Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

The ASRC was founded on 8 June 2001 by Kon Karapanagiotidis,{{cite web | title=About us | website=Asylum Seeker Resource Centre | date=11 March 2022 | url=https://asrc.org.au/about-us/ | access-date=27 March 2022}} a lawyer, who was at the time a lecturer in welfare studies at the Victoria University of Technology (now Victoria University).{{cn|date=March 2022}} At the time there were many asylum seekers living in the community on the Bridging Visa E, a visa generally given to those "unlawfully" in the community who have to depart before the visa expires, though many are still appealing their case for asylum. Those on a Bridging Visa E are denied access to Medicare or Centrelink and do not have the right to work.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Former_Committees/immigrationdetention/report/c07|title=Australia's settlement services for refugees and migrants| series= E-Brief|date= 19 September 2006|website=Australian Parliament| first1=Adrienne |last1=Millbank| first2= Janet| last2= Phillips |first3= Catherine |last3= Bohm}} Karapanagiotidis and his welfare students raised funds to create a small food bank for asylum seekers, opening on 8 June 2001. A non-profit enterprise, Grasslands Grocery and Information Cafe, provided the ASRC with two rooms free of rent above a disused shop in Footscray, Melbourne.

To accommodate the increase in the number of asylum seekers receiving assistance, volunteers and programs, the ASRC has moved a number of times since 2001. One of the first programs to be introduced was the English as a Second Language (ESL) Program, beginning in August 2001. The Australian Government provides up to 510 hours of free English tuition to newly arrived citizens under the Adult Migrant English Program.{{cite web|last=AMEP|title=510 hours|url=http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/help-with-english/amep/learning-english/eligibility.htm|publisher=AMEP|accessdate=1 September 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101220817/http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/help-with-english/amep/learning-english/eligibility.htm| archivedate=1 January 2011|url-status=dead}} Due to visa conditions, however, not all asylum seekers were provided these classes.{{cite web|last=AMEP|title=AMEP eligibility|url=http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/94amep.htm#b|publisher=AMEP|accessdate=1 September 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101175347/http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/94amep.htm#b|archivedate=1 January 2011|url-status=dead}}

After the Tampa incident in August 2001, an ASRC volunteer information evening in September 2001 had a high attendance. Soon afterwards, Karapanagiotidis, along with volunteer lawyers, began providing free legal services to assist with asylum claims. In early 2002, the ASRC launched a number of new services, such as the first health service for asylum seekers in Victoria as well as counselling and casework services. In that year, the ASRC received funding from the Myer Foundation to employ a full-time coordinator.

Over the next few years, the ASRC introduced several new services, including the Employment Program, Social and Recreation Program, the Volunteer Support Program, the Community Meals Program and the Detention Friendship Program.

In 2007, the ASRC moved to a larger space in West Melbourne, allowing for further expansion. Again, new services were introduced, including the Small Business and Social Enterprise Program, ASRC Catering, Kidzone, the Asylum Seeker Outreach Children's Playground, the Micro-Credit Scheme, Repatriation and the Post Detention Release Support Program.

In 2014, the ASRC moved to a still larger space at 214-218 Nicholson Street, Footscray.

The mission of the ASRC is to ensure that "all those seeking asylum in Australia have their human rights upheld and that those seeking asylum in our community receive the support and opportunities they need to live independently".{{cite web|last=ASRC|title=ASRC Mission|url=http://www.asrc.org.au/the-centre/vision-and-mission/|publisher=ASRC|accessdate=1 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218114940/http://www.asrc.org.au/the-centre/vision-and-mission/|archive-date=18 February 2011|url-status=dead}} Their core values are to "assist all asylum seekers regardless of race, religion, gender, health or sexuality". The ASRC says it does not means or merit test for access to its services. Rather, they "advocate for asylum seekers without fear or favour", working both at the personal and legislative level. They are focused on both empowering asylum seekers towards self-determination, as well as educating the community about asylum seekers.

