Lama died near a busy thoroughfare on the edge of Sydney\u2019s CBD, but police believe his body lay without detection for up to a week.<\/p>\n
Lama came to Australia to study from a remote village in Nepal, a move his family hoped may help lift them out of poverty, but records suggest his visa expired and he failed to renew his Nepalese passport in 2023.<\/p>\n
His death has highlighted gaps in the services available to non-residents, who came to Australia legally but have lapsed visas in the ensuing years.<\/p>\n
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n Non-residents are further trapped in homelessness because they cannot legally work, cannot access crisis accommodation, social housing, healthcare or Centrelink, and many non-government organisations and charities are too stretched to provide outreach services.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the federal housing minister, Clare O\u2019Neil, said the death was \u201cbeyond tragic\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cBikram\u2019s case is a reminder of how important it is to work closely our state government counterparts and community service providers to make sure that people don\u2019t fall through the cracks \u2013 either with mental health support, visa support or crisis support,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said it provided targeted support to bridging visa holders awaiting the outcome of a protection visa application, and helped non-citizens experiencing hardship hampering their ability to resolve their migration status.<\/p>\n The department also provided support to non-citizens to leave the country, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cNon-citizens who have exhausted all avenues to remain in Australia are expected to depart voluntarily.\u201d<\/p>\n The New South Wales housing and homelessness minister, Rose Jackson, said she acknowledged there were gaps in providing support to non-residents, but noted that he had been identified by an outreach team and referred to the inner-city non-resident\u2019s homelessness support group, run by St Vincent\u2019s Homelessness<\/a> Health & City of Sydney Council.<\/p>\n \u201cI am deeply saddened to hear about the tragic death of Mr Bikram Lama,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cToo often when a member of our homeless community dies, their passing does not receive the recognition it deserves. Every life is sacred and every life lost is a tragedy and I pass on my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr Lama.<\/p>\n \u201cI do acknowledge there are gaps for people without residency status in our service systems and have been engaged with local advocacy groups to explore solutions. I have met with individuals in this circumstance and heard their powerful stories. I am committed to working with these advocates and the commonwealth government on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Both the City of Sydney and St Vincents have been lobbying state and federal governments to do more to support non-residents who are trapped in homelessness.<\/p>\n They say they have \u201cconsistently\u201d asked state and federal governments to review homelessness policies and give people who are not residents access to crisis shelters and housing options.<\/p>\n \u201cWe continue to call on the NSW government to fund specialist homelessness services to provide temporary accommodation and housing pathways to those facing hidden or invisible homelessness and people who do not have residency status and so slip through the cracks,\u201d Sydney\u2019s lord mayor, Clover Moore, said.<\/p>\n The federal government has responsibility for determining visa status but the state government has primary responsibility for housing.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bikram_Lama_St_James___fronts_loop--4bbdf7d2-6288-4da5-aef8-c05ad21170a0-1.0.0000000.jpg\")
The entrance to St James station. Lama’s body was found in the bushes above three months earlier.<\/p>\n