More than 2,000 people who arrived in Australia by boat could be cut off from income support and rental assistance by July next year under a new Budget measure, according to the Immigration Department.
The government has been pursuing large numbers of what it calls ‘illegal maritime arrivals’ who have not yet applied for a visa, despite some having lived in Australia since 2012.
In the latest effort to engage the maritime asylum seekers, Immigration sent a wave of letters in January telling them they had 90 days to apply for a visa.
The letters warned them “their support services may cease if they do not lodge an application”, the department said.
The 2017 Budget revealed the government will “resolve the protection status” of boat arrivals, cutting off support for those who do not make contact.
The measure will save an estimated $47 million over the next five years, Budget papers say.
Around 8,000 of the roughly 30,000 people who arrived by boat between August 2012 and January 2014 - mostly under the previous Labor government - have so far “not been bothered to apply for a [visa]”, a department spokesman said.
During the Budget lockup, an Immigration official told SBS World News the department was expecting 2,500 to lose their income and rental assistance this financial year.
However, another Immigration spokesman later said the numbers were only “projections”.
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