While much of the work conducted by the ASRC is the provision of services to asylum seekers, it also advocates for the rights of asylum seekers, and runs a series of campaigns at any one time.{{cite web | title=Take Action - Asylum Seeker Resource Centre | website=Asylum Seeker Resource Centre | url=https://asrc.org.au/take-action/ | access-date=27 March 2022}}

ASRC Catering{{cite web | title=ASRC Catering | website=ASRC Catering | url=https://www.catering.asrc.org.au/ | access-date=27 March 2022}} was launched in May 2005, with a team comprising workers from Sudanese, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, Afghani, Iraqi and Congolese backgrounds. It produces mainly vegan and vegetarian meals, and started by catering for community events and corporate functions.{{cite news|last=The Age|title=Food for thought|url=https://www.theage.com.au/small-business/food-for-thought-20090619-cobp.html|publisher=The Age| access-date=27 March 2022}} It has since expanded, catering for private functions, meal delivery, weddings and parties.

The ASRC is an independent non-profit organisation focused on supporting asylum seekers in Australia. It is governed by a board, {{as of|lc=yes|2022}} chaired by Mike Sum.{{cite web | title=Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) - Get to know the team | website=Asylum Seeker Resource Centre | date=9 November 2020 | url=https://asrc.org.au/about-us/the-board/ | access-date=27 March 2022}}

The centre has been widely recognised for its community and human rights contributions.

In 2003 they were awarded the Australian Human Rights Commission Community Award – "chosen due to the breadth and volume of their work and the day-to-day practical assistance provided to asylum seekers. They are a registered charity with no government funding."{{cite web|last=Australian Human Rights Commission|title=Community Award|url=http://www.awardsaustralia.com/pcva_fin09.html|publisher=Australian Human Rights Commission|accessdate=1 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402070640/http://www.awardsaustralia.com/pcva_fin09.html|archive-date=2 April 2012|url-status=dead}}

In 2009 the centre was a finalist in the Victorian Premier's Community Volunteering Awards for the Community Volunteering Innovation Award (Metropolitan).{{cite web|last=Victorian Premiers Community Volunteering Award|title=Contribution to Community|url=http://www.awardsaustralia.com/pcva_fin09.html|accessdate=1 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402070640/http://www.awardsaustralia.com/pcva_fin09.html|archive-date=2 April 2012|url-status=dead}}

In 2010 the ASRC was the winner of the Westpac Kookaburra Award for an Outstanding Community Organisation, sponsored by Westpac bank and Our Community.{{cite web|last=Our Community|title=Kookaburra award|url=http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/control/control_article.jsp?articleId=4438|publisher=Our Community|accessdate=1 September 2011| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20101218142014/http://ourcommunity.com.au/control/control_article.jsp?articleId=4438| archivedate= 18 December 2010 | url-status= live}} Our Community recognised the ASRC for being a 'hardworking, largely volunteer-based organisation that is working to protect and uphold the human rights, wellbeing and dignity of asylum seekers.'{{cite web|last=Our Community|title=Kookaburra award media release|url=http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/article/view_media.do?articleid=4513|publisher=Our Community|accessdate=1 September 2011| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20101126212922/http://ourcommunity.com.au/article/view_media.do?articleid=4513| archivedate= 26 November 2010 | url-status= live}}

Also in 2010, the ASRC was a finalist in the Melbourne Awards program for Contribution to Community, Community Organisation Division, as 'the largest provider of aid, advocacy and health services for asylum seekers in Australia.'{{cite web|last=Melbourne Awards|title=Contribution to Community|url=http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/MelbourneAwards/Pages/2010Finalists.aspx|publisher=Melbourne Awards|accessdate=1 September 2011}}

{{as of|2011}} the ASRC was featured on the Myer Foundation's Time Will Tell: Showcasing Stories of Good Philanthropy.{{cite web|last=Myer Foundation|title=Time Will Tell|url=http://www.myerfoundation.org.au/_uploads/rsfil/00176.pdf|publisher=Myer Foundation|accessdate=1 September 2011|archive-date=9 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309093506/http://www.myerfoundation.org.au/_uploads/rsfil/00176.pdf|url-status=dead}}

On a national level, through campaigning and grassroots action the ASRC has played a role in positive action for refugees, including in the release of 62% of children that were in detention by June 2011, and in the ending of the Temporary Protection Visa (which was since re-introduced in 2014 under the Abbott government), the end of the 45-day rule (the end of which has led to the right to work for a greater number of asylum seekers) and the closure of the Manus Regional Processing Centre and Nauru detention centre (which were re-opened in 2012 under the Gillard government.{{cn|date=March 2022}}

