumstances, to ensure homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring in NSW, we call on the NSW Labor Government to include accessible, safe, affordable shelter for non-residents and asylum seekers in the NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035.  The State Conference 4/5 July, 2026 On the first morning of the Conference, a group of L4R members met at 7.15am and handed out our L4R Leaflet, which contained our Conference motion, to Delegates as they queued up at the entrance to the Sydney Town Hall, waiting for the doors to open. The Conference agenda listed the “Social Justice and Legal Affairs” Chapter as the 2nd last item on day two.  We were aware that Conference usually finishes early and consequently, Delegates would never get around to debating this Chapter. There was an attempt by the Left early on the first day of Conference, to force this important Chapter to be debated on Saturday morning instead, but the motion was lost, even though Delegates’ voices sounded quite even on the vote from the floor.  A call by L4R Secretary Nizza Siano, for a count, was ignored by the Chair. So as predicted, that Chapter was not debated at all and our refugee motion on homelessness slipped through Conference as only being “supported in principle” which means the NSW Government’s housing policy remains unchanged and our motion was not adopted.  Thank YouI would like to thank those dedicated L4R members who showed up on an early cold winter’s morning, to hand out our leaflet and kept handing them out to Observers inside the Town Hall. Thanks also goes to those members who took our motion to their branch meetings and had their members support it.  There were a substantial number of branches who supported our L4R motion. We did the best we could under a very toxic anti-immigration, anti-refugee environment but would have had no chance at all were it not for the support we received from our members.    L4R Fringe Event”Housing is a Human Right” Fringe Event took place on Saturday 4 July at 2pm. It was scheduled at the same time as the Chapter on “Prosperity and Fairness at Work” was being debated by delegates upstairs in the main hall. That Chapter was attended by delegates from the trade union movement and may have been the reason that our Fringe Event was not well attended.  About 50 people turned up.  Our three guest speakers were very eloquent.  They were Elijah Buol OAM, the CEO from the Asylum Seekers Centre, Shaheen Whyte, Snr Policy Officer of the Refugee Council of Australia and Nadia, a person seeking asylum with lived experience of housing insecurity.  L4R’s Co-Convenor, Lauren Honcope, did an excellent job of moderating the event and asked each guest a series of questions.  It ended with a Q&A from the audience.

L4R Fringe Event L-R Sabrin Farooqui, Lauren Honcope, Elijah Buol, Nadia, Shaheen Whyte, Nizza Siano. ALP National Conference 23/24/25 July 2026 Our L4R national group, the National Co-ordinating Committee (NCC), worked hard throughout the year, examining each clause of Chapter 7 of the Draft Platform 2026.  This Chapter entitled “Australia’s Place in a Changing World”, will be debated and voted on by Delegates at the forthcoming National Conference on Saturday morning of the 25 July, the last day of Conference. We took every opportunity available, to make submissions beforehand, to the National Policy Forum (NPF), on those clauses in the Draft Platform that impacted on refugees and people seeking asylum.  Each time the Committee met, our supporters on the Committee, advocated for our refugee amendments but each time, these amendments were rejected by members of the NPF. We have now reached the stage where we will advocate at the forthcoming National Conference, for reforms to refugee policy, with a final smaller list of amendments as well as advocating for a Special Resolution that our NCC developed over some months.  Our Special Resolution focuses on Australia’s humanitarian refugee intake and follows:  Recommended Special Resolution by the 2026 ALP National Conference on Australia’s Humanitarian Refugee Intake (from Labor for Refugees)   The 2026 ALP National Conference celebrates Australia as a successful multicultural nation built on migration programs. National Conference specifically celebrates the contribution to the nation of the now one million people who have come to Australia since World War 2 as refugees.  Conference notes the ever-increasing global numbers of displaced persons due to conflict and persecution but also acknowledges the economic challenges for Labor governments in maintaining a responsible refugee intake. Conference again reaffirms the aspiration of Federal Labor to achieve a humanitarian refugee intake of 27,000 places per year from overseas locations in combination with a complementary resettlement intake pathway including community sponsorship of 10,000 places per year.     Conference congratulates the Albanese Labor Government since its election in 2022 for lifting the humanitarian refugee intake from 13,500 places per year under the previous Coalition Government to 20,000 places per year under Labor. The 2026 National Conference calls on the Albanese Labor government to maintain the humanitarian refugee intake numbers at 20,000 places per year whilst continuing to progress towards achieving 27,000 places per year.  We hope that we’ll have the support of Conference Delegates for our amendments to the Draft Platform and our Special Resolution.  Labor for Refugees will be promoting our Special Resolution at the Conference by handing out our leaflet, which includes our Resolution.  The Leaflet can be viewed at L4RNatConfLeaflet2026 Family Reunions On the 25 June last, we wrote to both the Minister for Finance and Women Senator Katy Gallagher and the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Tony Burke, asking that they remove the cost burden for families in the form of fee waivers for visa applications for partners and their dependents.  In 2023, we had written to Senator Gallagher about this very issue, but received no response.   In our letter, we argued that introducing visa application charge concessions, will make it more affordable for people to reunite with their partners and/or children.  We submitted a number of other suggestions that would address the visa processing challenges facing them.  Our letter can be viewed at L4RFamReunions25Jun26  I hope to see you at our next meeting on 29 July when we will report to you on the National Conference.  RegardsNizza Siano Secretary L4R NSW email:  contact@labor4refugees.com

Refugees: Out of Sight … (but not) Out of Mind – Australia’s Offshore ‘Processing’ ONLINE FORUM – Tuesday 21 July 2026, 7.30pm AEST Zoom link Click here Hosted by the Australian Refugee Action Network (ARAN), the forum will shine a spotlight on:The ongoing harm caused by Australia’s offshore ‘processing’ regime and resistance in the face of cruelty Key critiques of Australia’s offshore regime and ‘externalisation’ of our responsibilities to people seeking asylum Alternative approaches and discussion on effective activism and advocacy.Speakers  Laura Johns – Associate Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre Sr Jane Keogh – Manus Lives Matter  Senator David Shoebridge – Greens senator and member of Senate Committee 9 July 2026, marks 13 years since then PM, Kevin Rudd, took Australia’s treatment of people seeking asylum to a new moral low, ruling that anyone arriving by boat from July 2013 would never settle in Australia. This decision entrenched Australia’s use of third countries to site its offshore immigration ‘processing’, this policy regime dates back further to 2001 under John Howard. However, under Howard’s laws, people assessed offshore and found to be refugees were still able to settle in Australia, but Rudd’s ruling removed this possibility for those arriving after 19 July 2013, irrespective of their refugee status.ARAN – Australian Refugee Action Network  Website FacebookIf you need more information email austrefugeenetwork@gmail.comPlan to join this important discussion – and share with others

Renew your membership Renew here

Labor for Refugees (L4R) is a group of party members and trade unionists, formed in 2001, to advocate for progressive reforms to the Labor Party’s policies on refugees and people seeking asylum. We believe Australia must uphold humane, just, and effective policies for those who seek refuge.

