Our National Campaign #StudentsLikeUs will be presented as part of the ‘Ways of Working’ showcase on Thursday 13 February at the Refugees Alternatives Conference.
Refugees with permanent and temporary immigration protection have different entitlements, effectively preventing potentially thousands of refugees from accessing Australian higher education. While people who arrive via the offshore humanitarian program are given permanent residency and subsequent access to the full suite of humanitarian supports, as well as access to both Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) and the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS), people who seek asylum on arrival in Australia are placed on Bridging Visas (BVs) and offered no more than temporary protection if found to be a refugee. The temporariness of their protection status means limited access to humanitarian settlement supports and public education, thereby compounding the vulnerabilities they experience and creating a roadblock to their full participation in Australian society.
#StudentsLikeUs seeks to highlight the injustice of two tiers of protection with regard to what it means for educational access, participation and success.
This campaign aims to influence higher education sector policy and practice with regard to access for Refugees on Temporary Protection (RTP) and BV holders. We want to inform policy and practice with
1) Universities Australia (Australian higher education’s peak body);
2) publicly-funded universities; and
3) the general public.
Follow this link to learn more about about #StudentsLikeUs