Publications

Volunteering Australia and SCoA have released a report on their National Survey on Volunteering and Settlement in Australia. The report sets out the key findings and makes recommendations to support volunteering in the settlement sector. Volunteers are the lifeblood of Australian communities. More than 5.8 million Australians are volunteers – that is 31 per cent of the population. It’s more than double for refugees and migrants, with our research indicating that 65 per cent supported their communities through their volunteering work within the first 18 months of their arrival to Australia. Volunteering brings social inclusion, community resilience, participation and social cohesion to communities. It also helps to ward off isolation and loneliness.  Many volunteers in the settlement sector are from a migrant or refugee background. They have benefited from the volunteer work of others in their communities and use their lived experiences to help other new arrivals. Key insights from the report:

• 65 per cent of new arrivals engaged in volunteering within the first 18 months of their arrival to Australia.
• People mainly volunteer as a way to contribute to society, make friends, improve their English, and/or gain local work experience.
• There are personal and professional benefits from volunteering.
• Organisations gained many benefits from their volunteers.
• More than two-thirds of organisations surveyed reported that they and their volunteers need more formal support, and would benefit from funding for training programs, supporting material, and from forming new partnerships and sharing resources.

As one of the nine key priority areas in the National Settlement Services Outcomes Standards (NSSOS), SCoA views Justice as a vital part of settlement.  For this reason, we were pleased to host research intern Neha Prakash, who conducted research into access to justice for newly arrived people from CALD backgrounds. Her research highlighted key issues in access to justice, including barriers to justice, and case studies that demonstrate best-practice principles under the NSSOS. We welcome input from our members and other interested parties, and invite you to contact our National Office on 02 6282 8515 or info@scoa.org.au if you have any thoughts or insights. Read the initial report here.

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 report, entitled Barriers and Exclusions: the support  needs of newly arrived refugees with a disability, is based on consultations with affected individuals and service providers. It reveals that despite policy improvements which have enabled more refugees with disabilities to settle in Australia, many people still face barriers to resettlement upon arrival. The report identifies a number of hurdles for newly arrived refugees with disabilities including: access to timely assessment and support; provision of essential equipment and aides; lack of accessible and appropriate housing; inadequate support within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS); lack of culturally appropriate disability services; and lack of translating and interpreting services within disability services and the NDIS.

SCoA's 2017-18 Annual Report was launched at our Annual General Meeting on 1 November 2018.

SCoA has updated its infographic card which analyses the fundamentals of effective settlement in Australia.

SCoA has developed a useful information card which analyses the fundamentals of multiculturalism in Australia.

In September 2018 Relationships Australia released its research paper on Is Australia experiencing an epidemic of loneliness?: Findings from 16 waves of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia (HILDA) Survey.  SCOA welcomes this important report and has provided some additional comments about the experiences of loneliness among recently arrived humanitarian entrants.

Please click here to complete the survey today!

In 2018 SCoA has been actively involved in the Federal government's review of future of employment services.

SCoA's 2017-2018 Achievements Record is now available. The document catalogues SCoA's work over 2017-2018, including our key activities representing and promoting the work of the sector and supporting our members across the country. Please download the attached document for a snapshot of our work promoting the best possible settlement outcomes for migrants in Australia.

The Federal Government has proposed to increase the Newly Arrived Residents Waiting Period (NARWP) for social services payments from two years to three (and, subsequently in the 2018 Budget, to four years).

In March 2018, SCoA made a submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee outlining our concerns about the proposed increase.

Our Submission can be accessed below.

SCoA Members are invited to take part in our 2018 Online Survey covering a range of topics of importance to settlement in Australia in 2018. The survey will take just 10 minutes to complete and is open until Friday 8 June 2018. The survey is completely anonymous and is open to all staff members within SCoA member organisations. We therefore hope that members will circulate this widely and encourage staff and colleagues to complete the survey. Please click here to complete the survey today!

MEDIA RELEASE

1 May 2018

PEAK BODIES URGE INCREASED OVERSIGHT OF MIGRATION SERVICES

The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) and the Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) have joined forces to call for increased Government funding for the oversight of migration services in Australia. In a joint submission to the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Migration, the two peak bodies acknowledge the critical role played by migration agents in often-complex applications for migration but stress the detrimental impact that unregistered migration agents have on vulnerable individuals applying to visas. The Chairperson of FECCA, Mary Patetsos, said: “FECCA believes that registered migration agents are currently regulated and supported by a strong system and that the majority adhere to sector regulations and guidelines. “However, the robust regulation of migrant agents, combined with a well-resourced effort to reduce the impact of unregistered practice, is in the best interests of CALD and migrant communities and those with family members keen to migrate.” The Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) said that the role of migration agents should be acknowledged. The Chairperson of SCoA, Dewani Bakkum, said: “Our members witness firsthand the true value of the contribution made to multicultural Australia by those it welcomes as migrants, as well as the challenges those people face when attempting to settle in their new communities. “We believe that stringent regulation and accreditation of migration agents is crucial to ensure strong, safe and prosperous CALD and migrant communities. Confidence in the visa application process must be maintained.” FECCA and SCoA have recommended to the Committee that:

• The current system of regulation of migration agents be maintained, including strong registration and stringent accreditation processes, as well as swiftly enforced penalties for exploitative and unethical migration agents;
• The allocation of resources to further investigate the volumes and patterns of unregistered migration agents and education agents providing unlawful immigration services in Australia;
• A comprehensive effort be made to inform clients of migration agents of their rights as consumers, and a streamlined process for migrants to raise concerns and have them arbitrated as efficiently as possible;
• Consideration be given to additional resourcing to the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA), including the maintenance of a compensation fund for individuals who are left out of pocket as a result of unethical behaviour.