L4R Branches exist in Queensland, NSW – ACT and Victoria. There are many hundreds of individual ALP Members who have committed to support our aims and many local Branches in each State who have pledged support. Our influence is evident in improvements to Labor’s National and State Platforms. 

 HUMANITARIAN REFUGEE INTAKE – PROPOSED MOTION BY LABOR FOR REFUGEES

The 2026 ALP National Conference celebrates Australia as a successful multicultural nation built on migration programs.

National Conference specifically celebrates the contribution to the nation of the now one million people who have come to Australia since World War 2 as refugees.  

Conference notes the ever-increasing global numbers of displaced persons due to conflict and persecution but also acknowledges the economic challenges for Labor governments in maintaining a responsible refugee intake. 

Conference again reaffirms the aspiration of Federal Labor to achieve a humanitarian refugee intake of 27,000 places per year from overseas locations in combination with a complementary resettlement intake pathway including community sponsorship of 10,000 places per year.    

Conference congratulates the Albanese Labor Government since its election in 2022 for lifting the humanitarian refugee intake from 13,500 places per year under the previous Coalition Government to 20,000 places per year under Labor.

The 2026 National Conference calls on the Albanese Labor government to maintain the humanitarian refugee intake numbers at 20,000 places per year whilst continuing to progress towards achieving 27,000 places per year.

THE ALBANESE GOVERMENT’S RECORD

POLICY REFORMS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 

The most significant achievement of the Government has been the provision of permanent residency to individuals who were previously languishing in crippling uncertainty under Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEVs). Following L4R’s advocacy, the government offered permanency to people in these groups. Approximately 25,000 people who held TPVs or SHEVs have been, or will soon be, granted permanent residency. 

Similarly, since the second half of 2025, Federal Labor has been offering a pathway to permanent settlement to around 7,000 people treated unjustly under the former LNP government’s so-called ‘Fast Track’ visa application processing, which kept many vulnerable people in indefinite bridging visa limbo. L4R is hopeful that people in this group will have settlement certainty by early next year.

CONTINUING PROBLEMS

• PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY IN NAURU AND MANUS 

The Government continues to refuse to permanently settle 800 or so individuals and families who were sent to Manus (PNG) and Nauru from 19 July 2013 but are now in Australia (so-called ‘Transitory Persons’). Some are medical evacuees and others were brought by Federal Labor to Australia. All require permanent settlement. 

• HIGH COURT RULINGS, INDEFINITE DETENTION AND THE DEPORTATION BILL

The Labor Government’s approach to detention and deportation has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of recent High Court rulings. The Albanese Government rushed three unsatisfactory laws through Parliament to give itself new powers to force people to cooperate with deportation, to enter paid arrangements with third countries to accept people deported from Australia, and to limit people’s rights in immigration detention.  

• THE SITUATION IN NAURU NOW

L4R is deeply concerned by Federal Labor’s two arrangements with the Republic of Nauru. The first is revival of Nauru as a place to process people seeking asylum in Australia who arrived at the sea border without a visa. As of 30 September 2025 there were, 91 asylum seekers in Nauru, according to the Refugee Council of Australia, using Home Affairs’ reports. Uncertainty remains around the future of refugees and people seeking asylum on Nauru.

The second arrangement with Nauru, set up in September 2025, allows the deportation to Nauru of non-citizens with adverse character assessments, who cannot be deported to their countries of origin, including refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia. 

Both arrangements have been criticised by the UNHCR and Australian Human Rights organisations.  

• REFUGEES IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA (PNG)

The situation in PNG is equally troubling. L4R understands that, as at June 2026, there are 56 refugees living in Port Moresby (24 men who were originally sent to Manus Island from 19 July 2013, together with twelve partners and 20 children). Of those 8–10 are known to be so mentally unwell that they cannot engage with any settlement processes. An Australia-based small private charity has supported this group for many years, through financial aid and visits.  Federal Labor did provide some support for them until April 2026 but will not re-settle any of them in Australia (the 2013 Rudd rule). Some await resettlement in New Zealand and Canada, which may happen but is very slow. 

The Australian Government maintains that the future of these refugees now lies with PNG authorities and the UNHCR, which works to provide permanent settlement in other countries. Given the USA de-funding of UNHCR and the increasing trend across first world countries to reduce refugee settlement, third country settlement looks increasingly unlikely. L4R has repeatedly expressed its concerns to the Federal Government, particularly regarding vulnerable individuals who are physically and/or mentally unwell who cannot engage with the UNHCR process and need to be medivaced to Australia. Labor for Refugees continues to press for urgent humanitarian solutions.

• WORK AND STUDY RIGHTS

Labor’s 2023 National Platform affirms that people on bridging visas should have work and study rights while their asylum applications are processed.  In practice many continue to encounter barriers to employment, education, housing and healthcare. Over the years, successive Federal Governments have reduced Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) funding and eligibility and removed many non-residents’ work rights and access to Medicare. Consequently, non-residents are locked out of work and mainstream social services and there is no safety net in place to prevent destitution and homelessness. Charities and frontline asylum services are left to fill the gap. These services are stretched beyond capacity and rely heavily on donations and community goodwill. RCOA noted that in the May 2026 Budget a planned reduction in the Federal SRSS funding allocation did not proceed and that for 2026-27, the actual funding spent on SRSS in 2025-26 would continue. 

