Community leadership shaping inclusive settlement
Across Australia, communities continue to demonstrate extraordinary leadership in creating spaces of safety, dignity and belonging. This impact story highlights the work of Many Coloured Sky (MCS) and Spectrum MRC, two organisations advancing innovative, community-led approaches that support LGBTQIA+ refugees and asylum seekers to build connection, confidence and community in Australia.
Their work demonstrates what becomes possible when settlement services recognise the complexity of people’s identities and place lived experience at the centre of program design.
Through initiatives such as peer networks, community gatherings and collaborative partnerships, these organisations are showing how intersectional approaches can deepen belonging and strengthen settlement outcomes.
As the national peak body for the settlement sector, the Settlement Council of Australia (SCOA) is proud to spotlight practices like these so that the insights emerging from communities can inform policy, strengthen services and inspire innovation across the sector.