scoa maia

At the request of the Australian Government, the National Children’s Commissioner led the development of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, which are based on the ten child safe standards recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The National Principles have a broader scope than sexual abuse and cover other forms of harm. They are grounded in a child rights approach, which recognises children and young people as active participants.  They were developed in consultation with national sector peak bodies, national advocacy and research organisations, Commonwealth, state and territory governments and with children and young people themselves.

The Settlement Council of Australia (SCOA); Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA); the National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA); and the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) released a new report outlining the significant obstacles faced by refugees with disabilities who are living in Australia in February 2019.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Information and Settlement Services International have established a new National Multilingual Disability Hub (hotline and website) that is available to assist participants from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds who speak another language other than English.

The department has released a discussion paper (attached below) which asks interested parties to consider a range of issues that impact the current migration program and also planning into the future. It sets out a number of questions, which can guide the development of submissions and are reproduced here for reference.

The Federal Government’s Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme commenced on 10 December 2018. This is a new scheme that requires the registration of individuals or entities who conduct activities on behalf of a ‘foreign principal’ (a foreign government or political organisation), for the purpose of influencing Australian political or governmental processes. The scheme does not prohibit foreign influence, but aims to increase transparency regarding the nature, level and extent of foreign influence within the Australian political process.

The Newly Arrived Resident’s Waiting Period is the amount of time new migrants must wait before they can access certain welfare payments from the Australian Government. Despite advocacy across the sector, there have been increases to waiting periods to access welfare payments for skilled and family migrants who are granted a permanent visa on or after 1 January 2019.

The Employment Services Expert Advisory Panel’s report I Want to Work: Employment Services 2020 is now available.