At least 25 AIDS delegates seeking asylum in Australia
Some of the delegates who were expected to attend the AIDS conference in Melbourne died on board flight MH17. (AAP)
At least 25 delegates who attended the AIDS conference in Melbourne failed to board their flights home last week and are now seeking asylum in Australia.
The delegates, mostly from African countries including Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia contacted refugee support agencies in Melbourne after deciding not to return home, The Age reports.
Many of the delegates now have nowhere to live and no money to pay for accommodation.
Homelessness service HomeGround chief executive Heather Holst said her organisation was helping 14 delegates find housing.
"It's hard though when people do not have any money at all," Dr Holst told The Age.
The asylum seekers are holding tourist visas which expire in the next two months.
It is not known if any of the asylum seekers are HIV-positive.
After the 2006 AIDS conference in Toronto more than 130 HIV-positive South African women sought asylum in Canada.
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