Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

The government will be opposing the Greens amendments. As I have already stated, the government acknowledges that there will always be a small number of vulnerable individuals, including unaccompanied minors, who may not be able to clearly present their claims without assistance. The government will continue to have arrangements in place to provide funded application assistance to a small number of the most vulnerable individuals, including unaccompanied minors, through a primary application information service. Replacing the Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme with a needs based system for primary processing, which is the primary application information service, for only the most vulnerable eligible persons is similar to government funded assistance arrangements for those who arrive lawfully by air or sea and seek protection, and provides a clear focus to funding migration assistance to only those people who are considered vulnerable. Removing access to the IAAAS from all protection visa applications at review is designed to encourage the provision of full, personal and accurate claims as early as possible in the primary application process.