THE PATH FORWARD

The Albanese Government has taken important steps toward a more humane and just refugee policy, but the journey is far from complete. The plight of refugees and asylum seekers—whether stranded offshore, mired in bureaucratic delays, or struggling to access essential services—demands continued vigilance and advocacy. L4R remains committed to holding the government accountable and ensuring that Australia meets its obligations to the world’s most vulnerable people, upholds its international commitments and builds a society rooted in fairness, dignity and hope for all who seek safety on its shore.

Key priorities moving forward include:

• Securing permanent and humane solutions for those Australia sent to Nauru after May 2022 and still in Nauru, and those Australians sent to PNG (Manus) after 19 July 2013 and still in PNG, most urgently the physically and mentally unwell. 
• Securing safe permanent settlement of refugees currently in Indonesia who arrived over 10 years ago.
• Facilitating family re-unions wherever possible in cases where people seeking asylum and refugees already have close relatives in Australia.
• Providing pathways to permanency for all refugees living in Australia, including former detainees in Manus and Nauru, on indefinite bridging visas.
• Restoring subsistence income support and expanding access to work, healthcare, education and housing, including for new arrivals.
• Safeguarding legal rights and opposing any legislative measures that risk arbitrary or indefinite detention and forced deportations.
• Increasing Australia’s humanitarian intake.
• Ensuring robust consultation with refugee communities, advocacy groups and stakeholders in the ongoing reform of refugee policy.

Authorised by Nizza Siano, National Secretary, Labor for Refugees.

For further information, to purchase merchandise or join Labor for Refugees email contact@labor4refugees.com

1. https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/operation-sovereign-borders-offshore-detention-statistics/3/
2. Please contact L4R if you are interested in donating to this group

Our next L4R meeting will be held on Wednesday 24 June at 6.30pm

Anyone who supports our L4R goals is welcome to attend.

Minutes of our last meeting on the 27 May 2026 follow L4RNSW-ACTMinMtg27May26 

NSW Labor Conference – L4R campaign on homelessness – latest development After first meeting on the 31 March 2026 with NSW Minister for Water, Housing, Homelessness, Mental Health and Youth Rose Jackson, L4R and the Minister, negotiated a form of wording for a motion, that would be acceptable to both L4R and the NSW Government.  On the 18 May, the Minister’s Adviser confirmed to L4R’s Secretary, Nizza Siano, that they were happy with the final wording of the motion. This motion was to be included on the agenda at the NSW ALP Conference under the Chapter “Social Justice and Legal Affairs”.  We assumed this was a done deal and that our motion would sail through, unopposed at the Conference on the 4/5 July.  Our motion was the outcome of a campaign conducted by L4R since early 2026.  It was supported by the Refugee Council of Australia and Asylum Seekers Centre and endorsed by a number of ALP branches. The motion and background follows:HOMELESSNESS SUPPORT SHOULD BE BASED ON NEED AND NOT VISA STATUS The NSW Labor Government Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035 acknowledges that the right to housing is a basic human right.  The Strategy estimates that more than 35,000 people are experiencing homelessness in NSW.  There is an increase of 27% between the censuses carried out in 2011 and 2021. The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) reported in 2025 that in the City of Sydney alone, nearly 20% of people sleeping rough are non-residents on uncertain visas, including asylum seekers. Over the years, successive Federal Governments have reduced Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) funding and eligibility and removed many non-residents’ work rights and access to Medicare, while the NSW State Government has excluded non-residents from homelessness support.  Consequently, non-residents are locked out of mainstream social services and there is no safety net in place to prevent destitution and homelessness.  The RCOA reported that currently, charities and frontline asylum services are left to fill the gap.  They provide food, emergency accommodation, rent assistance, transport and healthcare but with little or no government funding.  These services are stretched beyond capacity and rely heavily on donations and community goodwill. The Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC) reported in 2024 that homelessness is detrimental to the welfare and mental health of non-residents.  Subsequently, this affects their ability to lodge and progress visa applications.  This motion is about giving all non-residents and asylum seekers access to homelessness support.  No one should be excluded based on their visa status!    MOTION That this NSW Labor Conference recognises the right to housing is a human right. Humans include people in our community without visas and we recognise that the Commonwealth controls who gets visas and when, as well as the conditions on those visas, including withholding the right to work.  In these circumstances, to ensure homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring in NSW, we call on the NSW Labor Government to include accessible, safe, affordable shelter for non-residents and asylum seekers in the NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035.  LATEST DEVELOPMENT IS A BLOW Disappointingly, we have since learned, that the Policy Committee that examined our motion, decided that our motion should only be “Supported In Principle”, rather than being “Supported” outright. This was a blow for us as we had not been officially informed of this decision and the change of position by the Minister, until early this week.  The L4R Secretary had attempted on numerous occasions over the last month, to make contact with the Minister’s Adviser to discuss the motion, but to no avail.  Since discovering this bad piece of news, The L4R Secretary has requested to speak to the Minister’s Chief of Staff, in the hope that L4R and the NSW Government can find some common ground, that can result in an outcome that will benefit homeless asylum seekers and non-residents living rough on our streets. If you want to read all the motions submitted to NSW Conference by ALP Branches, trade unions, and other ALP units (including our motion on homelessness) and see the response each motion received by the Platform Committees, the Policy Committees Report can be found by clicking here.  Volunteers needed at NSW Conference We are asking for volunteers to assist us in handing out our L4R leaflet early on Saturday morning at the Sydney Town Hall, to Delegates arriving on the first morning of the conference on Saturday 4 July.  Registration for Delegates commences at 7.30am so that’s when we plan to be there. In order to assist us, you will need to be a member of the Labor Party and register as an Observer, otherwise, we don’t know if the security measures surrounding the conference, will allow you to stand and hand out on the steps of the Town Hall.   To register please click NSW Labor Observer Registration Please get back to Nizza Siano at contact@labor4refugees.com if you have any time to offer L4R or let her know at our meeting next week. L4R Fringe Event at NSW Conference L4R has organised a fringe event on the theme of our campaign on homelessness.  It will take place on SATURDAY 4 JULY AT 2PM in the Lower Town Hall.  NSW Labor is in the process of producing a booklet for the Fringe Event and you will find all the details in this publication.  Details of our Fringe Event follow: Title:  “HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT” Guest speakers:  ELIJAH BUOL OAM, CEO of the Asylum Seekers Centre  SHAHEEN WHYTE,  Senior Policy Officer of the Refugee Council of Australia   and NADIA who is a person seeking asylum with lived experience of housing insecurity in NSW.  She is a mother of three and runs her own catering business.   Please attend and promote our event so we can show the government (both State and Federal), that many people care about the plight of asylum seekers.  Pauline Hanson’s One Nation  Listening to Pauline Hanson list all of her One Nation policies at yesterday’s National Press Club, sickened me.  I was amazed that her attack on the media, did not elicit a walk-out by the media representatives who attended this event.  They were being directly attacked by Ms Hanson yet just sat there, too timid (or stunned), to speak out (with a very few exceptions).  This compliance and willingness to view One Nation as a mainstream, respectable Party, worthy of consideration, is exactly how fascism grows.  My family experienced it in Nazi Europe.  It’s because the “ordinary” voter, is unable to see how voting for change, for the sake of change, can damage whole communities and our society.  This reluctance to see beyond populist rhetoric, is what allows these extremists to flourish.  Unfortunately, only too late, people realise that the destruction of institutions that support them and enhance their quality of life, have vanished under these right-wing governments.  Instead, many become targets.You just have to look at Trump as an example of this and see how he has destroyed the lives of people living in the USA (and elsewhere).   Refugees and migrants have always been the scapegoats for Pauline Hanson and we must fight with all our might, to prevent her popularity from growing because of the misguided views people hold, who are suffering for all sorts of reasons, but who instead, apportion blame on others who are also suffering. These people will NOT benefit from a change of government from a Labor Government to an Australia ruled by One Nation.

