Chapter 4: The protection gap for stateless people in Australia “The hardest part is that Myanmar says we don’t belong. I come here and the Australian government say slowly, slowly, step-by-step. So where do I go? What can I do? No country says I belong.” — Nasir* The lack of awareness of and knowledge about statelessness in Australia, combined with the lack of legal protections for stateless people, means that stateless people are not adequately protected in Australia. 4.1.1 Statelessness is defined and understood in different ways by different stakeholders, particularly in the absence of a statutory definition of statelessness 4.1 Statelessness is not well understood, acknowledged or visible in Australia69 The absence of an SDP that includes a statutory definition of ‘statelessness’ in Australian law means that there is limited understanding of the issue and inconsistent decision-making pertaining to stateless people. “Statelessness for the average person is a very unknown concept. It’s not an everyday term, and for people who have had the luxury and privilege of not even having to think about their citizenship status, like most Australians or many Australians, it’s a very foreign concept.” — Social Worker Research conducted across this study (empirical, statistical and doctrinal) clearly indicates that statelessness is not well understood in Australia within government, professional service sectors and the general community. The absence of a statutory definition of statelessness and formal SDP, combined with limited institutional understanding and awareness of the issue means that stateless people are consistently overlooked in policy development, data collection and service provision. The ‘invisibility’ of the needs of stateless people in policy and targeted service provision has a profound and significant impact on stateless people in Australia. They are often excluded from legal protections and social services and exist in a state of legal limbo and uncertainty regarding their ability to build a life in Australia. “Because the Department doesn’t screen or identify stateless people, I think we’re ill equipped (to identify and assist them) in a lot of ways…I think it’s one of those things that just gets ignored or people don’t quite know when somebody’s stateless. The Department identify people as having a nationality.” — Australian Legal Practitioner The need for greater understanding of statelessness, and relevant expertise pertaining to assisting stateless people within the Australian legal profession was also observed. “(T)he problem is that not everyone encounters a stateless person all the time. And so, when you encounter them for the first time, even as a legal representative, you may not really understand what that means. And so, never mind just training (on statelessness) for Departmental officers or decisionmakers who are making decisions on these cases; it is also needed for legal representation. I think there needs to be a better understanding of what it means to be stateless and to help stateless people navigate that process across the board.” — Ahmad Sawan, Australian Legal Practitioner, Refugee Advice Casework Service Key findings indicate that: 1.1 1.2 Statelessness is defined and understood in different ways by different stakeholders, particularly in absence of a statutory definition of statelessness (4.1.1); There is a lack of data about statelessness (often resulting in services approximating or attempting to triangulate statistics from unverified sources) (4.1.2); 1.3 Statelessness is not well understood within government agencies and relevant service providers (4.1.3); and, 1.4 Stateless people are often completely overlooked in policy development (4.1.4). Understanding Statelessness in Australia | Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness 33