Medical Evacuation Response Group

Protecting refugee rights to make use of Medevac

The Medical Evacuation Response Group (MERG) is a group of specialist refugee and asylum seeker support organisations who work in partnership to facilitate the medical evacuation of critically ill refugees and asylum seekers held in offshore detention. Also referred to as the Medevac Group, MERG was formed to streamline applications for medical transfer after the passing of the much anticipated Medevac bill in early 2019. 

Issue

After advocacy efforts by refugee advocates led to the narrow passage of Medevac Legislation in early 2019, there was a need to assist sick refugees in offshore detention to work through the procedural steps needed to obtain access to medical care in Australia. The Medevac Legislation provided a mechanism for critically sick refugees and people seeking asylum held in offshore detention to be transferred to Australia for urgent medical treatment. The legislation required that two independent Australian doctors must recommend the temporary transfer of sick refugees to Australia and agree that appropriate treatment could not be provided while they were in offshore detention in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Nauru. Without support to navigate this requirement, critically sick refugees and people seeking asylum would not have been able to benefit from the Legislation.

Response

A group of cross-sector specialist refugee organisations formed the Medical Evacuation Response Group (MERG) to prepare for the operationalisation of the Medevac Bill. With the MERG in place, ASRC was able to move quickly after the Bill was passed. The MERG employed a Triage Manager to coordinate the medical triage of those requiring urgent medical care and arrange legal assistance to obtain transfers under the new law. MERG effectively addressed operational gaps in government funding to support refugees to navigate the Medevac requirements and access health services. The Impact Fund provided funding for the Triage Manager. After the repeal of the legislation a further $10,000 was provided in response to urgent requests to help refugees who had been transferred to Australia to access housing.