Free Migration Agents

Free services for eligible refugees, asylum seekers and humanitarian entrants to New South Wales, Australia

Affma CEO

From the CEO’s desk – April 2017

AFFMA has made a terrific start to 2017.

We have a new fundraising/marketing team. These dedicated volunteers have started to expand our brand and raise awareness with community organisations throughout the Inner West. As a result, we have had a significant increase in donations and funding.

Our volunteers have also made lasting partnerships with several local businesses around Newtown. Our community involvement has brought us new clients through increased inquiries and referrals. Receiving the 2016 Volunteer of the Year Award has had a great impact in this regard.

Significant number of new volunteers joined.

We have also had a number of new volunteers join us and start making significant contributions to the organisation.

Additionally, AFFMA has started to expand our legal team. We have a new migration agent coming on board and a number of talented legal assistants joining the organisation. We are also expanding our service to include partner visas. This is particularly important for our clients who wish to begin a new life in Australia with their partners by their side.

AFFMA has started developing in house training for our volunteers, including the provision of fact sheets and legal information. This information will be available on our website in the near future.

Gene Waters
Acting CEO
LLB, Grad Cert of Migration Law and Practice
Pro Bono Migration Agent, MARN:1685583

From the CEO’s desk – March 2017

Greetings and welcome to the first edition of our newsletter for 2017.

Our offices have been open for more than a month in 2017 and we are in full swing with our operations, assisting those most vulnerable in our international community.

While we enjoy an unseasonably warm summer, please spare a thought for those refugees suffering through a bitterly cold winter in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. With previous safe havens such as the United States radically altering their refugee policies, the plight of refugees across the world is getting more desperate.

Time to come together.

Now is the time to come together and campaign for an increased intake in Australia. We need to call on politicians at all levels of government to reassess immigration policy. Australia accepts almost 200,000 migrants every year (the very people that have kept the country out of a technical recession for years, incidentally; Australia essentially imports increased demand in the form of a higher population). It is simply unacceptable that only 10% of those migrants are refugees or asylum seekers. This goes against the purported egalitarian nature of Australian society. What happened to the proverbial fair go?

This month’s newsletter will delve deeper into the topic of Trump, adding to our Newsletter Team Leader’s comments in last month’s newsletter on the problems associated with radical, far-right policies.

Thank you again for reading and for your valued support. If you are looking to assist AFFMA during 2017, please note that our fundraising efforts continue. Making a contribution is a terrific way to start the year!

Gene Waters
LLB, Grad Cert of Migration Law and Practice
Pro Bono Migration Agent,MARN:1685583
Acting CEO

From the CEO’s desk – January 2017

Greetings and welcome to the first edition of our newsletter for 2017.

I sincerely hope that everyone enjoyed their festive season and New Year break, and are relaxed and refreshed, ready to take on all that 2017 has to offer. I also take this opportunity to wish a Happy Lunar New Year to all our readers out there.

It is important to note that I, like all our readers, am very concerned with the recent events over the weekend in the United States. The politics of fear and division are deeply worrying and remind us of our important role as global citizens to resist nationalistic propaganda and ensure that compassion and kindness are extended to our fellow human beings. Make 2017 the year you take the steps to offer further assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.

Again the AFFMA team and I take this opportunity to extend general thanks to the following volunteers for their assistance in 2016:

  • the whole Newsletter Team;
  • all office volunteers;
  • our volunteer Practice Managers;
  • Gene Waters, our volunteer lawyer and Acting CEO;
  • Karyn Clarke, volunteer website designer and maintenance person;
  • all board members;
  • Sabine Lorenz, Board President, volunteer lawyer, migration agent, and business and leadership coach;
  • all volunteer migration agents;
  • all our supporters and donors; and
  • everyone else who contributed to AFFMA last year.

If you are looking to assist AFFMA during 2017, please note that our fundraising efforts continue. Making a New Year’s contribution is a terrific way to give back in the season of giving.

Joël Gédéon
Juris Doctor, Master HumRights Law, Master Int’l Law, DipLegPrac.JP
CEO

Lawyer # 87472
Pro Bono Migration Agent, MARN: 1066986

From the board President’s desk – December 2016

This has been a year of great commitment at AFFMA. Our team of 25 volunteers have done an amazing job under the leadership of Joël Gédéon, our CEO, of managing AFFMA, including running the day-to-day office, writing and implementing policies, maintaining the website and electronic services, undertaking research, writing and editing our newsletter, and ensuring that AFFMA is growing and developing. Joël’s daily leadership, support, and involvement at AFFMA meant that volunteers were able to learn and develop, leading some to obtain paid work in their chosen field.

