Dr. John Lannon:

There are a number of related areas of concern for us. Turning to the issue of vulnerability, we need greater clarity around who is defined as vulnerable.

One of the other aspects of the screening process is the reference to cultural mediators and the fact that what they are expected to do is quite broad. It is not appropriate in the context of the screening process and they should not take the place of legal advisers or be tasked with communicating matters of law to applicants. That needs to be done by suitably trained personnel. There also need to be appropriately trained interpreters in place. We have concerns that there is too much being lumped into the role of cultural mediators. They do not always have the cultural competency or cultural literacy to be able to support the determining authority as well as the applicant. The consequences of incorrectly noting details on the screening form has, as we said in our opening statement, very dire consequences for people along the line, so it is fundamentally important that that initial stage be got right.