Evacuated Afghans who made it to Australia after the Taliban takeover will have their visas extended by a year, allowing them continued access to government support.
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Afghan evacuees will also be able to transition to offshore permanent protection visas, which gives them access to higher levels of support.
The majority of people seeking asylum in Australia apply from their home countries, which is processed as an offshore application.
Those already in Australia apply through the onshore process, where the government assumes certain protections are already in place and therefore less support is needed.
The government has also tasked the Home Affairs Department to prioritise Afghan applications from both in and outside of Australia.
A minimum of 3000 humanitarian visas have been set aside by Australia for Afghans fleeing their home after Coalition forces pulled out of the country this year.
Refugee advocates and humanitarian organisations have called for the government to raise this floor to 20,000 in light of the the worsening situation in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament in October there was no cap on how many Afghan refugees could be accepted this year.
Australian Associated Press
