Interpreters are vital to ensuring access to justice, healthcare, and essential services.  Interpreters facilitate communication between people with limited English proficiency, Deaf and hard of hearing and the public sector professionals they interact with in important, or even critical, life situations. Court Services Victoria and Language Service Providers (LSPs) are cutting interpreters' pay and reducing their hours, adding stress to an already demanding job.    Under the RNS, interpreters are considered officers of the court. Currently, the conditions faced by interpreters are well below any standard applicable to an officer of a court.   Recent changes undermine long-standing fee structures, leaving interpreters with a further degradation of their pay and conditions – pay and conditions that are not commensurate with the role, responsibilities and expectations quite rightly, of the professionals and community members who rely on them.   The Victorian Government initiated reforms to language services in 2018 which have yet to be completed. This has left the sector exposed to downward price pressure from Government agencies leading to aggressive competition among LSPs at the expense of the workforce. This has a direct impact on outcomes in justice, law enforcement, healthcare and all service provision generally.   The Victorian Government’s failure to address procurement reform has led to further erosion of interpreters’ pay and conditions in the form of: • Reduced minimum engagements; • Covert changes to fee calculation, resulting in lower rates of pay; • No increases to recommended rates in 6+ years; • Reduced pay for working remotely despite its increased complexity. For the justice sector and the community, this means: • The language services sector is becoming unsustainable because: • Experienced interpreters are leaving the sector. • Graduates are not entering the profession due to the poor conditions. • Failures can occur in the administration of justice due to: • Communities being disadvantaged by an absence of procedural fairness in the justice system. • A system that discriminates. • Government and their agencies will be in breach of their own multicultural, access and equity and inclusion policies. • All community services will be jeopardised similarly to the legal sector. • The greater financial consequence of system failures will be borne by the taxpayer. Judicial Council on Diversity and Inclusion Recommended National Standards (RNS) The RNS were produced by a specialist committee appointed by the former JCCD (now the Judicial Council on Diversity and Inclusion - JCDI) comprising Interpreting and Legal Experts, with its first edition published in 2017 and the second in 2022. The RNS are endorsed by the Council of Chief Justices of Australia. Their purpose was to develop frameworks, best practice advice, and resources to support procedural fairness and equality of treatment for all court users throughout Australia. The Implementation of the RNS is not only vital to promoting and ensuring compliance with the rules of procedural fairness. The RNS are concurrently intended to ensure that the interpreting profession throughout Australia develops to the benefit of the administration of justice generally. The RNS are not universally adopted in Victorian Courts. This is troubling, given the diversity of Victoria’s community, we would expect that Victoria should be leading the way. Regrettably, this is not the case. Join Us in Demanding Fairness for Interpreters and the Communities that they serve. All interpreters, translators, legal professionals, healthcare workers, and professionals who rely on interpreters at work, please sign this petition! Let’s show the Victorian Government that we stand together for justice, fair treatment, and the right to fair pay and conditions.   Get involved: Contact [email protected] for more information or to find out how to further support the campaign. Petition To The Legislative Council of Victoria: We, the undersigned residents of Victoria draw to the attention of the Legislative Council, the ongoing degradation of conditions and standards in Victorian Courts. We note the reduced terms of engagement for court interpreters by Court Services Victoria and the stalled procurement reform for this sector by the Victorian Government and the failure to universally adopt the Recommended National Standards for Working with Interpreters in Courts and Tribunals in Victorian Courts.   We, the undersigned residents of Victoria, therefore, request that the Legislative Council of Victoria call on the Victorian Government to:   1. Restore the previous engagement terms for interpreters in Victorian Courts, with half-day or full-day rates. 2. Adopt, fund, and implement the JCDI Recommended National Standards for Working with Interpreters in Courts and Tribunals, in full, within Victorian Courts and Tribunals. 3. Resume consultations towards procurement reforms for the language services sector to mandate higher standards in professionalism and quality. 

Migrants in Australia face exploitation and inadequate support due to poorly regulated migration and education agents. The "Pathways and Pitfalls" report highlights serious issues including incorrect advice, financial exploitation, and fear of visa repercussions.  You can read the summary report and full report here. Implementing these recommendations will protect migrants, ensure fair treatment, and provide reliable, culturally appropriate migration advice services.  Key recommendations include: • reviewing and improving registration requirements  • introducing a tiered registration system • mandating supervised practice for new agents • establishing an Immigration Assistance Complaints Commissioner • ensuring pricing transparency  • creating a performance register for education agents  • increasing funding for accessible migration advice;  • and providing targeted funding for programs that help migrants navigate these services  Join us in demanding a safer, fairer, and more regulated system for all migrants in Australia. 

