What happens when seeking safety becomes a crime? In the past year, Australia has introduced a series of harsh immigration laws. The latest – the Migration Amendment Bill 2024 – was rushed through with limited time for public debate and has raised serious concerns among legal experts and human rights advocates.
Experts warn that the Bill significantly expands the government’s power to detain and deport people to danger where they risk persecution and violence.
Major areas of concern include new criminal penalties, the forced separation of families, and travel bans on entire countries – making it government policy to make blanket assumptions about people, based only on where they are from. Many also warn that the changes violate basic human rights and undermine Australia’s international obligations.
Join us for an urgent conversation on the implications of Australia’s new anti-migrant laws – and how funders can respond. Hear from legal experts, community advocates and frontline organisations as they unpack:
- What’s in the Bill and why experts are raising the alarm
- The potential real-world impacts on refugees and asylum seekers
- How the legislation expands ministerial powers and limits legal recourse
- Opportunities for philanthropic action, advocacy and support
Whether you’re already funding in this space or exploring how to get involved, this session offers a critical opportunity to understand what’s at stake – and how your giving can help protect human rights and advance migrant justice.
Event information
Thursday 3 July 2025
12pm -1:15pm AEST
📍 Online via Zoom
Speakers
Ogy Simic
Head of Refugee Leadership, Advocacy & Communications, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Since arriving in Australia as a refugee when he was 11 years old, Ogy has trained as a lawyer and has worked in a range of campaigning and advocacy roles to promote diversity, inclusion and human rights. He has worked as a campaigner at every level – from grassroots community organising, for federal parliamentarians, as a board member of NFP organisations and an elected representative himself having served as a local government councillor at the City of Port Phillip for four years.
Sanmati Verma
Legal Director, Human Rights Law Centre
Sanmati Verma joined the Human Rights Law Centre in 2022 to lead the Centre’s work upholding the rights of people who migrate and seek asylum. She is an LIV accredited specialist in immigration law and has worked exclusively in the area for over a decade. Sanmati’s work has been recognised through the Law Institute of Victoria’s ‘Emerging Lawyer’ award.
Dennis Altman
Writer, academic + ACF Fundholder
Dennis Altman is the son of Jewish refugees and is active as an author, advocate and philanthropist supporting causes that protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ people and refugees and asylum seekers, having left a bequest to his ACF Fund to support these marginalised groups. In 2006, The Bulletin listed Dennis Altman as one of the 100 most influential Australians ever, and he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2008.
Register
This session is open to Australian Communities Foundation fundholders and clients, and our friends in the philanthropy sector. Contact us to register.