On a state level, the ASRC has been influential in securing Victorian TAFE access for asylum seekers. The ASRC gained access to up to 300 subsidised TAFE places for eligible asylum seekers in Victoria.{{cite web|last=Minister of Skills and Workforce Participation|title=Asylum Seekers To Get Access To Hands-on Training|url=http://www.asrc.org.au/in-the-news/asylum-seekers-to-get-access-to-hands-on-training/|publisher=Minister of Skills and Workforce Participation|accessdate=1 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218124046/http://www.asrc.org.au/in-the-news/asylum-seekers-to-get-access-to-hands-on-training/|archive-date=18 February 2011|url-status=dead}}

In 2010, after successful lobbying from the ASRC along with other asylum seeker organisations, Victorian Public Transport concession cards and fares were made available to asylum seekers receiving aid from the ASRC, Hotham Mission or the Red Cross. Victoria is the first state to offer this support.{{cn|date=March 2022}}

Kon Karapanagiotidis is the founder and {{as of|March 2022|lc=yes}} CEO of the ASRC.

He was born in 1972 in Albury, and grew up in Mount Beauty. Growing up in a Greek household in country Victoria, with his own family being called 'not Australian',{{cite news|title=Keeping Hope Alive for Refugeers|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/keeping-hope-alive-for-refugees-20110125-1a4cs.html#ixzz1S3Lz3clD|publisher=The Age}} Discussing his family, he says he grew up "watching their experiences. Common experiences of all migrants racism, exclusion, discrimination, exploitation – very hard lives".{{cite web|last=Hankey, Nolan|first=Rachel, Eliza|title=Career Spotlight with Kon Karapanagiotidis|url=http://www.aiia.asn.au/access-monthly-access/ma-issue-18/618-career-spotlight-with-kon-karapanagiotidis|publisher=Australian Institute of International Affairs|accessdate=7 September 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928002437/http://www.aiia.asn.au/access-monthly-access/ma-issue-18/618-career-spotlight-with-kon-karapanagiotidis| archive-date= 28 September 2011}}

Karapanagiotidis started volunteering at a centre for homeless men when he was just 18, and continued to volunteer and many other charities. He also completed six university degrees, including law, social work and education.{{cite web | title=Kon Karapanagiotidis | website=The Wheeler Centre | date=31 July 2018 | url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/people/kon-karapanagiotidis | access-date=27 March 2022}}

He was later recognised for his work, as the Young Achiever at La Trobe University Alumni Awards in 2011.{{cite web|website=La Trobe University |title=Law graduate's compassion rewarded|url=http://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2011/article/law-graduates-compassion-rewarded|publisher=La Trobe| date=2011}}

His work as CEO of ASRC has been widely recognised.

In March 2008 he was invited to participate in the Australia 2020 Summit in 2008, an initiative of the Australian Government convened by then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Professor Glyn Davis {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC}}.{{cite web| title=Participants| url=http://www.australia2020.gov.au/participants/index.cfm| publisher=Australian Government| access-date=7 September 2011|archive-date=18 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918140336/http://www.australia2020.gov.au/participants/index.cfm|url-status=dead}} In 2008 he was a finalist for Australian of the Year (Victoria),{{cite web|title=Australian of the Year|url=http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/pages/page353.asp|website=www.australianoftheyear.org.au| accessdate=6 September 2011 | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110706124446/http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/pages/page353.asp| archivedate= 6 July 2011 | url-status=live}} and in the same year was voted one of Australia's twenty unsung heroes as part of the launch of the new location of the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.{{cite web|last=My Favourite Australian|title=Kon Karapanagiotidis |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/myfavouriteaustralian/karapanagiotidis.htm| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation|accessdate=7 September 2011}}

He has been the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship, and was voted one of Melbourne 100 most influential people in The Age Melbourne Magazine.{{when|date=March 2022}}{{cn|date=March 2022}}

