Migration Amendment Bills – focus on the health implications
Migration Amendment Bills Raise Alarming Health Concerns for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
The Australian government’s recent Migration Amendment Bills have sparked widespread concern among health professionals and human rights advocates, citing risks to refugees’ mental health and access to essential healthcare. Proposed changes include tighter visa requirements and expedited deportation processes, which critics argue could amplify anxiety, depression, and PTSD among asylum seekers already facing significant psychological distress due to past traumas.
Advocates are alarmed by restrictions on bridging visa holders’ access to Medicare, potentially leaving refugees without vital medical care and exacerbating health inequities. Healthcare groups urge the government to reconsider, warning of broader public health risks and the ethical imperative to ensure healthcare access for all. With parliamentary debate looming, the implications for refugees’ well-being are dire.
The Victorian Refugee Health Network reiterates it’s auspicing agency’s acknowledgement of country:
The primary locations of the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc., Brunswick, Dallas, Dandenong, Sunshine, and our outpost location in Ringwood, are on the traditional lands of the Kulin nation. In keeping with Foundation House’s aspiration to heal individuals and communities we recognise the loss of land, children, language, lore and spiritual and physical wellbeing of the people of the Kulin nation and other Indigenous Victorians due to the impact of colonisation.
We believe that acknowledging the past and its impact on the present is vital in building strong Victorian communities. We recognise the survival and enduring strengths of Victorian Indigenous culture in spite of such dispossession and aim to build respectful and informed relationships with the Victorian Indigenous community based on the acknowledgment of their unique position as the traditional owners of Victoria. As such, Foundation House is committed to the acknowledgment and participation of Indigenous Victorians within Foundation House events and this is reflected in our official protocols.
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