Refugee Advocacy Service of South Australia

Refugee Advocacy Service of South Australia Inc. (RASSA) is a Community Legal Centre or NGO set up to represent asylum seekers in the Federal Court of Australia.

Contents

History

In April 2002 a group of lawyers from the Woomera Lawyers' Group set up and established the Refugee Advocacy Service of South Australia Inc. [1]. The purpose of the centre was to organise and centralise files for the vast number of asylum seekers who had sought or were seeking judicial review of their original decisions in the Federal Court of Australia.

The service was originally conceived as operating as a clearing house. However, it was not always able to locate appropriate solicitors. It often went on file as the instructing Solicitor. Almost all of the work performed by the service or through the service was on a pro-bono basis. (with the exception of one employed legal officer or lawyer who worked part time and one employed administrative officer.) A group of lawyers (often comprising board members and other senior lawyers) would review each file to determine whether there was a prospect of a case being run. The legal officer and the board (who almost without exception were legally trained) would then seek out pro-bono counsel to run the case.

The services purpose was to provide legal representation for asylum seekers in the Federal Court of Australia and assist asylum seekers in getting their case remitted back to the Refugee Review Tribunal. The efforts of the centre were frustrated by Commonwealth Parliaments inclusion of a privative clause into the Migration Act. This clause restricted the grounds of judicial review to very narrow levels.

The service survived almost entirely on donations, sent in from supportive members of the community or from fund raising events. However, the centre was awarded several grants. The centre also accumulated a number of cost orders which had been donated to the centre by counsel when granted those orders whilst acting for asylum seekers on behalf of the service.

The service was recognised in filling a major gap in legal services to a marginalised minority in a time of acute sensitivity it the Australian community to the issue of refugees.

Founding board members

There were a number of South Australian lawyers who contributed to assisting refugee's (see for example Woomer Lawyers' Group). Of these lawyers a number founded The Refugee Advocacy Service of South Australia Inc. The original founding board members, (those who held office on the executive at various points throughout the first year) where:

Other major contributors

The service was supported by a wide range of barristers and other people involved in the law. Other people who played a prominent part in the operations of RASSA included:

Activities

The service provided free representation in the Federal Court of Australia to any detainee who had an arguable case. It represented hundreds of asylum seekers through the pro-bono support of members of the South Australian profession. The Refugee Advocacy Service of South Australia Inc held fundraising and profile raising events throughout Australia.

It has acted on a pro-bono basis for refugees in a number of cases including the following:

Recognition

The service has been discussed in academic papers. [6] As well as significant coverage in domestic and international media. [7] [8]

The service was awarded a special notice from HREOC in 2003.