The joint submission by FECCA and SCoA can be found here. FECCA is the national peak body representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. FECCA’s role is to advocate and promote issues on behalf of our constituency to government, business and the broader community. SCoA is the national peak body for settlement. SCoA represents settlement agencies across Australia providing direct services to people of refugee and migrant background. SCoA’s goal is to help ensure the best possible settlement outcomes for migrants and refugees settling in Australia.   CONTACTS FECCA: 0403 044 216 / emma@fecca.org.au SCoA: 0434 589 493 / ceo@scoa.org.au

As one of the nine key priority areas in the National Settlement Services Outcomes Standards, we view Education as an area of paramount importance in migrant's settlement journeys. For this reason, we were pleased to host an intern from the University of Sydney, Madi Cooper, in January and February 2018. Madi conducted crucial research into the current approach across Australia to education opportunities for migrant and refugee children through primary and secondary schooling. Her research built on initial research prepared for SCoA in 2017 by another intern, Divya Kaliyaperumal, who came to SCoA through the Australian National Internship Program. Divya and Madi's work highlights the importance of education as a settlement outcome and identifies the different approaches across the country to ensuring education needs are met. Building on this research we have identified areas in need of further exploration with a view to developing a comprehensive policy approach that will help to improve outcomes. We welcome input from our members and other interested parties, and invite you to contact our National Office on 02 6282 8515 or info@scoa.org.au if you have any thoughts or insights. Read the initial report here.

Following a national consultation, SCoA has made a submission to the Department of Home Affairs consultation into planning for the 2018-19 Migration Program.

Highlighting the crucial importance of migration to Australia - both in economic and social terms - SCoA's submission calls on the government to adopt a settlement-focus towards immigration policies that will ensure the success of our Migration Program into the future.

SCoA has also used this opportunity to call for a holistic plan for the Migration Program which takes into account both global trends and Australia's needs into the future. We recommend the government learn from the successful National Settlement Framework and adopt a plan across all levels of government that will ensure our Migration Program remains flexible and dynamic.

Finally, SCoA has urged the government to review opportunities to increase access to the Migration Program for humanitarian migrants, including by investigating options to make skilled and other general visa streams more accessible and, crucially, prioritising family migration opportunities as a matter of urgency.

As a common theme across our submission, SCoA views the role of settlement services as being integral to ensuring that all new arrivals are empowered to achieve independence and become fully contributing members of the community. We see this as being the vital key to striking the best balance in our Migration Program and unlocking its full potential.

You can read SCoA's full submission here.

In Semester 2, 2017, SCoA was pleased to host a student through the Australian National Internship Program. Rebecca is studying psychology at the ANU and embarked on some research into the mental health of refugees and the impacts of social engagement. You can download a copy of her research below. A number of SCoA members provided valuable insights to Rebecca's research and we thank them for their time. If you have any further thoughts about this issue, or would like to discuss it further, please contact our National Office on 02 6282 8515 or info@scoa.org.au.

A key objective of SCoA in recent years has been to develop a set of national standards for the delivery of settlement services which identify target outcomes across 9 key areas of settlement service delivery. The National Settlement Services Outcomes Standards (“NSSOS”) were officially launched at the International Conference of the SCoA in Melbourne in May 2016 and identify nine areas of equal importance that enable members to benchmark their service delivery against key practical considerations that contribute to successful settlement. Rather than attempting to impose new regulatory burdens on agencies operating in the settlement services sector, these standards reflect best practice and highlight the considerable work and commitment invested by SCoA members to ensure the best possible outcomes for recently arrived migrants.

Access to suitable and sustainable housing is becoming an increasingly challenging issue in Australia. While this affects broad groups across the country, new arrivals face more hurdles than most when it comes to accessing housing. These hurdles include a number of factors such as a lack of understanding of Australian systems, lack of English, low income and insecure visa status. We find that these factors lead new arrivals to live in precarious housing situations. This is a growing concern, as not having access to appropriate housing impacts on many areas of life including health, employment, community participation, education and training and inevitably stifles new arrivals’ settlement prospects. Despite these obstacles, settlement agencies have been able to overcome some of the barriers to accessing adequate housing for new arrivals by seeking and implementing creative solutions. We have heard about countless examples of new arrivals attaining secure long-term housing across Australia through the tireless and innovative support of settlement agencies. Read our briefing paper on Housing for more information.

Overwhelmingly, SCoA believes that Australia’s humanitarian programme, and the labour market outcomes it delivers, are a success story to be proud of. With the support of the settlement sector in establish solid foundations for their lives in Australia, migrants from a refugee background overcome great challenges and achieve levels of economic engagement that are envied across similar resettlement nations worldwide.