In 2011, Karapanagiotidis was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for "For service to the community through refugee assistance organisations".{{cite web|title=It's an Honour|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1143691|website=www.itsanhonour.gov.au|access-date=7 September 2011|archive-date=5 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005071702/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1143691&search_type=quick&showInd=true|url-status=live}}

He is known for his provocative ways of bringing attention to asylum seeker issues, such as performing at the 2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well as elsewhere, as "The Hateful Humanitarian".{{cite web| title=Karapanagiotidis |url=http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2011/season/shows/kon-karapanagiotidis-is-the-hateful-humanitarian/| publisher=Comedy Festival|accessdate=1 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929221541/http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2011/season/shows/kon-karapanagiotidis-is-the-hateful-humanitarian/|archive-date=29 September 2011|url-status=dead}}

In 2015, four of the seven directors in the ASRC senior leadership team resigned,{{cite web | last=Coslovich | first=Gabriella | title=Kon Karapanagiotidis: A merchant of hope for asylum seekers | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=6 July 2018 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/kon-karapanagiotidis-a-merchant-of-hope-for-asylum-seekers-20180704-p4zpd3.html | access-date=27 March 2022}} after complaining of a toxic work environment, mismanagement and bullying by Karapanagiotidis.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/asylum-seeker-resource-centre-in-turmoil-amid-toxic-culture-claims-20160309-gneie3.html|title=Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in turmoil amid toxic culture claims|first=Beau Donelly and Nick| last=Toscano|date=10 March 2016|publisher=The Age}} The ASRC Board commissioned an independent report, which found no basis to the allegations, and, although he did not comment at the time, Karapanagiotidis has since strenuously denied that such a culture existed, although said that staff worked in a very high-stress environment.

In 2018 he published his memoir, The Power of Hope.

In 2010 Pamela Curr (ASRC Campaign Program Coordinator) was one of Who's Who Australian Women and in 2009 was admitted to the Victorian Women's Honour Roll.{{cite web|last=Women's Roll|title=Women's Roll|url=http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/39688/Honour_Roll_2009_web_update_PDF.pdf|accessdate=1 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406115051/http://www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/39688/Honour_Roll_2009_web_update_PDF.pdf|archive-date=6 April 2011|url-status=dead}} She trained as a nurse and a midwife before completing a Diploma of Welfare Studies and a Bachelor in Community Development at Victoria University.{{cite web|last=The Punch|title=Pamela Curr|url=http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/pamela-curr}}

Pamela was involved with the Fairwear Australia campaign for five and a half years, has worked with the Victorian Peace Network, is a national spokesperson for the Greens for Refugees, and is involved with the Civil Rights Network.{{cite web|last=Women's Web|title=Interview with Pamela Curr|url=http://home.vicnet.net.au/~womenweb/sources/Later%20Stories/Pamela_Curr.htm|publisher=Women's Web|accessdate=1 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212223236/http://home.vicnet.net.au/~womenweb/sources/Later%20Stories/Pamela_Curr.htm|archive-date=12 February 2012|url-status=dead}} According to the ABC Drum, Pamela "has worked in the past 15 years fighting for the human rights of first outworkers in the clothing industry and then for refugees and asylum seekers."{{cite web|last=ABC Drum|title=Pamela Curr|url=http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/pamela-curr-30096.html|publisher=ABC|accessdate=7 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810001722/http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/pamela-curr-30096.html|archive-date=10 August 2011|url-status=dead}} Pamela writes articles for the ABC Drum, the Sydney Morning Herald, and Crikey about the detention of asylum seekers.

Together with the Baxter detainees, Curr 'found' Cornelia Rau in Baxter Detention Centre.{{cite web|last=the age|title=Mystery Woman Held at Baxter|date=31 January 2005|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Mystery-woman-held-at-Baxter-could-be-ill/2005/01/30/1107020257062.html|publisher=the age|accessdate=1 September 2011}} Rua is an Australian Permanent Resident and German Citizen diagnosed with schizophrenia who was detained in Baxter for ten months in 2004–2005.