I hope to see you at our online meeting next Wednesday. RegardsNizza Siano Secretary L4R NSW email:  contact@labor4refugees.com

Labor for Refugees Qld Newsletter –  June 2026 This coming week is Refugee Week, starting this weekend, and running through until next Saturday. We have included some links to events happening around Queensland and hope you will be able to attend some of them.Many of you will be attending local policy conferences in the lead-up to the ALP National Conference being held 23-25th July, in Tarntanya /Adelaide and ahead of State Conference at the end of August. We have some motions that you may wish to consider proposing at your branch and local policy conferences:Motion Multiculturalism Anti-Racism FrameworkMulticultural Labor Campaign – Support Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism. We encourage you to put these motions forward. Also, for reference, here is a copy of the National Labor for Refugees submission to the ALP National Conference. Meeting Notice – 2026 Annual General Meeting: Please note that the Labor for Refugees 2026 AGM will be held online on Wednesday 12th August 2026 at 6:30 pm.Meeting link and agenda will be circulated closer to the time. Continuing Campaigns: Ongoing letter writing on Offshore arrangements. Information and letter template can be found here. For information to support refugees trapped in Indonesia, join the Circle of Friends group here. Other ways to get involved in campaigning for refugee rights: Amnesty International has a National Amnesty Refugee Network, which, among other issues, is focused on supporting the men left in PNG after the Manus detention centre closed. You can read more here. Join Amnesty International Australia here. The Australian Refugee Action Network (ARAN) is a national coalition of groups lobbying for refugee rights. Read about their ongoing campaigns here. Refugee Action Collective meets regularly in Brisbane. More information here. Upcoming Events Sun 14th June – Sat 20th June Refugee Week- Celebrates a Million Stories Find your local refugee week activity here. Friday, 12th June Screening of We Are Not Powerless, by Jolyon Hall and Muzafar AliCost: $20, includes talk by Muzafar Ali about his work with refugee schools in Indonesia, Afghanistan girls’ schools, and elsewhere. (There are also screenings in Machan’s Beach (Cairns), Warwick, Maleny, and Murwillumbah, in northern NSW.)Tickets here. More screening information and tickets here. BrisbaneSunday 14th June Welcome Walk, 1 pm, Orleigh Park, West End, Brisbane. Walk by donation. More information here. Wednesday 17th June World Refugee Day Celebration, 7.30 – 9.10 pm,  Queensland Multicultural Centre, Kangaroo Point. Free screening of Rosemary’s Way.This move celebrates Rosemary Kariuki and a group of migrant women of suburban Sydney, whose lives Rosemary helps transform, as they find their voices and confidence in Australia, their new home.Register for your free ticket here Townsville: Celebrating Multicultural Food in Unity. From 4 – 8 pm, Sunday 14th June, Aitkenvale State School. Register here to attend.QLD Labor State Conference 2026. The Queensland State Conference will take place once again in Brisbane on 29-30 August, a month after the ALP National Conference. We hope to have a stall and raffle.  More details will be provided soon! Want to read more refugee news? Here are some suggestions for further reading. Amnesty International’s 2025/26 Report on global rights  For the Australian chapter, including the state of refugee and migrant rights. Temporary Visa  bans, Phillips,Michelle (2026) “Help for Athletes, bans for others: unpacking Australia’s complex, chaotic migration developments”,  The Conversation, March 11, 2026.Analysis of Australia’s temporary visa ban and the recent granting of visas to Iranian soccer players seeking asylum from Iran.Offshore arrangements Haydar, Nour (2026) “Sara Fears her father will be deported from Australia to Nauru – a place of ‘final and lifelong punishment” The Guardian Australia, June 4, 2026. Submissions to the Senate inquiry into offshore arrangements, held 5th May, 2026. Labor for Refugees National Coordinating Committee & Hanne Worsoe, Convenor of L4R Qld, made 2 of the 126 submissions. Hansard transcript of public hearing, 5th May 2026Report due 17th June, 2026, next week. Refugees in Indonesia: Brown, Tom and Missbach, Antje (2016), “The boats may have ‘stopped’, but more refugees are stuck in limbo in Indonesia”, The Conversation, March 22nd, 2016.Written in 2016, but still relevant. Analysis of refugees left trapped in Indonesia since 2014, when the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison, banned their resettlement in Australia. We hope to see many of you at our AGM in August. We look forward to seeing some of you at the ALP National Conference in Tarntanya/Adelaide!Warm regards,The Executive of Labor for Refugees Queensland About Labor for Refugees QueenslandLabor for Refugees Queensland is a registered association with the Australian Labor Party, Queensland. Our aims and objectives are as follows:To advocate for policy for refugees and those seeking to engage Australia’s international obligations to provide protection, that is compliant with international law, respectful of Human Rights, equitable, socially just and in keeping with stated Labor values. To disseminate factual and comprehensive information to ensure policy discussion, development and implementation is based on fact, and reflective of Labor values. To advocate for progressive reform and appropriate differentiation of legislation, regulation, policy and practice concerning refugees, those seeking protection, those who are forced to migrate due to natural disasters and unlivable homelands, and migrants who freely choose to come to Australia. The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Australian Labor Party. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday 25 March at 6.30pm

 Anyone who supports our goals is welcome to attend.

