Asylum seeker Habib Masoomi is helping build Australia's future, but he says his adopted home won't guarantee he'll be around to enjoy it.
Mr Masoomi, who works in construction in Sydney, arrived in Australia by boat in 2013 after being persecuted by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
A member of the persecuted Hazara community, Mr Masoomi has a safe haven enterprise visa, which allows him to work.
It is, however, a temporary visa that prevents holders from bringing family members to Australia.
His wife and 13-year-old twin sons also fled Afghanistan. They are in India as refugees.
"Like me, many asylum seekers are involved in building motorways, we build people's homes and we work on farms and factories to make the future of Australia," Mr Masoomi said.
"But the Australian government has taken our future from us."
Mr Masoomi is one of more than 5,000 asylum seekers and refugees from Afghanistan in Australia placed in temporary arrangements after arriving by boat, according to the Refugee Council of Australia.
A Senate committee on 21 January that the government review its policies over how Afghan asylum seekers and refugees already in Australia might resettle permanently.
The report also recommended the government give urgent assistance to evacuate Afghans who worked with Australia and remain at risk.
The Taliban surged back to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after two decades of fighting against US-led coalition forces. The swift change in the regime has prompted an unprecedented number of visa applications from people seeking resettlement.
The re-taking of Afghanistan by the Taliban has led to a huge increase of people seeking permanent resettlement in Australia. Source: AP/Kyodo
The government announced on 21 January that it would places to Afghan nationals over the next four years.
"Afghan citizens have historically been a prominent caseload in Australia's Offshore Humanitarian Program, and have been in the top five countries of origin over the last five years," a Department of Home Affairs representative said in a statement.
The federal government plans to respond to the report once it has studied its recommendations.
While the government has said asylum seekers in Australia would not be required to return to Afghanistan, it also has a long-standing policy of not resettling those who arrive by boat.
Abdul Khaliq Alizada, a Hazara community leader in Sydney, said people like Mr Masoomi are fulfilling a vital role building the nation.
"They are not just a group of asylum seekers, they are part of Australian society who contribute to the economy of this country," Mr Alizada said.
"The Australian government is looking for people to fill skill shortages. We have very skilled people who can fill that gap but they suffer psychologically."
Australia is facing a widespread skills shortage, caused in part by global travel restrictions that countries have imposed since early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government indicated last year that the annual migration intake could be scaled up to help fill vacancies in key industries.
Australia's asylum seeker policies recently attracted increased attention after tennis star Novak Djokovic was detained by immigration authorities, and later deported, after failing to meet the country's vaccination requirements for international visitors.
Protesters outside Melbourne's Park Hotel, where a number of asylum seekers are being held. Source: AAP/James Ross
Dozens of refugees and asylum seekers remain at the Melbourne hotel where Djokovic was detained, including detainees flown to Australia from Manus Island and Nauru for urgent medical care under now-defunct medevac laws.
In Sydney, Mr Masoomi works long shifts as a bricklayer. He said his life is marked by "sleeping and working" and his daily phone conversations with his family.
"When I am speaking to my children, they tell me Australia is a big country. They ask, 'why won't it accept you? What's your sin and crime?' I don't have any answer."
Mr Masoomi, 43, said his best years had been wasted while being separated from his family for the past eight years.
"I should have been with my family to see my children grow up."
