March

18

Syrian and Iraqi Refugee Settlement inAustralia
Prof Jock Collins, University of Technology Sydney (Chief Investigator)
Prof Carol Reid, Western Sydney University (Chief Investigator)
A/Prof Dimitria Groutsis, University of Sydney (Chief Investigator)
Dr Katherine Watson, University of Technology Sydney (Senior Research Assistant)
Dr Derya Ozkul, University of Sydney (Research Assistant)

Working Paper No.1

Table of Contents
Syrian and Iraqi Refugee Settlement in Australia ......................................................................................... 4
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... 4
Research Team .......................................................................................................................................... 4
1. Syrian and Iraqi Refugees: Resettlement, Visa Sub-class, Demographic Profile ............................... 5
Gender, Age, Number of Dependents ................................................................................................... 5
Visa Categories ...................................................................................................................................... 7
2. Characteristics of the Syrian and Iraqi Refugees on Arrival ............................................................... 9English Language Competence and Education...................................................................................... 9
Ethnic Background............................................................................................................................... 10
3. Response by Authorities on Arrival.................................................................................................. 11Federal Government ........................................................................................................................... 11
State Government Service Arrangements: New South Wales ............................................................ 14
State Government Service Arrangements: Victoria ............................................................................ 15
State Government Service Arrangements: Queensland ..................................................................... 15
Local Council Initiatives ....................................................................................................................... 15
4. Response by Civil Society ................................................................................................................. 16
Not-for-profit Organisations and Volunteer Groups ........................................................................... 16
Corporations and Peak Professional/Employer Bodies ....................................................................... 17
5. Settlement Locations ....................................................................................................................... 19
6. Post-arrival Programs and Policies................................................................................................... 21
Settlement ........................................................................................................................................... 21
Education............................................................................................................................................. 22
New South Wales ............................................................................................................................ 22
Victoria ............................................................................................................................................ 23
Queensland ..................................................................................................................................... 23
Employment ........................................................................................................................................ 23
New South Wales ............................................................................................................................ 24
Victoria ............................................................................................................................................ 24
Queensland ..................................................................................................................................... 24
7. Public and Political Discourses and Responses ................................................................................ 24
8. Concluding Remarks......................................................................................................................... 25
Bibliography............................................................................................................................................. 25

2

List of Tables and Figures
Table 1: Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia by State, arriving between 1 July
2015 and 31 December 2017
Table 2: Gender of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving between 1 July
2015 and 31 December 2017
Table 3: Marital status of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving between 1
July 2015 and 31 December 2017
Table 4: Visa subclass (202 and 204) entrants to subdivisions of NSW, Qld, and Vic, arriving between 1
July 2015 and 31 December 2017
Table 5: English language proficiency of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia,
arriving between 1 July 2015 and 31 December 2017
Table 6: Level of education of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving
between 1 July 2015 and 31 December 2017
Table 7: Ethnicity of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving between 1 July
2015 and 31 December 2017
Table 8: Humanitarian Settlement Program Service Provider Locations
Table 9: Humanitarian entrants to NSW in targeted Statistical Subdivisions, arriving between 1 July 2015
and 31 December 2017
Table 10: Humanitarian entrants to QLD in targeted Statistical Subdivisions, arriving between 1 July 2015
and 31 December 2017
Table 11: Humanitarian entrants to VIC in targeted Statistical Subdivisions, arriving between 1 July 2015
and 31 December 2017
Figure 1: Age of Syrian and Iraqi humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving between 1 July 2015 and 31
December 2017
Figure 2: Number of dependants of each Syrian and Iraqi humanitarian entrant who had family
dependants and arrived in Australia between 1 July 2015 and 31 December 2017
Figure 3: Syrian and Iraqi Humanitarian entrants to four Western Sydney subdivisions, by visa subclass
Figure 4: Afghani Humanitarian entrants to four Western Sydney subdivisions, by visa subclass
Figure 5: Syrian and Iraqi Humanitarian entrants to three Brisbane subdivisions, by visa subclass
Figure 6: Afghani Humanitarian entrants to three Brisbane subdivisions, by visa subclass
Figure 7: Syrian and Iraqi Humanitarian entrants to three Melbourne subdivisions, by visa subclass
Figure 8: Afghani Humanitarian entrants to three Melbourne subdivisions, by visa subclass
Figure 9: Humanitarian Settlement Program Outcomes Framework
Figure 10: Syrian and Iraqi humanitarian entrants in subdivisions of Western Sydney

3Syrian and Iraqi Refugee Settlement in Australia
Presented at the Public Seminar on Responses to Syrian-Conflict Refugee Settlement in Australia, Canada,
Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, and the UK, 14 March 2018
Prof Jock Collins, University of Technology Sydney (Chief Investigator)
Prof Carol Reid, Western Sydney University (Chief Investigator)
A/Prof Dimitria Groutsis, University of Sydney (Chief Investigator)
Dr Katherine Watson, University of Technology Sydney (Senior Research Assistant)
Dr Derya Ozkul, University of Sydney (Research Assistant)

Executive Summary
This is the first background report of a three-year project, which looks at the Syrian and Iraqi refugeesettlement outcomes in Australia, with a focus on English language competency, education andemployment using a policy network analysis with a place-based focus, locating the family unit at the centreof our analysis. The three-year study of 200 recently arrived refugee families—150 from Syria and Iraq and
50 from Afghanistan (as a control group)—employs a mixed-method approach including face-to-faceinterviews, a survey, and documentary analysis. In addition to drawing on and placing the SCR families atthe centre of our analysis, the project will also draw on the insights of key stakeholders in the field,
including policymakers, NGO representatives, employers and educators along with our national andinternational partner insights in order to shape national and international best practice. The project isfunded by an Australian Research Council (ARC)-Linkage Grant and industry partners in Australia including
Access Community Services, AMES Australia, Multicultural Development Association (MDA) andSettlement Services International (SSI) who provide valuable input in interviewee recruitment andresearch outputs. Best practices will be identified through collaboration with these industry partners inAustralia and researchers in Canada, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK. The focus of
this first report is on the key characteristics of the recently arrived Syrian-Iraqi conflict refugees, theAfghani refugee control group and the main policy prescriptions employed to assist with their needs post
settlement in the three main States of settlement in Australia: New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (Qld)and Victoria (Vic). The aim of this report therefore is to provide a descriptive context for the current study
while also detailing the convergence and divergence in policy prescriptions facilitating the settlement of
this intake into the aforementioned states.