Minutes of our last meeting on the 25 February 2026 follow L4RNSW-ACTMinMtg25Feb25

The next four months is crucial We have both a National and State ALP Conference coming up in July this year.   These conferences will dictate the future of government policy for refugees and people seeking asylum L4R has to ensure that refugees/people seeking asylum, are not ignored at these forums.  We are concerned that the obsession by Labor to try and avoid debate on refugees because of the fear of being wedged by the Coalition and One Nation, will mean that the most vulnerable people on this planet, will be ignored.  L4R Submission to the ALP National Policy Forum  Our L4R National Co-ordinating Committee (NCC) was made aware last week, that if we wished to amend, delete or add anything to the 2023 ALP National Platform, for consideration for the draft 2026 Platform, we had to get these proposals to supportive National Policy Forum (NPF) members by the deadline of 8pm on Monday 16 March.  Our role as advocates for refugees and people seeking asylum, is to lobby hard to ensure that hard won policies negotiated at the last 2023 National Conference, remain in the 2026 Platform.  In addition, L4R wishes to see improvements made to existing policies.We worked right up to the end of last weekend and managed to complete our submission (plus talking points).  On Sunday night, we sent our documents to supportive NPF delegates, one each from Victoria, NSW and the ACT. We were asked to narrow down our submission to a few priorities that were value-based, short and without money values attached.  The NPF next met with Ministers in Melbourne yesterday, to debate these proposed edits to the Platform.  Two delegates lodged our L4R amendments and the mover spoke in support of them.  We were informed that Richard Marles, Penny Wong and Tony Burke attended the session on Chapter 7 “Australia’s Place in a Changing World” . Chapter 7 deals with the issues of migration, Australia’s humanitarian intake, settlement services and refugee assessment, Australia’s border and immigration detention.  We expect and hope that after this meeting, a revised draft Platform will be released at some point prior to the July ALP National Conference, with enough time to provide an opportunity for members to comment.  The draft will then be debated at National Conference allowing Delegates to vote on the contents to create a 2026 National Platform. The submission we made to the NPF can be read at L4RNPFSbmtoPlatformReview15-3-26 National Conference Delegate – elections A number of ALP FECs are currently in the process of electing their Delegate for the National ALP Conference.  Each FEC is entitled to send one Delegate. The ballot opened on the 9 March and closes at 5pm on the 30 March.   A number of candidates care deeply about the plight of refugees and people seeking asylum.  Nizza Siano is the National and NSW/ACT Secretary of Labor for Refugees and nominated for Conference Delegate from Wentworth FEC.  Nizza has made refugees/people seeking asylum, a priority.  If she is elected, Nizza will make sure that she advocates/votes for policy reform on behalf of refugees. Meeting with NSW Minister Rose JacksonL4R NSW/ACT has secured a meeting with Rose Jackson, the NSW Minister for Water, Housing, Homelessness, Mental Health and Youth.  Our meeting will take place on Tuesday 31 March.  The purpose of our meeting is to advocate for our campaign on homelessness on behalf of asylum seekers and non-residents.  The name of our campaign is HOMELESSNESS SUPPORT SHOULD BE BASED ON NEED AND NOT VISA STATUS.Since early this year, we have asked branches to support our campaign by moving our motion and ensuring it’s submitted to the NSW Labor Conference.  The NSW ALP Conference takes place on the 4/5 July 2026.  The deadline to submit motions is the 3 April so if your branch has not yet held its meeting, you can still support it.  The Secretary of your Branch/SEC should ensure that if the motion is carried, it’s submitted, using the Online Policy Motions Portal as well as sending a copy of the motion to Rose Jackson.Labor for Refugees supports the assertion in the NSW Labor Government Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035, which acknowledges that the right to housing is a basic human right.  The Strategy estimates that more than 35,000 people are experiencing homelessness in NSW.  There is an increase of 27% between the censuses carried out in 2011 and 2021.    The Refugee Council of Australia reported in 2025 that in the City of Sydney alone, nearly 20% of people sleeping rough are non-residents on uncertain visas, including asylum seekers. This motion is about giving all non-residents and asylum seekers access to homelessness support.  We say that no one should be excluded based on their visa status!

You can access a PDF copy of the motion at L4RNSWStateConferenceMotion2026 Hope to see you online at our 25 March meeting.

Regards

Nizza Siano
Secretary L4R NSW
email:  contact@labor4refugees.com

Our next L4R meeting will be held on Wednesday 27 May at 6.30pm

Anyone who supports our L4R goals is welcome to attend.

