The Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme (ASAS) provides financial assistance and health care to eligible asylum seekers who have been waiting for six months or more for their Protection Visa applications to be finalised by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs

Currently operating from five Red Cross State and Territory offices, and outposted to a further five locations, caseworkers in the scheme assist people to meet a wide range of needs including health support, counselling, accommodation, material aid, education and legal referrals, and social support.

Assistance under the ASA Scheme is not generally available to Protection Visa applicants seeking a review of their case through the Refugee Review Tribunal.

Since July 1999 eligibility has been extended to include some review applicants in financial hardship who are unable to meet their basic needs and who have no continuing and adequate support. Eligibility criteria is in place to assess these cases for an exemption.

In 2003-2004 the Scheme assisted 1,085 eligible asylum seekers. The ASAS is a Commonwealth Government scheme administered by Red Cross.