The Settlement Council of Australia (SCOA), as the national peak body representing over 160 settlement organisations, provides this submission as a consolidated national voice of the settlement sector. It draws on extensive consultation with frontline providers, community-led organisations, and leaders with lived experience of forced displacement.
SCOA acknowledges the Australian Government’s continued leadership in maintaining the Humanitarian Program in a complex policy environment and recognises the fiscal and operational constraints within which decisions are being made.
This submission reflects the insights gathered through consultation with SCOA members and stakeholders across the settlement sector. While it seeks to present a coherent national perspective, the views expressed do not necessarily represent the position of all individual organisations consulted.
In presenting this submission, SCOA has sought to balance a clear articulation of system pressures and policy challenges with a constructive, forward-looking approach that identifies practical opportunities for reform.