Advocates urge help for asylum seekers

Asylum seekers need Australia's help, not hostility, and two cases of refugees setting themselves on fire in Nauru shows the effects of the government's inhumane treatment, advocates say.

A 21-year-old Somali woman, Hodan Yasin, remains in a critical condition in a Brisbane hospital after setting herself alight at the Nauru detention centre on Monday.

Last week a 23-year-old Iranian, Omid Masoumali, set himself on fire during a visit by United Nations refugee officials to the island.

He died in Brisbane Hospital on Friday.

A group of Melbourne residents are holding a vigil on Thursday for Ms Yasin and Mr Masoumali at the Department of Immigration's Melbourne office on Lonsdale Street between 12pm and 7pm.

The group, which regularly visits Melbourne's detention centres, says conditions are worsening in Australia, let alone on offshore centres.

"These friends of ours are increasingly being treated as if they are criminals in a high security prison, but they are, in fact, terribly vulnerable people who have fled conflict, and need our care, not hostility," vigil organiser Sally Hunter said.

"The conditions on Manus and Nauru are pushing people to the edge of their lives."

The Refugee Action Coalition will also be at the vigil.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.