• This pilot (trial) program permits up to 500 visa places.
• Approved organisations are allowed to propose a person in a grave humanitarian situation overseas for a Refugee and Humanitarian (Class XB) visa.
• The relevant organisation must:
  • lodge the requisite application forms;
  • ensure the visa application charge is paid;
  • pay for the required medical examinations;
  • arrange and pay for airfares to Australia; and
  • support the person once they arrive in Australia.
• The community organisations involved in this pilot are:

• AMES (Victoria);
• Brotherhood of St Laurence (Victoria);
• Illawarra Multicultural Services (New South Wales);
• Liverpool Migrant Resource Centre (New South Wales); and
• Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia (South Australia).

• A refugee is a person who cannot or does not want to return to their home country because they are afraid of being persecuted (mistreated, victimised) due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group. There must be a real chance of persecution. 
• An asylum seeker is someone who has arrived in Australia with or without a valid visa and is applying for Australian protection. If their genuine refugee status is established then the asylum seeker becomes classified as a refugee. 

• There are four elements to the definition of refugee. They are:
  • you must be outside of your home country where you were born or the country where you have lived for most of your life;
  • you must be afraid of being persecuted;
  • this fear must be based on your race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or your political opinion; and
  • there must be a ‘real chance’ of persecution.

• The average length of a hearing at the Refugee Review Tribunal is two hours.
• However hearings can be much shorter or much longer than this.
• You are allowed to ask for a short break at any time during the hearing.

• No fee is payable when you lodge an application for review with the Refugee Review Tribunal.
• However if your application for review is not successful you will have to pay a fee of $1,604.
• If your application for review is successful you will not have to pay anything.
• If you have any other questions about your application you can use our free and anonymous Ask a Lawyer service.

• The Refugee Review Tribunal will look at all the information in your matter and make a new decision regarding whether you should be granted a protection visa.
• The online application form and printable application form are available at: http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/Forms-and-publications/Forms.aspx.
• If you are in immigration detention you only have 7 days to lodge an appeal.
• If you are not in immigration detention you have 28 days to lodge an appeal.
• You will receive a letter of invitation from the Refugee Review Tribunal to attend a hearing.
• You must respond to the invitation by completing and returning the form.
• You must tell the Refugee Review Tribunal before the hearing:
  • if you need an interpreter at the hearing; and
  • if you would like anybody to come and give evidence at the hearing.

• You can initiate action in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and you can seek ministerial intervention.
• The Minister only rarely intervenes so any application in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia should be continued while you seek ministerial intervention.
• To seek ministerial intervention you should write a letter to the Minister outlining the reasons you believe you should be allowed to stay in Australia:
  • your letter must provide information about your situation and explain why you think your circumstances are unique or exceptional;
  • for guidance as to the types of unique and exceptional circumstances you should include see: http://www.immi.gov.au/refugee/circumstances.htm;
  • attach certified copies of documents supporting your claim for Australian residence (such as a marriage certificate to show you are married to someone in Australia);
  • at the time of writing in December 2014 you should send the letter to:

Scott Morrison MP, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600;

• once the outcome of your request is determined you will be informed in writing.

• Our LegalPlan™ membership will allow you to ask lawyers to handle your matter for a Fixed Fee Quote.

• The citizenship is a multiple-choice test that is done on a computer.
• There are 20 questions total.
• You must answer 75% of the questions correctly to pass the test.
• The government provides a resource book called ‘Our Common Bond’.
• You should read and make sure you understand all the content in parts 1-3 of the resource book.
• The resource book and other learning aids such as a YouTube video are accessible at: http://www.citizenship.gov.au/learn/cit_test/test_resource/.
• You can use our Phone a Lawyer service for a preliminary legal consultation if you think you may need legal advice particularly about issues of good character.

• Yes.
• The fee for ‘General Eligibility’ is $260. The concession fee is $40.
• For ‘Other Situations’ the fee is $130 or $20 for a concession fee.
• There is no charge for a child under 16 applying on the same application as their parent.
• Please see the following link for details about qualifying for a concession: http://www.citizenship.gov.au/applying/fees_forms_appeals/.

• A certified copy of a document is a copy of an original document that has been stamped to confirm that it is a true copy of the original.
• When requested you should supply certified copies of original documents to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection as opposed to the actual original documents.
• To get a certified copy of a document you should take the original to a lawyer or a Justice of the Peace. 

• An ImmiCard is an identification card that looks like a drivers licence.
• It contains a photograph and details such as your name, gender and date of birth.
• The ImmiCard contains an identification number that is linked to your visa details as recorded in the Department of Immigration and Border Protection's system.
• The purpose of the ImmiCard is to help people to prove their visa or immigration status. It also allows people to enrol in services that they are entitled to.

• As this is a new program it may take some time before you can apply for a Temporary Protection Visa. 
• The Minister will contact you and invite you to make an application. 
• You must wait for this invitation before applying. 
• In the meantime you can begin preparing for your application by:

• ensuring you have original and genuine documents concerning your identity, nationality and citizenship; and
• gathering documents that show why you need protection.

• You must keep your contact details up to date with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

• Not yet. You may apply for a Temporary Protection Visa when invited. 
• If you are granted a Temporary Protection Visa you can still apply for the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa when they become available.  

• You cannot make a direct application for review to the Immigration Assessment Authority.
• Fast track review decisions must be referred by the Minister to the Immigration Assessment Authority. 
• The Minister must refer the decision to the Immigration Assessment Authority as soon as practicable after the decision is made.
• As this procedure is new information about how to apply is not yet available.

• The Immigration Assessment Authority reviews decisions made about fast track review applicants.
• The Immigration Assessment Authority is established within the Refugee Review Tribunal.
• It has a Principal Member, a Senior Reviewer and other Reviewers.