AIDS delegates to apply for asylum

A mother and son are among delegates who stayed behind from an international AIDS conference intending to apply for asylum in Australia.

Up to 30 delegates did not fly home after the conference ended on July 25 and have asked the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) for help.

If the delegates, mostly from African countries but some also from Asia, apply for asylum, they will live in the community while their claims are assessed.

ASRC justice programs director Hayley Mansfield said the delegates were given basic legal advice on how to apply for protection, and where they could find help.

"Housing's been the biggest issue," Ms Mansfield told AAP on Monday.

Homeless accommodation service HomeGround has put 19 of the delegates into emergency housing around Melbourne, including a mother and her son.

HomeGround chief executive Heather Holst said a group of delegates came in on the last day of the conference on July 25 to ask for help.

"That was the first cluster, and then people came in over last week and are still coming in today," Dr Holst told AAP.

"They come to us for the housing piece. We don't help with the other things about seeking asylum."

Ms Mansfield said a similar thing had happened after the Homeless World Cup in 2008, where a number of competitors stayed behind to apply for asylum.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said she could not comment on the delegates seeking asylum.

"For privacy reasons, we do not discuss individual applications," she said.

"All claims for protection are considered on their individual merits and according to law."

While asylum seekers who arrive by boat are processed offshore, asylum seekers who arrive by plane live in the community while their claims are assessed.

The 20th International AIDS Conference was held in Melbourne from July 20 to 25 and included an address from former US president Bill Clinton.