The Tamil asylum seeker set fire on himself when the Australian government had froze his application, refugee advocates of Australia said condemning the conduct of the Australian government over the death of the Sri Lankan Asylum seeker.  

Leorsin Seemanpillai, 29, was living in Geelong waiting for his protection visa application to be processed by the Australian government. He had arrived in Australia by boat in January 2013.

He died on Saturday night, after suffering burns to 90 percent of his body.

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's spokesperson Pamela Curr had said that Seemanpillai waited for 6 months before he was even allowed to make a claim for refugee status, and even after 18 months still had not had an official interview.

"We don't know but maybe Leo would still be alive if his claims were being processed in a timely way... These direct-entry people were all ‘frozen’."

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young also slammed the current Australian government's policies, saying that "it's clear that Leo was a casualty of the system", Tamil Guardian reported.

Trevor Grant from the Tamil Refugee Council said, "He knew if he was sent back he'd face persecution from the military... He's been in limbo ever since he got here in terms of his visa situation, and this coupled with his depression and fear of being sent back." 

Australia's Immigration minister Scott Morrison, who issued a statement soon after the death of the Tamil asylum seeker, did not say whether the government's policies on asylum seekers led to Seemanpillai’s death. However, the Australian government has repeatedly announced that it would not issue Visa for those who arrive in Australia by boat, illegally.