Minutes of our last meeting on the 22 April 2026 follow L4RNSW-ACTMinMtg22Apr26 

L4R submission to NPF on current Draft 2026 ALP National Platform   In preparation for the National ALP Conference which takes place on 23-25 July 2026, our L4R National Co-ordinating Committee (NCC) submitted our Platform amendments, to be considered for the draft 2026 ALP National Platform.   Our document was sent to the National Policy Forum (NPF), which first met in March this year.  NPF members who supported L4R, advocated at that meeting, for our recommendations.Our first L4R submission can be read at L4RNPFSbmtoPlatformReview15-3-26 We received feedback after the meeting which we subsequently reported to members at our April meeting (see above link to the 22/4/26 minutes of our meeting). To summarise:They got rid of unnecessary verbiage as well as the out of date material – including the Defence and Foreign Policy bits.  The good news is that they removed the clause in favour of using hotels as APODs and removed clause 10 on Mandatory Detention (both L4R recommendations). They kept the commitment to legislating the 90-day rule (although this had not yet been implemented). As expected from what was reported to us, the Special Envoy and a Parliamentary Inquiry into Detention have gone (two issues that L4R won at the 2023 National Conference). Aspiration for Humanitarian Intake of 27,000 and 10,000 Complementary, remains.  Relevant clauses for offshore processing (“Excision…etc.”) remain.  Seeing that our recommendations were already considered by the NPF, we could not see much point in putting up the same things again to the NPF when they meet again for the final time on 11 June, as they would clearly not be adopted. Which is why when the L4R NCC met again on 12 May,  we focused on our response to the current Consultation Draft 2026 ALP National Platform.  Our recommendations were sent to the NPF last weekend. Our 2nd and final L4R submission with our amendments to the Draft Platform can be viewed at L4RNPFSbmtoDft2026Platform17-5-26We are hopeful that the NPF will accept our recommendations at its June meeting. L4R campaign on homelessness Since meeting with the NSW Minister for Water, Housing, Homelessness, Mental Health and Youth Rose Jackson on 31 March last, L4R has been negotiating on the wording of our motion for the 4/5 July NSW ALP Conference.   We have been advocating on the issue of homelessness on behalf of asylum seekers and non-residents.  The name of our campaign is “HOMELESSNESS SUPPORT SHOULD BE BASED ON NEED AND NOT VISA STATUS” and it has been supported by the Refugee Council of Australia and Asylum Seekers Centre.  The motion has been endorsed by a number of ALP branches. We have now come up with an acceptable form of wording for the motion for which we will be seeking endorsement at next week’s L4R meeting before taking it to the NSW ALP Conference.  We plan to promote this motion, together with the Background, to Conference Delegates, which will provide them with the facts before they vote on it. The motion follows:That this NSW Labor Conference recognises the right to housing is a human right. Humans include people in our community without visas and we recognise that the Commonwealth controls who gets visas and when, as well as the conditions on those visas, including withholding the right to work.  In these circumstances, to ensure homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring in NSW, we call on the NSW Labor Government to include accessible, safe, affordable shelter for non-residents and asylum seekers in the NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035.  We believe that this is an improvement on the original wording of our motion and are pleased with the outcome.  We thank Minister Rose Jackson for her support. Work Rights L4R has been sending letters to the government since June last year expressing deep concern about the Department of Home Affairs removing the right to work from non-citizens who -seek Ministerial Intervention (MI) under section 48B or section 351 of the Migration Act 1958 (MA), andhave had even a day of being ‘unlawful’ (i.e., being without a valid visa, for any reason, including reasons beyond their control such as the Department not issuing a visa requested before expiry of the visa which existed at the time of the applicant’s request).Our first letter sent to the Assistant Minister for Immigration, Matt Thistlethwaite in June 2025 (copied to a number of other Ministers and Assistant Ministers), remained unanswered.  We wrote to him again on the 1 September 2025 and pointed out that since first writing to him, we had sighted a letter which made clear that there is discretion available to Home Affairs in at least some Ministerial Intervention matters and that the department has been inflexible.  We stated that the removal of a person’s work rights is clearly a very serious step for any government to take, but especially this Labor Government. On the 16 January 2026, we received a response from a Director in the Department of Home Affairs who referred to the Migration Regulations 1994, policy guidelines and individuals’ circumstances.  Our reading of the response is that Departmental delegates, do not have discretion to grant work rights to people on bridging visas, which are intended to be very short term. This Director also stated that the Department provided needs-based support to eligible non-citizens, who cannot support themselves and can demonstrate hardship.   You can read the letter here L4RWorkRightsDHAletter15Jan26 Not happy with this response, we sent another letter to Matt Thistlethwaite on the 15 April last. We stated that under the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights – everyone has the right to work.Our solution to this chronic problem, was to propose simple legislative changes.  JUST AMEND THE LAW. Read our latest letter at L4RWorkRightsletter15Apr26 AUSTRALIAN FAMILIES STUCK IN SYRIA L4R wrote to the Minister for Home Affairs, Immigration and Citizenship Tony Burke and Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs on the 1 May last, expressing dismay at the way the Government has treated the Australian families trapped in Syrian camps.  We pointed out that behaving recklessly or even dangerously does not mean that their rights as Australian citizens should or can lawfully be denied.  Citizenship confers obligations on countries in relation to their citizens. Every time you deport a non-citizen to the country of their citizenship because they fail the Australian ‘character test’, you are in effect saying to the country of citizenship: this person is your problem, not ours. Why do we not apply the same principle to our citizens which another country seeks to deport? To abandon our citizens is to make them, in substance, stateless.  This is likely an unlawful punishment outside the power of the Executive. We ended our letter saying that it was important to differentiate ourselves from the Opposition and One Nation and not allow the fear of their reprisals, influence the way we deal with these desperate Australians. Our letter follows L4RletterIsisfamiliesinSyria1May26 2026-7 Federal Budget’s impact on refugees and people seeking humanitarian protectionTo read a good analysis of the recent Budget, we recommend the Refugee Council of Australia as a source.  The link is RCOA2026-7BudgetReportRefugees12May26There is some good news but not much. To summarise – The federal budget delivered last week kept the humanitarian intake at 20,000 places for 2026-2027. The budget allocated $910.9 million to refugee, humanitarian and migrant services, with $1.256 billion to fund onshore detention and compliance for 2026-2027.The government plans to improve skills recognition for the permanent migration program and to support employment for refugees across 20 regional locations. The budget also allocated $10.8 million from 2026 to 2028 for community-led health initiatives for refugee and migrant women. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s budget reply speech proposed limiting Australia’s migration intake and restricting a range of social services to Australian citizens only. Taylor linked migration to policies on housing, social services and cost of living. The Prime Minister accused Angus Taylor of ‘dog-whistling’ to marginalise immigrants. An anonymous Liberal MP described the party as being ‘corroded by hate’. Multicultural leaders have also criticised the Coalition, saying that it ‘makes immigrants feel less safe and damages social cohesion’.  We agree that the Coalition’s jingoism is damaging and unacceptable to our society.

