Fundraising at Uniting
Asylum seekers

Donate to support asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers come to Australia seeking safety, security, and the chance to rebuild their lives. Your donation can make a life-changing difference by supporting our critical services.

Fundraising

Donate to support asylum seekers in Australia.

Asylum seekers come to Australia seeking safety, security, and the chance to rebuild their lives. Many arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs, facing displacement, financial hardship, and the uncertainty of their legal status.

Without access to mainstream support services, they are often left struggling to find a place to live, something to eat, and a way to support their families.

Uniting provides vital assistance to asylum seekers, offering emergency housing, food relief, advocacy, and community connections to help them integrate into Australian society. Your donation can make a life-changing difference by supporting these critical services, ensuring a person seeking asylum has the resources they need to start again.

How your donation helps asylum seekers

Asylum seekers in Australia face overwhelming challenges. Many are caught in a complex legal system, unable to work while awaiting the outcome of their claims. Others are at risk of homelessness, with no access to Centrelink benefits or government housing.

With limited pathways to stability, asylum seekers rely on charities like Uniting for survival. Your support can help provide urgent assistance to those in desperate need, giving them a safe place to stay, food for their families, and access to legal and social support. Your donation helps fund services that support asylum seekers. From emergency relief to long-term advocacy, every contribution rebuild lives.

Emergency Housing & Shelter

Without the right to work or access to government-funded housing, many asylum seekers face homelessness. Your donation helps Uniting secure crisis accommodation, transitional housing, and rental assistance so individuals and families have a safe and stable place to stay.

Food & Essentials for Daily Living

Many asylum seekers struggle to afford basic necessities. Donations help fund food relief programs that provide groceries, meals, and essential supplies like
toiletries, baby formula, and hygiene products.

Casework Support

Adjusting to life in a new country is challenging, especially for families with young children. Your donation helps asylum seekers secure professional casework
support who can assist with finding family services, legal support, work, accessing education and navigating cultural differences. By supporting their skills
and capacity building, we can help create a stable foundation for children and parents alike.

Community Connections

A sense of belonging is a fundamental human need, and can be life-changing for asylum seekers trying to rebuild their lives. Uniting facilitates programs that
connect asylum seekers with culturally similar families, community support groups, and mentorship initiatives. This helps to provide emotional support,
guidance, and friendship, creating a sense of home in a place that once felt unfamiliar.

Learn more about Uniting Vic.Tas’ community support programs.

Donate now to help asylum seekers

Your contribution can make an immediate and lasting impact on the lives of asylum seekers in Australia. Choose from one-time or monthly giving options to support emergency relief and long-term assistance programs.

One-time donations

A single asylum seeker donation can provide:

  • Emergency accommodation
  • A food package to support a family
  • A workshop for people newly arrived in Australia.
Monthly giving

Recurring asylum seeker donations create a sustainable impact, helping to:

  • Fund crisis accommodation throughout the year
  • Provide ongoing food relief to families in need
  • Provide professional casework support such as assistance with finding legal support, work and education.

Every donation, big or small, makes a difference. Donate now.

Fundraising and volunteering

You can also contribute by hosting a fundraising event or offering your time as a volunteer. Small efforts add up to big changes for families seeking asylum.

Uniting’s work with asylum seekers

Uniting has a long history of supporting asylum seekers and advocating for their rights. Working in collaboration with community organisations, legal advocates, and government bodies, we provide:

When you donate to asylum seekers, you become part of this vital work, helping us continue to deliver these life-changing services.

The impact of your support

Your generosity has a direct and profound impact on the lives of asylum seekers, helping them find stability and hope in Australia. Through donor-funded programs, individuals facing homelessness, financial hardship, and uncertainty have received emergency shelter, food assistance, and guidance to rebuild their lives. Many have gone on to secure stable housing, find employment, and contribute to their new communities. With your help, Uniting can continue to provide support to those seeking safety and a fresh start.

Australia has always been a land of opportunity. A place of promise where people from across the world have flocked to create new lives for themselves and their families

Hear the real story

Eva’s story.

Eva is a Consumer Partner and member of the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Working Group, Consumer Partner Steering Committee, Asylum Seeker Welcome Centre Advisory Group, and Interview Panels. “We came to Australia seeking asylum because our country was no longer safe for our family. We needed a place where we …
Uniting Vic.Tas concluded its three-year WOMHEn (which stands for ‘workforce of multilingual health educators network’) project partnership with Women’s Health Goulburn Northeast. Recognising women’s health and wellbeing knowledge acquired from their homelands and developed through their migration process, and their rights to decision-making and owning their bodies, were front and …
Salma came to the Being a Parent (BaP) program overwhelmed and anxious about raising her children in a new country. She was uncertain and lacking clarity on the approach to parenting, driving her to the brink of madness. When she saw an advertisement for BaP, Salma wanted to make changes.
Nader* arrived in Australia in March 2022 with his family and two twin sons, aged 17. Nader participated in the Parenting in a New Culture – Focus on Fathers (PINC-FF) program in November 2022.
The Uniting Church of Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania and Uniting Vic.Tas stand together in solidarity with refugees, people seeking asylum and their supporters across Australia to call out the injustices of Australia’s current immigration policies.
On Monday, the Government announced the 19,000 refugees who arrived in Australia before 2013 and were placed on TPVs and SHEVs would be able to apply to permanent Resolution of Status (RoS) in Australia.

This is life changing. For too long, refugees staying in Australia on these visas have lived in limbo without knowing what their future held.

The Asylum Seeker Welcome Centre (ASWC) in Brunswick recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Founded in 2002 by a number of agencies, including the Brunswick Uniting Church and the now Merri-bek Council, the centre welcomes and supports people seeking a safer life in Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Yes, all donations for asylum seekers over $2 are tax-deductible. Donors will receive a receipt for their contributions, which can be used when filing tax returns.

Yes. Uniting welcomes donations of essential items such as:

  • Non-perishable food items
  • Clothing, particularly warm clothes and children’s wear
  • Toiletries and hygiene products

To arrange a donation, please visit Food For Familes for food and toiletries. Or visit your local Uniting Op Shop for clothing donations.

When you donate to asylum seekers through Uniting Vic.Tas, your donation is allocated to emergency housing, food relief programs, casework and legal support services, and community inclusion programs.

There are many ways to support asylum seekers beyond donating. You can volunteer your time or even organise a fundraiser to raise awareness and support.

A bequest to Uniting allows you to extend your compassion and generosity beyond your lifetime, providing ongoing support to asylum seekers in Australia. Whether you choose to leave a specific amount, a percentage of your estate, or a residual gift, your contribution will help change lives. Please visit our gifts in Wills and bequests page to find out more.

Other ways to support us

Get involved today to create a brighter future.

Together, we can make a difference.