scoa maia

The Settlement Council of Australia puts forward in this pre-budget submission a proposal for increasing the economic participation of migrants and refugees in Australia. It is widely acknowledged that migration will be a key plank of the recovery from COVID-19.1 However, in order to maximise the benefits of migration, it is essential that the policy and program settings are optimised to promote independence and economic participation.

Digital inclusion supports independence and social connectedness. Benefits include improved access to education and employment, health and wellbeing information, government and financial services, and reduced cost of services.

This toolkit has been developed to help settlement services and community organisations that support people from migrant and refugee backgrounds to settle in Australia. The toolkit is particularly aimed at smaller organisations, that might need some guidance to understand and
apply the various laws, rules and regulations that govern organisations in Australia. Some of these organisations might be receiving community capacity building support from a settlement agency.

The COVID-19 global pandemic, declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March 2020, 1 has threatened the health and wellbeing of millions of people around the world. In every state of emergency, there must be appropriate and effective communication strategies in place
to get essential information to all members of the community. Addressing world leaders, the WHO Director-General pointed out in his media briefing from March 2020: ‘Communicate with your people about the risks and how they can protect themselves – this is everybody’s
business.’

The Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) congratulates the Department on the New Employment Services Model initiative and welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Discussion Paper on the proposed licensing system.

In this submission SCoA outlines two pressing issues for the sector – loss of a specialised workforce, and increased refugee unemployment. The submission proposes a solution that will simultaneously address both issues, thereby leveraging the sector in Australia’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

Temporary migrants have made significant positive contributions to Australia, both economically and socially. Temporary skilled migrants ensure that skills needs are met when Australian workers are not available to fill demand, so that businesses can continue to be successful. International students and working holiday makers (both of are not considered temporary skilled migrants, but have work rights) similarly contribute significantly to our economy. Importantly, temporary migrants facilitate ongoing cultural exchange, and cultural exchanges are a large part of Australia’s identity as a diverse nation. These benefits should be recognised, and should be reflected in both policy and rhetoric around temporary migration.

Settlement services have a significant positive role to play in supporting diaspora communities as they establish their life in Australia. In this submission, SCoA identifies what positive settlement outcomes are, the role of settlement agencies in facilitating these outcomes specifically with regard to diaspora communities, and some of the barriers to providing this support.

The issue of family, domestic and sexual violence and its impact on people from refugee and migrant backgrounds has been thoroughly explored across the sector, including by organisations such as the Harmony Alliance, AWAVA, ANROWS, FECCA and others. SCoA draws on existing work by these organisations, as well as our own consultations and other feedback from our members to inform this submission.

View SCoA’s 2019-2020 highlights here