Cisuara Learning Centre20 screenings booked across Australia!  “We Are Not Powerless” is coming to a cinema near you. These screenings are going to be full of big-hearted positivity and inspiration. Don’t miss it. Get your tickets early and share the screenings with your friends.  WE ARE NOT POWERLESSRunning time: 95 minsTen years ago Muzafar Ali and his wife Nagina escaped the Taliban in Afghanistan. They found themselves living in Indonesia as refugees when Australia ‘stopped the boats’. Determined to do something, they started a small two room school, which soon became the hub of a community and the most successful refugee-led initiative in the world. We Are Not Powerless tells the story of what can happen when a community refuses to give in and work together for hope, love, and education To see the trailer and purchase tickets, go to wearenotpowerless.com.au RegardsNizza Siano Secretary L4R NSW email:  contact@labor4refugees.com

Our next meeting will be held this Wednesday 22 April at 6.30pm

 Anyone who supports our L4R goals is welcome to attend.

Minutes of our last meeting on the 25 March 2026 follow L4RNSW-ACTMinMtg25Mar26 

Submission to the ALP National Policy Forum   In preparation for the National ALP Conference in July 2026, last month, our L4R National Co-ordinating Committee (NCC) drafted and sent a submission with our amendments for the 2023 ALP National Platform, to the National Policy Forum (NPF), to be considered for the draft 2026 Platform. We wanted to ensure that what we won at the last 2023 National Conference, would remain in the 2026 Platform, in spite of the fact that some of these policies have not been implemented.  We also wished to  improve the government’s existing refugee policies. When the NPF met with Ministers in Melbourne in March, to debate these proposed edits to the Platform,  two of the delegates submitted our L4R amendments and spoke in support of them.  The next NPF meeting has been confirmed for 11th June with NPF members receiving the consultation draft platform.  L4R is currently examining the revised draft platform and plans to make a further submission.  You can view the Consultation Draft Platform here.If you would like to continue to help develop Labor’s National Platform you can make your submission here until May 25th.Submissions will be shared with the members of the NPF and will be part of shaping the final draft of the Platform which National Conference delegates will consider in July. Our first L4R submission can be read at L4RNPFSbmtoPlatformReview15-3-26We’ll reproduce our follow-up submission in our May newsletter. National Conference Delegate – election outcomeThe ballot for the election of FEC Delegates for the National ALP Conference closed on the 30 March.   Nizza Siano, National and NSW/ACT Secretary of Labor for Refugees nominated for the position of Conference Delegate from Wentworth FEC making refugees and people seeking asylum her priority.  Unfortunately, Nizza lost against another candidate.  However, Nizza will be attending the National Conference in Adelaide as an Observer and plans to represent Labor for Refugees by staffing a L4R stall to promote what we do and recruit new members.  Meeting with NSW Minister Rose JacksonL4R NSW/ACT met with Rose Jackson, the NSW Minister for Water, Housing, Homelessness, Mental Health and Youth on Tuesday 31 March last.  Our aim was to advocate for our campaign on homelessness on behalf of asylum seekers and non-residents for the NSW ALP Conference which takes place on the 4/5 July 2026.  The name of our campaign is HOMELESSNESS SUPPORT SHOULD BE BASED ON NEED AND NOT VISA STATUS and our motion has been supported by a number of branches. Both the Asylum Seekers Centre and Refugee Council of Australia support our campaign and will be sending speakers to our NSW Labor Conference Fringe Event.  The exact date and time of our event will be promoted, once NSW Labor informs us.

You can access a PDF copy of the motion at L4RNSWStateConferenceMotion2026A summary of our meeting with Minister Jackson can be read at L4RmtgMinJacksonHomelessness31Mar26 Iranian Asylum SeekersThe impacts of the government’s ban on Iranian nationals travelling to Australia continues to be felt by the Iranian diaspora in Australia. The arrival control determination was put in place on 25 March and has affected approximately 7,000 Iranian visa holders. Critics have called attention to the differential treatment of Iranians in comparison to Ukrainian and Palestinian people who travelled to Australia on temporary visas and were subsequently granted humanitarian visas. The Iranian football team is another example of how differently one is treated by the government, when in the limelight.In response, some of our members have been prompted to carry a motion at their last branch meeting, supporting the Refugee Council of Australia’s criticism of the recently passed Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Bill, giving the Minister for Home Affairs the power to prevent people already granted visas, from entering Australia if the conditions change in their country of origin.The branch requested that the Minister advise Border Force staff to implement this ban in line with humanitarian principles and give due consideration to the trauma which many visa holders may have suffered in the recent past.  Further, Branch members particularly asked the Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke, to consider those Iranian citizens living in Australia on Bridging Visas especially those who are part of the “Legacy caseload” (2013), or those brought to Australia from off-shore processing centres for medical treatment. They should be entitled to a timely reassessment of their protection claims, addressing changes of circumstances in Iran. It was suggested that the government consider establishing a pathway to permanent residency for these Iranians.  Labor for Refugees is in the process of drafting a letter to Minister Burke, expressing our disappointment in this ban on Iranian citizens and asking that Iranians of all people, should be afforded our support.I hope to see you online this week at our 22 April meeting.

Regards

Nizza Siano
Secretary L4R NSW
email:  contact@labor4refugees.com 

Dear Victorian Labor for Refugees Member,

I write to update you on developments regarding refugees and asylum seekers and activities of LFR in relation to National ALP forums .

Albanese Government Record on Refugees and Asylum Seekers

The attached document summarises key achievements and developments since the Albanese Government was elected in May 2022. There are some significant positives and achievements whilst some issues remain very much a “work in progress” . You will note the final positive item that it is expected that  Australia will shortly take in its millionth refugee since WW11. However LFR remains opposed to the continuing use of Nauru for “offshore processing” and the new use of Nauru for prolonged detention of non-citizen members of the NZYQ cohort and potentially many others – see below.  

The “Anti-Fairness” Act and the new contract to transfer non-citizens to Nauru

Like all Human Rights and Refugee advocate groups , LFR is concerned about the government’s continued use of Nauru for the small number of people who arrived by boat and the new contract with Nauru to send non-citizens there long term at great expense. The attached document has a draft motion, based on one developed by NSW/ACT LFR ,which as a LFR member I ask you to consider submitting to your Branch. It also includes some background information on the issues of the new contract and the new Act passed in September.

Meeting with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke

The National Committee of LFR met with the Minister in his electorate office in Sydney on October 15. LFR priority issues of the legacy caseload, PNG and Nauru and components of the National ALP Platform not yet enacted  were submitted to the Minister. We believe that a further meeting will take place in 2026.  

