(Transcript from World News Australia Radio)
The federal government says it will cut funding for refugee children by almost half in the coming financial year
The decision was revealed by the Department of Immigration at a Senate estimates hearing.
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But the Opposition, Greens and refugee advocates have criticised the decision as ruining people's lives.
The Department of Immigration revealed at a Senate Estimates hearing (Tue 28 May) that funding for the care and supervision of unaccompanied refugee children will be cut by almost half in the 2013-14 financial year, to $11.6 million.
The following year, funding is set to drop to just $4 million.
Under current rules, all unaccompanied refugee children are to be placed under 24-hour care.
The Department of Immigration told Senate estimates the cost-cutting decision reflects planned changes to funding models.
They include the implementation of a pilot program last year of shared accommodation for older refugee children aged between 16 and 17, who are thought to need less supervision.
101 children have gone through the Refugee Youth Support Pilot since it began last January.
Wendy Southern is deputy secretary for the policy and program management group at the Department of Immigration.
"The current demand-driven funding ceases at the end of 2013-14. The reason for that is that we actually want to revisit the funding model for unaccompanied humanitarian minors (UHMs), partly in light of the work that we have been doing around the Refugee Youth Support Pilot for older unaccompanied minors. We want to use that to reflect on the best future service models for supporting UHMs. During the course of budget deliberations for next year, 2014-15, we have to work on the funding model for UHMs."
Opposition parliamentary secretary for citizenship and settlement, Teresa Gambaro, criticised the decision as irresponsible in the face of a growing number of unaccompanied refugee children coming to Australian shores.
She says the number increased by more than 100 in the four months to the end of October late last year, taking it to 977.
The Australian Greens also criticise the drop in funding.
Greens MP Adam Bandt says the funding cut will make life even more difficult for refugee children.
"And this idea that if we keep making things tougher for people - including children, who we're now not supporting as much as we need to and are potentially going to be locking up as well - people know that's not going to stop the boats. The idea that we cut funding that's going to children and that we lock people up indefinitely is just going to ruin people's lives."
Sophie Peer from the refugee advocacy group Chilout says she has a number of concerns about how the decision will affect unaccompanied refugee children.
"Our biggest concerns would be a) more time in detention b) less care and not as high-quality care once the children are out in the community. The long-term problem that this is going to mean, you know, children are going to fall through the gaps. Issues won't be picked up, they won't be picked up. They won't be taken care of immediately. We're talking about children who have either been orphaned, who have no idea if their parents are alive, who are obviously separated from their parents if they are alive. These children need a lot of care and a lot of support and it's Australia's responsibility to look after these children until they turn 18. And if we do a less than good job of that, then we're going to pay the consequences as the children turn into adults in our community."
