Death sparks asylum health concerns

This is a transcript from SBS World News Australia Radio

Questions are being asked about the level of mental health support being provided to asylum seekers after they are released into the community.

It follows reports that a Sri Lankan asylum-seeker suffering mental health problems and living in Western Australia on a bridging visa has taken his own life.

LISTEN: Santilla Chingaipe has the details.

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Reports say the man, whose identity has not been released, died in a Perth hospital over the weekend after an incident of self harm.

Rama Somasunderam is a social worker for the Sri Lankan Tamil Association of Western Australia.

Mr Somasunderam says after speaking to family members and his friends, it's believed the man had attempted to take his life on two other separate occasions.

He says the man was known to have been suffering from mental health problems.

"He showed such a mental breakdown even while he was in detention. There was one instance where he attempted to harm himself and he was taken to Armadale hospital and treated and then sent out and I don't know if they had any follow up action as far as the mental health part of it was concerned and then he attempted to harm himself again on the 2nd (December), the people rescued him and called the ambulance and he was taken to Fremantle hospital and he was alive at the time he was taken there and then he passed away."

Mr Somasunderam says the man had spent time in detention centres in Queensland and on Christmas Island, before being released into the community last month.

The federal government overhauled its asylum policy late last year, allowing asylum seekers and refugees to live in the community on bridging visas under its so-called 'no advantage test'.

It hopes the change, recommended by an expert panel group, will deter people arriving to Australia by boat by removing any perceived advantage.

Under the test, the government says even if people are found to be genuine refugees they will not be issued with protection visas until such time that they would have been resettled in Australia had they been processed elsewhere in the region.

Asylum seekers on the bridging visas have limited work rights and only basic access to welfare while they wait for their claims to be processed, which could take up to five years.

The Department of Immigration says there are currently more than 7500 asylum seekers living in the community on bridging visas.

Louise Newman is a psychiatrist who led the now-defunct Detention Health Advisory Group.

Professor Newman says the uncertainty and fear asylum seekers living in community face can contribute to mental health problems.

"Some have actually been informed that at any point they could be transferred to Nauru or Manus Island which immediately of course raises severe anxiety and concerns and particularly for vulnerable people, that sort of situation of uncertainty of not knowing what the future will bring can only produce increasing levels of mental health problems and stress. Now we need to have a very close look at this to see if this is contributing to people's mental deterioration in the community under these arrangements."

Social worker, Rama Somasunderam agrees.

He says the man's younger brother and friends are also in similar positions and fearful to say anything.

"They're all in a state of shock. They don't know what to do and they don't like to speak out because their future is in jeopardy and they think that if they say anything it will harm them (their case). The fear is like a sword of democracy hanging over them, anytime they can be deported and that's the problem. And while they are thankful for officials that deal with them, from the government, they are fearful that policies can take them back and they will be harmed."

Professor Newman says there is a lot research that points to the correlation between mental health deterioration and people being kept in detention facilities.

She says although it is beneficial for people with known mental health problems to be living in community, the uncertainty of being on a bridging visa can have serious impacts on mental health.

Professor Newman says many stressors may contribute to an asylum seeker taking their own life.

"So some of that is their past experiences. So if they have experienced torture or trauma, loss of family -- this man has separated, allegedly, from his family and four year old child in Sri Lanka -- and pre-existing vulnerabilities. And then we have the stress of spending time within Australian immigration detention system, particularly if that person has been in remote locations and then there is the process of being released into the community in a state of uncertainty."

Rama Somasunderam is concerned the incidence of self harm by people living in community will increase.

"The normal pattern I see is that when they are on a bridging visa they are not sure. Some people if they succeed they are given residence, then they feel a little more at ease. They know their future. But if they're rejected, they have to go to the federal magistrate and thereafter the federal court and thereafter the High Court and that's a very big process. They're left on their own. They lose all their rights and no sooner they are refused, so that's a big problem."

Melbourne University's Professor Louise Newman says the large numbers of people released into community is likely to add strain to support services.

She says the government should do more to help these organisations provide the much-needed support to the asylum seekers.

"Current services are very likely to be experiencing a significant pressure and stress with the numbers of people who are being released into the community and I think that's something that if government is going to appropriately follow a model of community based processing and housing of people in uncertain situations. That can only work if it's sustained and supported by adequate levels of mental health support."

The Department of Immigration says asylum seekers living in community and arrived in Australia before changes where made to the policy on August 13 last year have full access to medicare services.

It says those who arrived after this date and are living in the community receive basic medical services on a case-by-case basis, including mental health.

The Department has confirmed a man who was lawfully in the community in Perth on a visa died in hospital on Saturday after being admitted following an act of self-harm.

It has extended its sympathy to the man's family and friends and referred the matter to the West Australian Coroner.

Listeners seeking information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.