Hundreds of refugees are being threatened with a minimum of one year in prison if they refuse to cooperate with efforts to deport them, under a new bill introduced by Labor. This bill passing would mean refugees who don't cooperate with the government's attempt to deport them could be fined almost $100,000 and imprisoned. Labor have made this disgraceful move after the high court ruled it was illegal for the government to indefinitely detain refugees like this in Australia. If people on bridging visas, without visas, or in immigration detention fail to comply with a directions from the Immigration Minister to assist in their own deportation will be a criminal offence carrying a mandatory minimum of 12 months in prison, a maximum of five years, a $93,900 fine, or both imprisonment and a fine. One of the refugees currently at the centre of this case is known as ASF17 - a bisexual Iranian man who the government are currently attempting to deport back to Iran, where he will face certain persecution and fears for his life. ASF17 has been held in indefinite immigration detention in PNG since he fled Iran to Australia in 2013. The government justifies his detention on the basis that he has refused to cooperate with Iranian authorities to receive the necessary travel documents to be deported. Now, ASF17 is at the centre of a legal case which will be heard by the high court in April, arguing that refugees in his position should be covered by last year's high court ruling declaring indefinite immigrant detention unlawful. The response of the Labor government has been to brutally double down on their anti-refugee politics. This is a disgrace - everyone fleeing persecution and oppression in their home countries should be welcome here. We Demand: - STOP the Migration Amendment (removals and other measures) bill - Allow refugees in Australia without visas, or with any kind of temporary visa to have PERMANENT protection in Australia, without threat of deportation - END the racist cruelty of the Australian government toward refugees Petition Authored by the National Union of Students Queer/LGBTQIA+ Department, Monash Student Association Queer Officers, and the Tamil Refugee Council

All the thousands of refugees and asylum seekers who had their lives torn apart under the Liberals’ policies of torture deserve a secure future. Since the election there has not even been a timeline announced for the plan to convert 19,000 Temporary Protection and Safehaven Enterprise Visas to permanent visas. Medevac refugees brought for healthcare from PNG and Nauru also need the right to stay permanently in Australia. 9000 asylum seekers denied protection under the Liberals’ unfair Fast Track processing system, which the new Labor government plans to abolish, need security and the right to resettle permanently in Australia. Every day without a permanent visa causes more anguish, denying people the right to study, family reunion, travel, access to NDIS and other crucial health services, creating barriers to work and in many cases denying families any welfare and childcare access.

Right now, Australia continues to deny a fast and fair process to people who are seeking asylum in our country. Many have been in limbo for over a decade. This prevents people from gaining the stability that refugee status provides. The result is vulnerable people living on the edge for years. Many people seeking asylum and living in the community are also denied access to basic support, including healthcare, housing, education, emergency relief and disability support. This leaves individuals and families with nothing to survive on, except for unfunded support from charities and local governments who are stepping in to help. The Federal Government has a responsibility to support people meet basic needs and live safely in Australia until their status is resolved. Australians support each other in hard times and we are asking the Federal Government to play its part in creating a community where we are all respected. We must act now in support of our neighbours, friends and local community members who urgently need certainty, stability and support to build their lives. Join our campaign at backyourneighbour.com.au. Thank you for your compassion and support. Back Your Neighbour is a coalition of Australian local councils, community services, unions and individuals who support people seeking asylum and refugees. It is auspiced by the Local Government Mayoral Taskforce Supporting People Seeking Asylum.

Hassan Ghahramani is a 48-year-old Iranian refugee who has been held in detention by Australia since July 2013 on Christmas Island, Manus island and now Nauru. He was accepted for settlement by Canada two years ago but is still waiting, caught up in a bureaucratic deadlock compounded by the outbreak of COVID on Nauru. He has not seen his children for nine years. Hassan suffers from medical conditions that cause severe pain and require urgent medical care.