On behalf of the Board, I take this opportunity to congratulate our CEO, Joël Gédéon, on his Admission as Lawyer to the Supreme Court on 06 December 2016.

We all enjoyed working together and we look forward to another productive year in 2017.
Best wishes to everyone for the festive season and the coming new year.

Many Kind Regards,
Sabine Lorenz
Board President

From the CEO’s desk – December 2016

Welcome to the December 2016 newsletter, which has been sent out a week later than usual so we can share our latest triumphs and publicly recognise our volunteers for their hard work this year.

I would like to announce that after a long road, I was admitted to the legal profession as a solicitor on 06 December 2016. This is a proud moment for me, and I look forward to offering expanded services to the refugees we assist at AFFMA.

Yesterday the office volunteer team celebrated another successful year with a pleasant lunch. I would like to thank all those who helped our office run smoothly this year, including our highly professional Practice Manager Daniel Fang (pictured), who won the CEO’s Volunteer of the Year Award, our second Practice Manager Gavin Durbridge, a tech savvy who worked tirelessly to incorporate Google Drive into our existing system, our receptionists Tim Su, Erin Logie, and Shezza Khan, whose marketing strategies, suggestions and dedication to AFFMA are unparalleled, our Graphic Designer Devi Sutarsi, who designed our new email signature and award logo and last but not least our compassionate and committed Administrator, Lawyer-Migration Agent, and Acting CEO Gene Waters.

AFFMA’s OFFICE VOLUNTEERS (07 December 2016)

Last night we also hosted a Christmas dinner for the AFFMA board, newsletter team, and bookkeepers. I would like to offer a huge thank you to the newsletter team (James Gounis, Libby Wright, Jesika Haangana, Vijhai Utheyan, Megan Sturges, and Ariza Arif), the board members (Sabine Lorenz, President, Sherlene Heng, Secretary, David Barton, Treasurer, Karyn Clarke, Communication Director, Jesika Ha’angana, Social Media Director, and Ammar Hamad, PR Manager), and our bookkeepers (Edi Soysa and Angie Zhu).

DINNER WITH SOME AFFMA’s BOARD MEMBERS (07 December 2016, Atom Restaurant, Newtown

Please click this link to meet all our board members:
http://www.FreeMigrationAgents.org.au/affma-board-members/

I take this opportunity to thank our past clients and volunteers for keeping in touch with us throughout 2016: Lauren Lamarque (Newsletter Team Member), Holly Zhu and Jessica Craft (Practice Managers), and Warren Oakes (Board Treasurer) etc.

Finally, on behalf of everyone here at AFFMA, we wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year. While you celebrate the festive season, please be grateful for the safe and prosperous lives we have here in Australia. It is important to remember that, apart from the traditional owners of this land, we are all either immigrants ourselves or descended from immigrants, be they convicts, economic migrants, or refugees.

There are currently over 60 million refugees displaced worldwide, many of whom are now preparing for a long, harsh European winter. Our thoughts are with them all during this time.

Please be advised that our office will be closed from Monday 12 December 2016 to Tuesday 31 January 2017 inclusive. The office will resume normal hours on Wednesday 01 February 2017. The newsletter team will also be taking a break, and our next newsletter will be out on 01 February 2017.

Thank you again for your support throughout 2016. Please consider donating $35 only this festive season which will pay the application fee for one refugee. (See below under ‘ Sponsor a Refugee’. Happy holidays.

Joël Gédéon
Juris Doctor, Master HumRights Law, Master Int’l Law, DipLegPrac.JP
CEO
Admitted Lawyer

Pro Bono Migration Agent
MARN: 1066986

From the CEO’s desk – 30th of August 2016

Dear Valued Readers,

from-the-ceos-desk-30th-of-august-2016Welcome to the August edition of our monthly newsletter. This month we focus on the Nauru files, with particular emphasis on the sheer volume of reports that remain to be investigated by the Australian authorities. We also hear about the first ever Refugee Olympic Team, and the failure of the mainstream Australian media to adequately report on their stories of resilience.

Finally, we provide further inspiring refugee success stories, proof that refugees and asylum seekers can contribute significantly to Australian society.

