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SCoA is grateful for the opportunity to make a submission in response to the Discussion Paper on Australia’s Humanitarian Program for 2022-2023. Australia’s Humanitarian Program ensures Australia meets our humanitarian commitment to resettle refugees. Australia’s world class settlement services play a crucial role in supporting humanitarian entrants as they begin their life in Australia.
CMRC, in partnership with Macquarie Community College, designed the Digital Literacy Program to provide digital literacy skills to members of the Armenian Community, all of whom are refugees, so they could become better connected with the wider community. The program learning outcomes include using a digital device, sending emails, using Facebook and other social media platforms, online shopping and banking, online safety and security, using myGov and Centrelink, and general access to online information.
SCoA’s submission to the Coordinator-General for Migrant Services’ recently released discussion paper: ‘Next Steps to Improve Australia’s Settlement and Integration of Refugees’ has been published. This submission makes 27 recommendations in total, identifying 10 as priority recommendations. Some of the recommendations are broad – such as having greater clarity in the principles and outcomes underpinning services; while others are much more specific, such as broadening the eligibility criteria to access settlement services.
This submission is informed by extensive consultation, including a meeting of our CEO Collective and three roundtables hosted over the course of May. SCoA has also drawn upon consultations over the past 24 months, such as our ongoing co-design of a vision and roadmap for settlement services, 220 one on one meetings, and research with over 1500 new arrivals.
We want to see all migrants and refugees thriving in
Australia, and all parts of Australian society valuing and celebrating
diversity.
The Toowoomba Settlement Engagement and Transition
Support team facilitate a weekly group for vulnerable
Yazidi/Ezidi women. The group provides a warm referral point to
case management intervention and group education sessions to
promote safety and wellbeing.
With funding from the Australian Department of Health, The Settlement Council of Australia
(SCOA) has worked with member organisations to provide culturally relevant and timely opportunities for CALD community members to access COVID-19 vaccine information. This report details the program and future recommendations.
SCoA’s submission to the National Anti-Racism Framework can be found below:
SCOA welcomes the Australian Government’s evacuation of over 4,000 individuals from Afghanistan in August 2021. The rapid implementation of the 449 visa and related processes is commendable, and through implementing this process quicky, many lives were saved. We further welcome the Government’s decision to ensure all evacuees, irrespective of visa status or whether they were a citizen, were eligible for support through the Humanitarian Settlement Program. While below we provide several recommendations for how support to Afghan evacuees can be improved moving forward, and for planning for future intakes, we should not lose sight of the humanitarian impact of this evacuation process.
The MoneyGirl course is an evidence-based financial education program designed especially for young people in Australia, with a focus on young women from migrant and refugee backgrounds. The program consists of 6 workshops, and each workshop covers one topic that will become a key building block in their path to financial independence.
MercyCare, alongside a range of partners, have developed a model to support newly arrived migrants and refugees to access suitable employment by offering a range of pathways. This includes employment streams, including employer matching and work via social enterprises, and a microenterprise pathways. The project is a collaboration between different service providers and local businesses and initiatives, and collaboration has been key to the success of the program.