Background
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) is a not-for-profit organisation providing a wide range of essential support for asylum seekers and refugees in Australia. Founded in 2001, the ASRC has grown to encompass a large facility in Footscray, Melbourne, that offers over 40 services for asylum seekers and refugees. Within the centre, there is a Foodbank and kitchen, health clinic, human rights law program, vocational pathway program, social services, and staff offices. The ASRC is wholly independent and is supported by a network of dedicated staff and volunteers assisting around 7,000 people seeking asylum each year.
Challenge
The ASRC provides support to people who are facing crisis, who may be escaping persecution, or who have been processed through detention facilities. The site is also open to the public, which while essential for the ASRC’s service, presented a risk to their team of staff and volunteers.
The ASRC identified a need to improve security and separation between staff, volunteers, clients, and the public. As many clients at ASRC face extreme hardship, or have come from detention facilities, it was crucially important that any potential risk be mitigated. However, the solution needed to not only address security, but also needed to be simple to manage. The ASRC needed a system that could flexibly manage a large number of staff, with different shifts and arrival times, that could be installed on internal pre-existing doors and would not impact the site’s ability to provide a welcoming space to its community – ultimately balancing a mix of safety, legal privacy, openness, and inclusivity. Lastly, the solution needed to fit within a constrained budget.
With a goal in mind, but unsure where to begin, ASRC reached out to the team at Secure Your World, a security marketplace site administered by LSC, Salto’s Australian distributor. LSC team member Josh Wilson handled the enquiry, and introduced ASRC to Salto Certified Partner, Sentry Locksmiths.
Shane at Sentry Locksmiths explains how they tailored their recommendation, “After understanding what ASRC needed from an access solution, we felt that Salto would be the best fit. We recommended the Salto Space solution, and walked the team at ASRC through what it could achieve for them.”
Solution
Salto Space was installed across nine access points at the site – covering external doors, reception and internal doors. All areas within which staff/public separation was needed.
Salto access points were installed on all external entry points to stop unauthorized public entry, as well as at reception. Operated with release buttons, the team at reception are now able to greet newcomers before providing access to the site.
Two secure staff locations were created at the rear of the facility for staff and volunteers, ensuring safety, separation, and privacy from clients and the public. Shane explains, “The Salto product was designed and installed by us to allow these areas to create different levels of separation and privacy throughout the facility.”
A previously unused automatic rear door is now also a part of the system. By installing a Design XS Reader connected to the new Wireless BlueNET single door controller, ASRC now use this door as an alternative staff entry point. This was requested in the event that the main entryways could be potentially threatened or deemed unsafe.
Of the software features, ASRC is making use of the different locking functions for standard/timed and office modes, as well as the Database sync, which automatically inputs staff and volunteers into the Salto system, reducing the administrative load. Audit trail features have created an added sense of security and accountability, with the team able to check who has accessed which spaces and when.
Ultimately, Salto has allowed for a seamless transition to a secure and safe system allowing audit control along with timed access
Key Benefits
- The team feels safe: With all key entryways covered, ASRC’s team are now able to use spaces that are dedicated to them – creating additional peace of mind, security, and privacy.
- Simple and discreet: The Salto system is manageable in the background, with staff and volunteers still able to easily access the places they need to. The centre can serve the community in an open and welcoming way without security becoming a concern for their clients.
- Emergency management: In the case of a threat on site, ASRC is now assured that they can separate their team from a dangerous situation.
- Simple management: The software features such as database sync ensure that access management is simple.
- Flexible real-time access management: Access points can be programmed to operate to the centre hours, and team member credentials can be programmed to provide access only during that member’s shift time, and only to parts of the centre required. If an access credential is lost, then it can be cancelled in real-time.