Back Your Neighbour Campaign – a Stand for Health and Justice
This Refugee Week, Your Community Health reaffirms our ongoing solidarity with people from asylum seeker and refugee backgrounds across Australia. We are proud to support the Back Your Neighbour campaign, because health and safety are human rights that everyone deserves.
Back Your Neighbour is a growing coalition of over 40 local governments and community organisations across Australia. Together, we are advocating for equity, justice and dignity for people seeking protection, who are contributing to our communities while facing ongoing uncertainty.
Over 7,700 people who arrived in Australia by sea more than a decade ago remain in limbo because of the now-abolished ‘Fast Track’ process. They have no pathway to permanency, no family reunion options, and in many cases, no access to stable employment, healthcare, working rights or income support. While this flawed system has finally been dismantled, its legacy continues to harm thousands of people.
At Your Community Health, we see the real-life impacts of these policies every day, particularly on people’s health and social wellbeing. Our Refugee Health Support Program works with more than 500 families each year, providing healthcare, advocacy and connection for those who have experienced trauma, displacement and systemic exclusion.
A client accessing YourCH’s Refugee Health Program, shared their story:
“My son and I are from Iraq and came to Australia on a boat, seeking asylum – we were so scared coming over, it was a very dangerous journey but we had heard that Australia would offer protection, safety and human rights. We spent one month on Christmas Island, then 7 years on Nauru, then 10 months in an Australian detention centre. I have now been in community detention for 2 years. That’s 10 years, and I have nothing. I keep going around and around. No visa, no Medicare, no Centrelink – just waiting.
We have been told of different opportunities, like being able to work on farms, and being offered to be processed in New Zealand, but they didn’t let us go. Why? It’s hard to trust again. Seven years on Nauru drinking dirty water, living in plastic tents in such heat, wild dogs everywhere always biting us. I’m sick, my son is sick from living there for so long. Anyone that has been on Nauru has big mental health issues, we all suffered mentally and emotionally and my nerves are wrecked. I now live off charity, eating tinned and dried food. My Refugee Liaison Worker has helped me because she speaks Arabic and has provided taxi vouchers and organised health appointments. Ongoing support is required for people that have experienced this. I’m so tired, I always feel sick and I can’t sleep – 10 years, that’s too long.”
We stand with the Back Your Neighbour campaign in calling on the Federal Government to:
- Provide a fair and clear path for refugees with unresolved immigration status to get permanent protection.
- Give people a valid visa with work rights so they can support themselves.
- Make health care, financial help and important services easier to access so people can participate fully in society.
“People seeking asylum have long contributed to our communities, yet many still live without secure immigration status— shut out from essentials like healthcare, housing, and work. This is not just a legal issue—it’s a health equity issue. We stand with our clients and partners in calling for permanent protection and the right to live with dignity and good health.”
— Liz Chondros, Interim CEO, Your Community Health
Together, we can help end the uncertainty and support people to rebuild their lives with hope and dignity.
Take Action
This Refugee Week, you can stand up for fairness and health for all:
- Sign the petition to support permanent protection and access to services
- Email your MP and ask them to support the Back Your Neighbour campaign.
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