Our mission: to achieve justice and dignity for and with refugees through dedicated legal services and advocacy.
Our Work
It’s legal to seek asylum. But in Australia, the process is cruel and complicated. That’s why RACS exists: to achieve justice and dignity for and with refugees through dedicated legal services and advocacy.
“RACS helps people who are going through the asylum process to make their claims as convincingly as truth and justice permit.”
A refugee’s journey* to protection with RACS
*This flow chart depicts a typical journey of a person who arrives in Australia on a valid visa. The protection journey will be different from person to person.
A refugee’s journey* to protection with RACS
Requests for help
Our lawyers look at the cases of people seeking asylum and determine the level of support we can provide.
RACS is unable to assist people who are currently outside of Australia. Please contact UNHCR instead.
Visa applications
We work with people seeking asylum to apply for protection. This may include:
Collecting evidence
Helping to write statements
Attending interviews
Support with work/study rights
Grants
Being granted a visa means safety and greater certainty. Refugees can now plan for the future.
Appeals
If the application isn’t successful, we may be able to help appeal the decision.
Reuniting with family
In some cases, if an application is successful and a visa is granted, RACS may be able to help refugees reunite with their families here in safety.
RACS's legal help is trauma-informed and holistic. We can provide referrals to adjacent support services for refugees.
*This flow chart depicts a typical journey of a person who arrives in Australia on a valid visa. The protection journey will be different from person to person.
Critical legal help for almost 40 years
RACS is an award-winning nonprofit delivering free, life-changing legal services for people who have fled persecution to seek safety in Australia. We’re proud to be an independent organisation and one of the oldest community legal centres around. Since 1987, we’ve given legal assistance to more than 70,000 courageous people from over 130 countries.
RACS has given advice to people from 138 countries
In a volatile immigration landscape, RACS has had to be nimble in responding to global crises and ever-shifting policies. Here are some recent examples:
When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, we rallied our staff, volunteers and partners to launch a crisis response service.
Similarly, our team organised timely support for legal needs arising from refugee crises in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon.
Safety through dedicated legal services
We’ve identified particular areas of vulnerability and need among refugees and people seeking asylum, creating specialist services so that we can better serve:
Children seeking protection without their parents
Stateless people, through the Stateless Children Legal Clinic
Women who have experienced or fear domestic, family or gender-based violence through the Women at Risk Program
Members of the LGBTQI+ community, through the LGBTQI+ Safety Program – the only dedicated clinic of its kind in New South Wales
Refugees wishing to reunite with family members, through the Reuniting Families Program
Advocating for systemic law and policy reform
We listen to the experiences of our clients and the challenges they face, so we are better informed to fight for justice and dignity – from the halls of Federal Parliament to the United Nations.
The work we do to enact policy and law reform includes:
Representing the needs of the refugee community in meetings with Government, regulators, politicians and/or other organisations
Organisational inquiries and reviews
Preparing submissions and responses to Government
Awards and recognition
Australian Law Awards Law Firm of the Year 2024 – RACS
Law Council of Australia Young Migration Lawyer of the Year 2025 – Gretel Emerson
Law Society of NSW Community Service Award 2024 – Sarah Dale
NSW Humanitarian Award for Best Project in 2022 – Afghanistan Crisis Response Clinic
Women in Law Awards Legal Support Professional of the Year – Amanda Hall
Australian Law Awards Migration Partner of the Year 2018 – Sarah Dale
Partnering with RACS
RACS is a registered charity relying on the generosity of individuals and philanthropic organisations to deliver our essential legal services. Learn about our partners here or donate here.
Support from thousands of passionate volunteers over the years – including law students, and lawyers from top-tier firms providing pro bono legal services – has multiplied our impact, allowing us to help more refugees and people seeking asylum find a safe future in Australia.