Refugee communities who arrived by boat up to 10 years ago are still generally ineligible for permanent protection. This group must instead rely on temporary protection visas (TPV) or Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEV) and constantly re-apply after every 3 or 5 years respectively. The differential treatment of refugees by the way we came to Australia to seek safety is not only out of step with the Refugee Convention, but also has life-changing consequences for people for whom Australia is now our only home. It means constant uncertainty about the future, lack of access to essential services and support, and indefinite separation from family not in Australia. These consequences unnecessarily create a cycle of disadvantage and also contribute to higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression. It’s past time to recognise all refugees as respected members of the community and enable us to fully participate in Australian society.

A group of Medevac refugees held at MITA (Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation) detention center in Broadmeadows have re-started their hunger strike protest to demand their freedom. This second hunger strike began on Thursday 15 July, it follows the first hunger strike that began on June 17, and lasted 15 days. 12 people are currently refusing food, one is in the Northern Hospital where he has been since June 21. “We are very tired,” said one of the hunger strikers “We are nine years in detention. No-one can tell us why. Since our last hunger strike, we did not get any answers.” Vali, one of the hunger strikers said “We are on hunger strike for our freedom. We want to know what is the difference between us and other released Medevac refugees? Why are we still in detention?” We hold grave fears for the health of the hunger strikers. Their health is being harmed by the policies of the Coalition government. No Coalition government Minister has ever provided an explanation as to why around half of the Medevac refugees have been released, but half remain in indefinite detention. Indefinite detention for Medevac refugees is now into its ninth year, 33 Medevac refugees are held in the Park Hotel in Melbourne and 38 in MITA in Broadmeadows. In total around 90 refugees who came Australia's offshore hell holes on PNG and Nauru are still detained around Australia. Around 230 remain offshore. They must all be freed.

Scott Morrison’s visa system favours big businesses at the expense of working people. There are workers who have lived in this country for years, who have families and communities here, and every day do the work that keeps our country running - but who are stuck in limbo from temporary visa to temporary visa. Meanwhile, the government has enabled exploitative employers to churn through a vulnerable temporary migrant workforce with limited rights. We need a fair visa system that puts workers over profit, and that gives every worker a fair chance - no matter where we come from.

My name is Ranjan. I’m a 53-year-old asylum seeker from Sri Lanka. I have worked at Polytrade Recycling in Dandenong, Melbourne, since 2017. On 23 July, I was sacked by text message. My supervisor told me that I’m no longer needed. This happened on the day I took sick leave. Two days earlier, I became unconscious at work. I was taken by ambulance and the bill was paid by Polytrade. I had to take sick leave to do further tests on my chest. When my union representative contacted the human resources manager, the manager claimed that I spoke with a colleague about lodging work cover claim and that’s one of the reasons behind my dismissal. In 2017, Polytrade received a government grant of over $500,000. Meanwhile I was underpaid by $7 an hour. Only after we joined the Australian Workers Union did Polytrade lift our pay to the required minimum under the Waste Management Award. But I’m still owed tens of thousands of dollars from the underpayments. I rely on my job to pay my rent, bills, food and support my family back in Sri Lanka. I want my job back. And I want all Polytrade workers to have secure and safe jobs with fair pay. Please sign this petition.

It is totally unacceptable that this systematic abuse of refugees and asylum seekers - innocent people seeking a better life - is happening in our community! We note that the council has offered its services to the men, but have not called for them to be freed. This is totally inadequate. We call on the Darebin council to publicly petition the federal government to free these brave men, along with all the other refugees languishing in detention, and release them into the community with full citizenship rights. Further, we call on the council to explore and deploy all possible financial, regulatory and other measures under its control to pressure the Mantra Hotel to abandon its contract with Border Force. We invite as many people from the area as possible to join us in a peaceful and socially distant gathering outside the Mantra Hotel on August 7. Further details are available at https://bit.ly/3ids0O6.

As COVID-19 changes the way we live and work, it’s essential that everyone has access to safe healthcare. Yet there are tens of thousands of people living in Australia without access to Medicare. People who have to make the choice between risking deportation or seeking urgent medical help. They know that hospitals and doctors can report them to the Department of Home Affairs if questions are raised about their visa status. With borders around the world closed and international flights costing upwards of $5000 per person, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers are forced to face impossible choices. The Morrison Government’s cruel directive that temporary migrants should just ‘go home’ forces thousands of people to make impossible choices, through no fault of their own. In the midst of a global pandemic, people must be able to access essential healthcare without fear of deportation and family separation.