Some privately employed allied health professionals are eligible to access the Free Interpreting Service (FIS) when delivering their services in a private practice located within approved Local Government Areas to patients who are eligible for a Medicare card.
Interpreters are not generally funded for allied health services, however hospitals and community health centres receive funding to purchase language services.
The ASRC Health Clinic provides people seeking asylum and refugees, who do not have Medicare, access to a free General Practitioner.
The Health program also provides access to a pharmacy program and allied health services.
The ASRC Human Rights Law Program (HRLP) is a Community Legal Centre auspiced by the ASRC and a member of the Federation of Community Legal Centres. The program exists to provide access to justice for refugees and people seeking asylum.
The ASRC Health Centre has been offering health services to people seeking asylum in Victoria since 2002 and is the largest facility of its kind in Australia. It provides a range of primary health services for people seeking asylum living in the community and prioritises people seeking asylum without access to Medicare. It plays an important role in upholding health as a human right.