National Policy Forum (NPF)

The NPF is responsible for producing the draft National Platform for the National Conference in July 2026. State Branches and  Unions have elected members to the NPF which is having its first meeting on 13/11/25 . Two of the four elected Victorian members are LFR members.

LFR Review of Sections of the ALP Platform relevant to Asylum Seekers and Refugees

LFR Victorian Committee is meeting on 15/11/25 at 10.30 am at the Royal Standard Hotel (333 William Street, West Melbourne) to formulate recommendations for the 2026 ALP National Platform. Any members who wished to join us in this process would be welcome – notification of attendance for catering  purposes would be appreciated.  We will be inviting Victorian NPF elected members.

Elections for National Conference Delegates

Elections for Victorian delegates to National Conference will be held in the early months of  2026. At the 2023 LFR working with other delegates were successful achieving positive changes to the Platform. Support for any LFR members or supporters who are standing from Victorian  LFR members would be most helpful.

LFR Members Forum  18^th October 2025  

An informative Forum was held at the Unitarian church featuring one refugee with lived experience of Nauru, one of the prolonged flawed fast track process and Jana Favero the head of systemic change at the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre. We were pleased to be joined by members of the Grandmothers for Refugees.

We look forward to your continuing support with our activities in 2026.

Peter Lynch

Jenny HainesFebruary 1, 2026Uncategorized

Activities since our last meetingSince November last year, L4R:provided our promotional material to ALP Balmain Branch to distribute at a street fair in Darling St Balmain, which took place on the 30/11/25met with Linda Scott on 4/11/25 who was elected onto the National Policy Forum, and discussed with her, the best way to advocate for refugees at the ALP National Conference on 23-25 July 2026sent a contingent of L4R members, to attend the 7/12/25 Tamil Human Rights Day event.  Our NSW/ACT Co-Convenor Lauren Honcope, made a speech on L4R’s behalf.  It’s worth reading.  The link to her notes follows TamilRefugeeCnclHRevent7Dec25made a submission to the “Attorney-General’s Departmental Review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992” (DDA) to seek removal of the exemption from the coverage of the DDA, for the Migration Act. Such an exemption does not exist in the Sex Discrimionation Act or the Racial Discrimination Act or the Australian Human Rights Commission Act. It does also exist in the Age Discrimination Act and needs to be removed from that legislation also.is putting the finishing touches on a submission to the Senate Inquiry into ‘Offshore processing and resettlement arrangements’.  Submissions close on 13 Feb 2026.  Copy of our submission will be made available in our next newsletter.met with representatives of the Asylum Seekers Centre to discuss our campaign and our L4R Fringe Event for the NSW Labor Conference on 4/5 July 2026 was invited by the Blue Mts Refugee Support Letter-Writing Group, to make a presentation about L4R and our campaigns. The presentation will take place on the 12 February 2026.

NSW Labor Conference 4/5 July – L4R Fringe Event After meeting with representatives of the Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC) on two occasions, we invited their new CEO Elija Buol, to be the guest speaker at our Fringe Event at the NSW Labor Conference on the weekend of the 4/5 July 2026.  We also invited another speaker from the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) and some refugees with lived experience of homelessness.  The ASC has been running an advocacy campaign to “Fix the Safety Net” and has worked with the RCOA, with the aim of restoring funding to refugees/asylum seekers living in our community, dependent on charity for their survival.The ASC campaign, neatly links into our L4R campaign to have the Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) payments restored for people seeking asylum, after the Coalition cut these welfare payments to a minimum in 2019.  At the time, The Guardian reported that – “A Coalition government decision to slash income support for community-based asylum seekers has forced hundreds more to access emergency housing and food banks.” The wait for a resolution to the status of some of these people seeking asylum, has led many of them to a life in limbo and uncertainty, created trauma and is compounded by the fact that many are denied access to Centrelink, fluctuating Medicare cover and diminishing work rights.  This leaves people seeking asylum at risk of homelessness and destitution.  It leads people to face impossible choices every day.We have lobbied the Federal Labor Government since 2019, to have these payments restored.  Since then, there has been a surge in asylum seekers needing welfare assistanceWe also believe that our State Government is responsible for accommodation and emergency health care so we have drafted a motion for branch members to support and submit to the NSW Conference.  The deadline for submitting motions to the relevant Policy Committee is Friday 3 April 2026.  That leaves us only two full months of February and March, for branch meetings to be held before the deadline. We urge you to have this motion debated at your next branch meeting and if supported, to have your Branch Secretary forward it to the relevant bodies listed at the end of our motion. The motion follows.  HOMELESSNESS SUPPORT SHOULD BE BASED ON NEED AND NOT VISA STATUS The NSW Labor Government Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035 acknowledges that the right to housing is a basic human right.  The Strategy estimates that more than 35,000 people are experiencing homelessness in NSW.  There is an increase of 27% between the censuses carried out in 2011 and 2021.The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) reported in 2025 that in the City of Sydney alone, nearly 20% of people sleeping rough are non-residents on uncertain visas, including asylum seekers.Over the years, successive Federal Governments have reduced Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) funding and eligibility and removed many non-residents’ work rights and access to Medicare, while the NSW State Government has excluded non-residents from homelessness support.  Consequently, non-residents are locked out of mainstream social services and there is no safety net in place to prevent destitution and homelessness.  The RCOA reported that currently, charities and frontline asylum services are left to fill the gap.  They provide food, emergency accommodation, rent assistance, transport and healthcare but with little or no government funding.  These services are stretched beyond capacity and rely heavily on donations and community goodwill.The Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC) reported in 2024 that homelessness is detrimental to the welfare and mental health of non-residents.  Subsequently, this affects their ability to lodge and progress visa applications. This motion is about giving all non-residents and asylum seekers access to homelessness support. No one should be excluded based on their visa status!  MOTION (This ….… branch/SEC) recognises that the right to housing is a human right.  To ensure that everyone is eligible for homelessness support, we call on the NSW Labor Government to include non-residents and asylum seekers in the NSW Homelessness Strategy 2025-2035.  Send to:NSW Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness, Rose Jackson MLC at office@jackson.minister.nsw.gov.auYour SECBranch/SEC Secretaries to submit motion to NSW Labor through the Online Policy Motions Portal by the deadline of 3 April 2026.You can access a PDF copy of the motion at L4RNSWStateConferenceMotion2026 Hope to see you online at our 25 February meeting.