A federal government programme that allows Australian businesses and community groups to sponsor refugees on humanitarian visas has been delayed by at least four months.
The Turnbull government first introduced the Community Support Programme in July last year as part of a push to help humanitarian migrants become financially self-sufficient within a year of arriving in Australia.
The programme allows businesses, community groups and individuals to sponsor refugees by covering their visa application and settlement costs, as well as helping them secure employment.
The details of the sponsors involved were supposed to be made public on the Department of Home Affairs website in October but SBS News has confirmed the information will not be published until at least next month.
“The Department has received many enquiries and applications of interest from organisations and individuals interested in participating in this program,” a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said.
“Each application must be assessed against the selection criteria and satisfy character and financial checks.
“Some of these checks are undertaken by agencies external to the Department and can take some weeks to complete,” the spokesperson said.
The programme is capped at 1,000 positions, which fall within the Turnbull government’s overall humanitarian intake of 16,250. It was announced in last year’s budget and follows a pilot programme.
“(Prime Minister) Malcolm Turnbull and (Home Affairs Minister) Peter Dutton have broken yet another promise by failing to deliver their Community Support Programme on time,” Shadow Immigration Minister Shayne Neumann told SBS News.
“Community organisations and businesses are ready and waiting to support refugees to resettle in Australia but their hands are tied until the Turnbull Government get their act together and appoint these organisations.”
Mr Neumann has called on the government to match Labor’s 2016 election policy to increase the annual humanitarian intake to 27,000 places by 2025.
