Immigration Department funding cuts mean the Red Cross will cut 500 asylum seeker support jobs.

The charity says it will have almost no ability to assist asylum seekers released into the community after the Federal Government slashed its budget.

At least 500 and possibly as many as 800 jobs will be cut from migrant support programs around the country over the next 10 months.

Australian Red Cross chief executive Robert Tickner told the ABC he was “deeply saddened and disappointed” by the decision.

“The [result of the] introduction of a new service model to respond to the department's new requirements will be a loss of many skilled and caring staff,” he said.

Currently figures show over 12,000 people, mostly families with children, use the Red Cross to help them access financial assistance, healthcare, protection visas, health and character checks.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection's revised Status Resolution Support Services will cut the number Red Cross clients down to 5,000 by June 2015.