{{as of|2022}} ASRC patrons are listed as former High Court judge Michael Kirby {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC |CMG}}; writer and academic Eva Cox {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AO}}; Julian Burnside {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AO}} QC; and the late Malcolm Fraser {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC|CH}}, former Prime Minister of Australia.{{cite web | title=Patrons & Ambassadors for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) | website=Asylum Seeker Resource Centre | date=9 November 2020 | url=https://asrc.org.au/about-us/people-at-asrc/patrons-ambassadors/ | access-date=27 March 2022}}

Ambassadors include 2010 Australian of the year and mental health researcher Professor Patrick McGorry; authors Arnold Zable and Christos Tsiolkas; comedian Corinne Grant; Australian band The Cat Empire; Wally de Backer (Gotye); Susan Carland; and many others. In July 2017 Missy Higgins became an ambassador.{{Cite web|url=https://asrc.org.au/2017/07/05/missy-higgins-announced-new-asrc-ambassador/|title=Missy Higgins announced as new ASRC Ambassador|date=5 July 2017}}

In 2011 the ASRC produced a short play Not Just My Story. Not Just My Story started with a series of dramatic and creative storytelling workshops with 30 asylum seekers and was performed in the 2011 Human Rights Arts and Film Festival. The play was directed by Brunswick Women's Theatre Director Catherine Simmonds in collaboration with Yumi Umiumare,{{Cite web|url=http://www.ozarts.com.au/artists/yumi_umiumare|title=Umiumare, Yumi - OzArts|date=22 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222151519/http://www.ozarts.com.au/artists/yumi_umiumare|archive-date=22 February 2011}} Arnold Zable and Myles Mumford.{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlantissound.com.au/files/music/engineers.html|title=ATLANTIS MUSIC ENGINEERS|date=7 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807182603/http://www.atlantissound.com.au/files/music/engineers.html|archive-date=7 August 2011}}

The ASRC runs a blog,{{when|date=March 2022}} Champions of Change, publishing articles and updates about asylum seeker events. The blog focuses on children in detention, refugee policy, and stories of asylum seekers living in the community and in detention.

In 2010, the ASRC published volume 1 of its Essays on Justice series, which included essays by Malcolm Fraser, Julian Burnside QC and Ana Pararajasingham.{{cn|date=March 2022}}

In October 2010, the ASRC published a welfare paper, Destitute and Uncertain: the reality of seeking asylum in Australia.{{cite web|last=ASRC|title=Destitute and Uncertain|url=http://www.asrc.org.au/media/documents/asrc-welfare-paper.pdf|publisher=ASRC|accessdate=6 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321010408/http://www.asrc.org.au/media/documents/asrc-welfare-paper.pdf|archive-date=21 March 2012|url-status=dead}} The purpose of this paper was to "educate, advocate and work constructively towards better practices and processes regarding the welfare needs to asylum seekers ... The paper outlines a best practice model for responding to the welfare needs of asylum seekers".

The ASRC published Locked Out: Position Paper on Homelessness of Asylum Seekers Living in the Community.{{cite web|last=ASRC|title=Locked Out|url=http://www.asrc.org.au/media/documents/locked-out.pdf |publisher=ASRC|accessdate=6 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321044757/http://www.asrc.org.au/media/documents/locked-out.pdf|archive-date=21 March 2012|url-status=dead}} This paper references the UNHCR's 2008 figures, which say that in 2007/08, 97.3% of the 4750 asylum seeker applications submitted in Australia came from people who arrived by plane and now live in the Australian community.{{cite web|last=UNHCR|title=Asylum Trends in Industrialised Countries|url=http://www.unhcr.org/statistics/STATISTICS/49c796572.|publisher=UNHCR|accessdate=6 September 2011}}

The ASRC publication A Case For Justice: Position Paper on the Legal Process of Seeking Asylum in Australia seeks to 'advocate, educate and work constructively towards better practices and processes in the refugee determination system. The numerous case examples are based on the real-life experiences of clients of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) Legal Program, and reflect the experiences of many asylum seekers.'{{cite web|last=ASRC|title=A Case for Justice|url=http://www.asrc.org.au/media/documents/case-justice.pdf|publisher=ASRC|accessdate=6 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321044806/http://www.asrc.org.au/media/documents/case-justice.pdf|archive-date=21 March 2012|url-status=dead}}

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Category:Refugee aid organisations in Australia

Category:Organisations based in Melbourne