Dozens of asylum seekers have begun a week-long protest at the electorate office of Home Affairs minister Clare O'Neil, demanding resolution of their visa status.
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Mahboobeh Mirshahi, an organiser of the Melbourne sit-in, says there are between 10-12,000 asylum seekers left in legal limbo in Australia with no clear pathway to residency.
The former coalition government established an assessment scheme to resolve the visa applications of more than 30,000 asylum seekers who arrived by boat between 2012 and 2014.
The fast-track system restricts the types of visas people can access and limits their avenues of appeal.
But the policy has been criticised for failing to live up to its name. On average, it takes up to six years for people to receive their first temporary visa.
"We've been here for more than a decade...and all our cases are stuck between the Immigration Assessment Authority and the Federal Court," Ms Mirshahi, who came by boat in 2013, told AAP.
The 42-year-old nurse left Iran with her family to escape discrimination as a religious minority and was later detained on Christmas Island for several months before being released into the community on bridging visas.
"The waiting is killing us. We urgently need action from the government," she said.
Ms Mirshahi lauded the government's decision in February to grant permanent residency visas to 19,000 asylum seekers on temporary protection visas and asked for the minister to take similar action for the cohort of asylum seekers on bridging visas.
Her daughter Tanya said feeling different from her peers because of visa insecurity has taken a toll on her mental health.
"Being a teenager is already hard enough ... but advocating for our rights constantly has added a whole bunch of stress onto my life," said the 16-year-old Melbourne high school student.
"I've been here since I was six years old so I consider myself fully Australian. I grew up with everything my peers grew up with like ABC Kids ... but I just feel kind of alienated from my friends because they have some of the rights I don't have."
The Iranian nurse who works in a pathology lab said she hoped the government would capitalise on the skills of refugees by granting them permanent visas.
She worked as a frontline worker at the height of the pandemic amid lockdowns in Victoria.
"I stood up with Australia at a time of great risk and hardship and now I expect the Australian government to stand with me".
AAP has contacted Ms O'Neil for comment.
Australian Associated Press
