On the evening of Tuesday the 22^nd of November 2022, Suprovat Sydney, the only Bangladeshi Community Newspaper in Australia, arranged an Immigration information session for Bangladeshi refugees in Australia.

The Refugee Advice & Casework Service (RACS) lead the information session for the Bangladeshi refugees. The event was held at Lakemba Chapter Remembrance Hall, in Lakemba NSW. About 150 people were able to benefit from the session.

Alison Ryan RACS’ Supervising Senior Solicitor delivered the session. At the beginning she introduced RACS as a non-profit Community Legal Centre providing free legal assistance to refugees, people seeking asylum and stateless people who have been forced to flee their home country due to fear of persecution. She emphasized that RACS is independent from the Department of Home Affairs.

Alison acknowledged that the difficult situation for many in the audience having been separated from their family for 9 or 10 years and the uncertainty of their visa situations. 

Alison discussed and explained the Australian protection visa process, including options if a person’s visa application has been refused, eligibility for a bridging visa and how to apply for it, work rights, and how to seek assistance from RACS. At the end there was Q&A session. Participants asked their burning questions and shared the difficulties they are facing due to not having working rights and Medicare. “

Md Abdullah Yousuf, editor in chief was MC (In circulation), alongside Dr Faroque Amin (Editor of Suprovat Sydney), who translated the whole session. The President of the Bangladeshi Refugee of Australia also delivered a brief thank-you-speech.

Farid Ghalib, Community Liaison Officer, Karl Sullivan (Volunteer) and Isabel Limana (Volunteer) from Refugee Advice & Casework Service (RACS), Manjurul Alam (Bangladeshi Senior Citizen of Australia), Media rep Rana Nasir, Mohammed Rashedul Islam (Suprovat Sydney photojournalist) also joined in the evening.