Mary Anne Kenny

Individuals seeking asylum encounter significant barriers when seeking protection. Currently, the developed world's predominant, and arguably exclusive, reaction to the increase in the number of people forcibly displaced is the implementation of restrictive migration control policies. In Australia a series of punitive measures were applied to approximately 31,000 asylum seekers who arrived by boat between 2012-2014. In 2014 the government introduced a ‘fast track assessment’ (FTA) process for processing refugee claims. In practice the FTA process was marked by significant delays and concerns about its fairness. Temporary protection was the only option available for people who were recognised as refugees. These changes were accompanied by a significant reduction in legal and social supports. The primary objective of this research was to understand the mental health consequences of these changes upon this group of asylum seekers and refugees, known as the ‘legacy caseload’