Responding to a question about the people stranded abroad, the minister for foreign affairs Marise Payne told the parliament on Wednesday about the new hardship programme for the vulnerable Australians.
Highlights:
- The Federal government will provide loans for the Australians stuck overseas due to pandemic.
- One-off loans which will be available to cover emergency living costs until a person is able to return.
- Only Australian citizens and their immediate family members will be eligible.
Senator Payne said, “Today the government is indicated that we will provide further support through an expanded hardship programme which will build on our existing traveller emergency loans programme.”
“These are one-off loans which will be available to cover emergency living costs until a person is able to return. Loans will also be available to help with the cost of airline tickets to return to Australia,” said Senator Payne.
Applicants will need to meet “strict eligibility requirements” including, for instance, being able to show that they have attempted to return to Australia.
The financial assistance will be made available as a last resort.
Minister Payne told the parliament that more than 379 thousand Australians have been able to return since the border was closed in March.
Almost 30,000 people are registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as being overseas, and according to Minister Payne, about 20,000 have expressed a wish to return.
Australian passengers outside entry gate 4 at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Source: Supplied
Here are the requirements published on the DFAT website:
You can apply if you:
- are an Australian citizen
- Australian permanent residents are not eligible to receive funding unless they are travelling with an immediate family member who is an Australian citizen, and that Australian family member includes the permanent resident in their own application for financial assistance.
- If the only Australian citizen in the family travelling with the permanent resident is a child, other links to Australia will need to be considered before approval of a loan (e.g. Australian residential property).
- are at least 18 years of age
- have made all reasonable efforts to seek financial assistance through other means. You’ll need to provide evidence of this. See examples of documentation under ‘The application process’ section.
In addition, you need to meet one or more of the following criteria. You:
- are overseas temporarily and want to return to Australia urgently for medical or other reasons.
- are in financial distress as a result of the travel disruptions caused by COVID-19
- require financial assistance to shelter in place until you can secure a seat, or purchase a ticket to return to Australia
- are in a location with restricted or no available commercial airlines operating.
Some Australian permanent residents think it is unfair to exclude them from the scheme conditionally.
"The big problem at the moment is mental health issues rather than financial issues. I am sure this might help few Australian though." Mr Sudheer Dharamkar, an Australian citizen told SBS Hindi.
Although, people like Selbin Sebastian say arranging means to bring people back should be the government’s priority.
“I am ready to quarantine any were in Australia. I am ready to make sure COVID-free test before departure. I am ready to do quarantine one week before departure. We are ready for any option to grab a flight,” said Mr Sebastian.
