Refugee Action Collective (Victoria)

RAC has organised around issues they deem inhumane by the Australian Government in relation to asylum seekers, such as organising protests and vigils[1][2][3] as well as being involved in more militant action such as breaking out and hiding detainees.

[4] RAC was set up in late 2000 by a range of activists in response to the former Howard government's policies toward the mandatory detention of refugees and the issuing of temporary protection visas which they branded as racist.

[5] RAC activists were involved in breaking out detainees from the Woomera Detention Centre in 2002,[4] protesting outside the Baxter Detention Centre in 2005[1] and protests against the Tampa incident of 2001, where 438 asylum seekers were denied entry into Australia by the government.

[6][7] By 2009, RAC began focusing their attention on the Rudd-Gillard government's position on Tamil asylum seekers.

The move followed the government's decision to freeze processing of all claims by asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, and the re-opening of the Curtin Detention Centre.