Refugee Advice & Casework Service (RACS) has announced Miles Franklin Award -winning author, Shankari Chandran, as its newest Ambassador.

“With her background in law and the values embedded in her stories of refugees and migrants to Australia, Shankari is a great ambassador for RACS and our mission,” said RACS Centre Director & Principal Solicitor, Sarah Dale.

At RACS, our trauma-informed legal practice recognises that people’s experiences of displacement are shaped by identity. This is especially true for LGBTQI+ individuals, whose survival depends not only on fleeing danger but also on navigating a protection process that often fails to see them for who they truly are.

We have adopted a trauma-informed approach across all of our casework, and creating the LGBTQI+ Safety Program as a dedicated service improves our ability to cater to the unique needs of queer refugees.

The RACS team has been visiting regional towns across New South Wales to provide legal information to refugees and people seeking asylum living outside metropolitan Sydney.

On National Pro Bono Day, almost 200 members of Sydney’s legal community gathered for the Walk for Justice 2025, to celebrate the positive impact that legal pro bono work has on social justice in Australia. Twenty organisations were represented at this year’s event.

A stateless refugee facing removal to Nauru, being supported by the Refugee Advice & Casework Service (RACS) and pro bono lawyers commenced proceedings seeking to remain in Australia whilst the Court considers whether the cancellation of his visa was lawful. The Courts have upheld his right to do so and he will no longer face imminent removal to Nauru.

Refugee Advice & Casework Service (RACS) welcomes a landmark decision from the UN Human Rights Committee, which found Australia violated the human rights of a group of refugee children. The decision comes nine years after RACS lodged a complaint on behalf of a group of unaccompanied children who were arbitrarily detained on Nauru.