There are several refugee and asylum-seeker agencies that exist to help people in mainland detention or who have just left the island centres

Nauru files: how you can help people held in detention by Australia

This week the Guardian published the Nauru files, a cache of more than 2,000 leaked documents from inside the Nauru detention system.

There are more than 400 people on Nauru, and more than 800 on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

The files have revealed a shocking level of trauma and abuse – both alleged and witnessed – occurring inside the Nauru facility, and other allegations continue to emerge from Manus.

Since the Salvation Army and Save the Children left, there are no longer any charities or benevolent organisations working offshore, but there are human rights and legal organisations working from Australia, as well as several refugee and asylum-seeker agencies that exist to help people in mainland detention or who have just left detention.

Here are the main organisations where you can offer your support:

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• The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre provides services to more than 1,200 asylum seekers in the community, including shelter, food, medical care and legal assistance. The organisation takes one-off or monthly donations, volunteers or people who wish to get involved in its activism.



• The Refugee Council of Australia is a peak body for about 200 organisations and more than 1,000 individual members. It conducts advocacy and support, policy development and research, and community education. It invites donations as well as activism, volunteers and involvement in the Australia Says Welcome campaign.

• Rise is a community organisation aimed at supporting refugees and asylum seekers within Australia, and campaigning for policy change. It is run and governed by refugees, asylum seekers and former detainees, and helps people in the early stages of settlement, including the areas of housing, welfare and employment. Refugees and asylum seekers have access to a drop-in centre, a food bank and a resource library.

• The Human Rights Law Centre is a not-for-profit legal organisation that supports and defends the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. It conducts research and has run and been involved in legal cases and advocacy campaigns to improve the conditions inside detention and the treatment of people who seek asylum in Australia.

• The Refugee Advice and Caseworker Service is a legal centre providing free and specialised legal assistance to asylum seekers and to refugees seeking to reunite with their families. The RACS has helped 2,500 people but estimate there are at least 9,000 who need assistance in New South Wales alone. Its government funding was slashed in 2014. You can offer financial assistance.

• Perth’s Humanitarian Group provides a similar service, offering migration assistance, legal advice and education. It takes donations, volunteers, and membership support.

• In Queensland the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service is another independent, not-for-profit community legal centre for refugees and asylum seekers. Its small staff assist as many people as they can who appear before the Department of Immigration, Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Review Tribunal.

• The Refugee Action Coalition Sydney, established in 1999, campaigns for the rights of asylum seekers and runs grassroots action and activism. It holds regular meetings in Sydney.

• The Darwin asylum seeker support and advocacy network worked with asylum seekers in detention at the nearby Wickham Point immigration centre, until it was recently closed. It also provides support and advocacy on behalf of asylum seekers and other detainees.



• Also in Darwin, the Melaleuca refugee centre is a community organisation that assists refugees who wish to settle in the Northern Territory and provides support services and referrals for people who have suffered trauma and torture.

• Australian Refugee Volunteers works with children and families in Sydney, running programs and taking them on regular outings to help them settle in Australia, socialise with other children, and improve physical and mental health.

The Brigidine Asylum Seeker Project provides support and advocacy for asylum seekers in onshore detention in Melbourne. Members have assisted with making the detention environment more comfortable, and have provided baby items for new mothers. They also assist people with settling into a place when they leave the facility. The BASP takes financial donations as well as items such as food, cleaning products, and phone cards for detainees. They are also happy to hear from anyone who may be able to provide employment for a new refugee or asylum seeker, or who wants to volunteer to teach English.