I am pleased to announce that as of 3 September 2016, AFFMA will be in its fourth year of operation. This is an historic achievement, particularly as we are an organisation that does not receive any public funding. As such, we need your donations to continue our invaluable work. Unlike many other refugee and asylum seeker support services, AFFMA is solely run by volunteers. Everyone involved in AFFMA, from the office staff to the migration agents, volunteer their time and experience to assist in this worthwhile cause. It truly is a remarkable feeling to help an asylum seeker obtain protection in Australia, particularly when all those involved volunteered their time for the cause.

All of us at AFFMA appreciate the difficulties of managing family, work, and social lives in today’s fast-paced society. If you are not yourself able to volunteer in this field, but are passionate about the issues the AFFMA newsletter canvases, or simply support a more compassionate response to the humanitarian crisis here in Australia, we call on you to donate to AFFMA to ensure we can continue to provide care and support to refugees and asylum seekers.

The initial funds we secured in 2013 to keep AFFMA going have long since dried up. Every donation over $2 is tax deductible and will allow AFFMA to continue providing services to some of the most vulnerable individuals in our current political climate. Any donation is greatly appreciated. Please consider making a contribution.

I wish everyone a pleasant month.

Joël Gédéon, Juris Doctor, Master HumRights Law, Master Int’l Law, DipLegPrac. JP
CEO

Pro Bono Migration Agent
MARN: 1066986

From the CEO’s desk – 30th of July 2016

let us all combine - refugee weekDear Valued Readers,

Welcome to the latest edition of our volunteer newsletter. I will keep my introduction short this week as the coverage in this issue is quite detailed. We hear from a refugee who has received a Protection Visa thanks to the hardworking team at AFFMA, provide a refresher on Australia’s obligations towards refugees under international human rights law, discuss some of the outcomes of the federal election and their potential impacts for refugees, provide the latest refugee news both globally and locally, and learn about an entrepreneurial Afghani refugee in our monthly Notable Australian Refugees segment.

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to donate if you can to help fund the terrific volunteer work undertaken at our organisation.

Joël Gédéon, Juris Doctor, Master HumRights Law, Master Int’l Law, JP
CEO

Pro Bono Migration Agent
MARN: 1066986

From the CEO’s desk

CEO-messageDear Valued Readers,

Welcome to the May edition of the AFFMA Newsletter.

Since the last newsletter, an election campaign has begun in Australia. Over the past decade or two, refugee and asylum seeker issues have been hotly contested political issues at federal elections.

This month’s edition outlines the policy platforms of the three main political parties.

From a compassionate viewpoint, it is the Greens that has the most progressive policy stance on refugee issues.

The Liberal National Coalition and the Labor Party have policies with varying levels of compassion; however, both support the detention of refugees genuinely trying to seek asylum within Australia’s borders.

Understanding the policy positions may help you further comprehend the nature and scale of the refugee and asylum seeker issues that face our region, and the globe more generally.

Building on the great feedback we received following our segment on successful Australian refugees, and in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Refugee Week (as celebrated in Australia) which runs from 19 to 25 June 2016 we have decided to keep this as a regular feature of our newsletter to continue to reinforce the valuable contribution that refugees have had and continue to have on Australian society.

This week we follow the journey of a Vietnamese refugee turned comedian and a European Jewish refugee turned successful and world-renowned Australian artist.

I would also like to take this further opportunity to remind you that AFFMA’s 2016 Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 22 June at 5pm at our Newtown Office.

I would also like to remind all readers that our permanent volunteer migration agent-lawyer and transformational life coach continues to offer business and leadership coaching to business people and those aspiring to start their own business whether in the migration field or any other field.

Please also be aware that AFFMA receives a number of local and overseas inquiries every week from non-asylum seekers/ refugees.

If you are interested in referrals from us, please send us an email to <info@affma.org.au> with your background and area of expertise as well as a membership form if you are not a member.

AFFMA is also looking for migration agents who are willing to complete a Protection Visa application from beginning to end on a pro bono basis either at your office/home or our office in Newtown.

AFFMA is an Approved Voluntary Organisation by the Office of the MARA. Agents volunteering at our organisation can claim one CPD point for every three hours of pro bono work.

One last point of housekeeping, our office will be closed from Monday 6 June to Friday 1 July 2016inclusive as most of our volunteers are students-at-law and they need to prepare and take their exams during June.

Joël Gédéon, JP, Master of Human Rights Law & Policy, Master of International Law
CEO
MARN: 1066986