Publications

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. This 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.

In April 2017 the Federal Government proposed to make changes to citizenship requirements in Australia. The details of the proposal are contained in the Strengthening the Test for Australian Citizenship discussion paper. Australia is a nation built on immigration. It is repeatedly celebrated for its ability to include people from diverse backgrounds, skills and experience, and for the diversity and prosperity that this brings. It is widely accepted that Australia’s citizenship laws have played a crucial role in fostering inclusion and enabling the country to welcome migrants and encourage them to become part of the Australian community. This submission was released in June 2017.

Following comprehensive sector-wide consultation, SCoA has developed the attached information detailing the foundations of economic engagement for migrants in Australia. Engaging with the labour market is pivotal to successful settlement and remains a high priority for government, as well as a key driver for migrants themselves, who view their labour market integration as vital to their “successful immigration”. Naturally, securing lasting employment has considerable benefits for migrants as they establish their new lives in Australia. However, it must not be forgotten that the effects of migration flow through every aspect of the economy and migration results in a net fiscal benefit to Australia’s bottom line

In May 2017, SCoA made a submission to the Senate Committee on Strengthening Multiculturalism, which highlighted the importance of multicultural Australia and the role of the settlement sector in promoting and supporting Australia's culturally diverse populations.

Access a copy of SCoA's submission below

Settlement Services grants (SGP) are an important element of the government’s broad commitment to settlement services, and are designed to provide a varied range of projects aimed at assisting migrants as they settle into their new homes. SGP has evolved and been refined over many years resulting in a robust grants program that is closely aligned to client needs and which successfully leverages the strong connections agencies have within their communities. The specialist knowledge of agencies and staff has been built up over time resulting in settlement agencies generating significant expertise in program delivery and risk management. Briefing paper released in February 2017.

Australia’s migration program provides a crucial opportunity to achieve mutual long‐term benefits for Australia as well as the migrants whose entry it facilitates. For this to succeed, however, services must be adequate to support new arrivals as they settle in to their new homes. Migrants in Australia, including those from a refugee background, are well known for their tenacity, resourcefulness and commitment to Australia. However it is accepted that they face challenges in their relocation to Australia and, as a result, require specific services to ensure they are able to participate actively in the economy and in society more generally. Naturally, the level of services required differs greatly between different classes of migrant and, indeed, between individual migrants. Australia has a long and proud history of delivering services that are tailored to meet the needs of new arrivals in a way that is effective, efficient and achieves the best possible settlement outcomes. Submission released January 2017.

SCoA has developed information which analyses the fundamentals of effective settlement in Australia.

This paper aims to reach a deeper understanding of the role that migrants and humanitarian entrants play in the broader Australian community in order to develop a proper understanding of Migration in Australia. This briefing paper was released in November 2016.

Much of the discourse around Australia’s immigration policy focusses on the number of migrants granted permission to enter the country each year. This is increasingly contentious in relation to Australia’s refugee and humanitarian programme, where numbers remain at the forefront of public debate. Also contentious is the make-up of the programme itself: the skills, origins, health and character of migrants and the way in which they are selected. A vital element that remains absent from the majority of debate, however, is the distribution of those migrants on their arrival in Australia...

SCoA considers that the current provisions within the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (RDA), the subject of this Inquiry, provide a basis for respect and tolerance which are core to any community and are essential in a multicultural democracy. As such, on behalf of our members, SCoA urges the Inquiry exercise extreme caution when considering recommendations to reform Section 18C and 18D of the RDA. Submission released in December 2016.

The strengths that families bring to the settlement process are well documented. Family provides significant support during the challenging process of settlement, leading to long-term personal, social, community and economic benefits. Families can be a built-in social network reducing isolation and providing emotional support. They can share economic burdens such as cost of housing. They support each other to navigate new cultural and government systems. The role of the family in Australia’s settlement programme therefore cannot be underestimated. This submission was released in September 2016

SCoA recognises and celebrates the enormous value that family migration contributes to Australia, often in non-traditional economic terms including providing social and emotional support and fulfilling family roles including childcare. This is especially clear in the settlement sector, where family reunion can play a vital role in the successful settlement of people from refugee backgrounds. This issue was the focus of our Issues Paper on Family Reunion, released in August 2016.

Settlement services are already a sector with a competitive and contestable funding process and do not require further reform or investigation in this regard. The HSS, CCS, SRSS and AMEP programmes undergo a tender process, and SGP is funded through a competitive grants process. Further introduction of competition measures could be counterproductive to the Government’s current objective to encourage collaboration amongst these service providers. This submission was released in August 2016.

This discussion paper builds upon the SCoA Discussion Paper Addressing Barriers to Employment. It provides a summary of the employment barriers faced by migrants and people of refugee backgrounds, recommends actions to overcome these barriers and provides a series of case studies highlighting settlement service provider’s best practices to overcome employment barriers for refugees and migrants.

SCoA had played an active role in addressing issues of domestic and family violence in new and emerging communities. This included a range of workshops in 2017 in which we partnered with Lifeline to deliver DV-Alert seminars for the settlement sector. We are also an active member of the White Ribbon reference group for CALD Communities. We will continue to bring relevant and useful information to the sector on this crucial issue. For a detailed look at domestic and family violence, please see SCoA's 2013 Policy Brief, below.