77. On average around 400 asylum seeker claims are made in Aotearoa New Zealand each year. However, the Government only provides very limited access to specialist support services for this group of migrants while their claims are being processed. 78. The Government funds a community navigator role through the Red Cross to provide basic support to asylum seekers who have had their claim approved.100 However, no such service is provided to asylum seekers before their claim has been accepted. Rather, asylum seekers rely heavily on support provided through non-governmental organisations, particularly the Asylum Seekers Support Trust (ASST). ASST is a charitable trust which receives almost no support from the Government, despite being the main provider of housing (including urgent short-term accommodation through a small hostel that it runs) information, advocacy and food support to asylum seekers while their claims for refugee status are processed. Immigration New Zealand often contacts ASST when asylum seekers arrive at the border. However, the ASST are severely underfunded and rely on donations to feed and house people.101 79. A June 2022 report Safe Start, Fair Future102, authored by the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies at the University of Auckland and the Asylum Seekers Support Trust identified serious human rights issues faced by asylum seekers in Aotearoa New Zealand, including not being able to access income, affordable housing and health care. It was reported that this leads some asylum seekers to live in destitution where they are fully reliant on charitable organisations for assistance. These findings are consistent with a discussion paper published by the Commission in 2017 on the rights of asylum seekers103, which identified the inadequacy and unavailability of housing and mental health services as key concerns. 80. In Aotearoa New Zealand people who seek asylum are treated very differently to people who arrive through the Refugee Quota programme. The Refugee Resettlement Strategy104 sets out good resettlement practice for refugees arriving through the Quota programme. However, the strategy does not apply to asylum seekers. The Government is currently refreshing this strategy, along with the Migrant Settlement Integration Strategy, which we understand includes consideration of whether Convention Refugees are included in the strategy. 81. The Committee may wish to recommend that the Government provides targeted and accessible services to asylum seekers, including funding for short-term accommodation services, adequate resourcing of cross-cultural workers and community navigators to assist asylum seekers with access to entitled services; and specialist case workers at agencies, who are trained in asylum seekers and refugee policies. Section 392 Immigration Act 2009 82. Section 392 precludes individuals from bringing complaints to the Commission alleging discrimination in respect of applications of the Immigration Act 2009 or associated regulations. 100 See https://www.redcross.org.nz/about-us/what-we-do/in-new-zealand/supportingrefugees/#:~:text=Our%20Pathways%20to%20Protection%20service,while%20their%20applications%20are%20proces sed. 101 Safe Haven is another charitable trust that provides accommodation and sustenance services for asylum seekers. 102 Refugee Equality, University of Auckland and Asylum Seekers Support Trust (July 2022) available at https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/education/hattie/docs/Safe%20Start,%20Fair%20Future%20Report.pdf. 103 Human Rights Commission, Treating asylum seekers with dignity and respect; The economic, social and cultural rights of those seeking protection Aotearoa New Zealand (2017) available at https://rasnz.co.nz/wpcontent/uploads/2017/09/ESC_Rights_Discussion_ONLINE.pdf 104 See https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/what-we-do/our-strategies-and-projects/refugee-resettlementstrategy. 21