Research TeamThe research team consists of Prof Jock Collins (University of Technology Sydney), Prof Carol Reid (Western
Sydney University), Associate Prof Dimitria Groutsis (University of Sydney), and research assistants Dr
Katherine Watson (University of Technology Sydney) and Dr Derya Ozkul (University of Sydney). The
Australian Research Council (ARC) is funding the project as part of the Linkage Project Scheme for theperiod of 2017-2020. The project is being conducted in collaboration with Partner Investigators, which arecommunity organisations, including: Access Community Services Ltd, AMES Australia, Multicultural
Development Australia (MDA) Ltd and Settlement Services International Ltd. We wish to thank the ARC for
their support as well as the families and stakeholders we have spoken with thus far.

4

1. Syrian and Iraqi Refugees: Resettlement, Visa Sub-class, Demographic Profile1
Prior to the recent arrival of Syrian and Iraqi refugees (SIRs), there were already established Syrian andIraqi communities in Australia—respectively around 16,000 and 66,000 (DSS 2017). While Iraqi settlement
in Australia dates back to the Gulf War in 1990-1991, Syrian settlement, even though in small numbers,
predates the establishment of Federation (1st of January, 1901).
In 2015, the Australian Government announced the resettlement of 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees,
targeted as the key groups in the Syrian conflict. This intake is in addition to the existing Humanitarian
Program comprised of 13,750 refugees in 2015-2016, 13,750 refugees in 2016-2017, 16,250 refugees in2017-2018, and 18,750 refugees in 2018-2019 (DIBP 2017, 4).
The Australian Government prioritised ‘those most in need—the women, children and families ofpersecuted minorities who have sought refuge from the conflict in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey’ (AustralianGovernment 2015). Accordingly, the refugees are selected for settlement in Australia either from the
UNHCR camps or directly from urban communities in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey (DSS 2017). Between 1
July 2015 and 31 December 2017, the number of Syrian and Iraqi refugees rose to 24,9262 with the majority
settling in the metropolitan areas of New South Wales and Victoria, followed by Queensland (see Table 1).
Table 1: Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia by State, arriving between 1 July 2015
and 31 December 2017
Country of
Birth(Settlement)
Afghanistan

ACT
39

NSW

NT

638

Qld
0

294

SA

Tas

581

190

Vic
1,214

WA
259

TOTAL
3,217

Iraq
202
7,991
10
839
74
39
4,255
157
13,567
Syria
19
6,105
44
927
853
81
2,952
378
11,359TOTAL
221
14,096
54
1,766
927
120
7,207
535
24,926(Iraq + Syria)
Source: Settlement Reporting Facility (SRF). Note that only the settler’s latest known residential (or intended
residential) address is recorded. Some settlers have no address details recorded. This and the following tables wereobtained from reports generated between 18 and 22 January 2018 through the Settlement Reporting Facility.

Gender, Age, Number of Dependents
The percentage of men and women among Syrian and Iraqi refugees are almost equal, while thepercentage of women among Afghani humanitarian entrants (our control group) are higher than men (seeTable 2). Afghani humanitarian entrants include a higher number of women who entered Australia via the
Woman at Risk visa pathway (subclass 204).
Table 2: Gender of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving between 1 July
2015 and 31 December 2017
Country of Birth(Settlement)

Female

Male

TOTAL

1

Note that the figures on Syrian and Iraqi refugees presented in this report include SIRs as a whole and does notmake a distinction between those who arrived through the 12,000 additional visas for Syrian and Iraqi refugees andthose who arrived under the Humanitarian Program. There may be some differences between the two groups, interms of the level of English knowledge, qualifications, work experiences and ethnic and religious backgrounds, whichneeds further investigation.
2
This figure includes 12,000 additional visas for Syrian and Iraqi refugees as well as those who arrived under the
Humanitarian Program between 2015 and 2017 (Department of Home Affairs 2017a).

5

Afghanistan

1,720

1,497

3,217

Iraq
Syria
TOTAL
(Iraq + Syria)
Source: (SRF)

6,937
5,655

6,630
5,704

13,567
11,35912,592

12,33424,926

Most Syrian and Iraqi refugees are young: between 18 and 44 years old. Almost a quarter of theaccepted SIRs are children up to age 11 years (see Figure 1). The majority of (adult) Syrian conflict refugees
are married (see Table 3) and of those with family dependents, this included 3 to 5 dependents (see Figure
3).

Number of SyrianConflict humanitarian
entrants

Figure 1: Age of Syrian and Iraqi humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving between 1 July 2015 and 31
December 2017
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0

Age range
Source: (SRF)

Table 3: Marital status of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving between 1
July 2015 and 31 December 2017
Country of
Birth(Settlement)
Afghanistan

De facto
partnerDivorced

EngagedMarriedNevermarriedNot
recorded

Separated

Widowed

TOTAL

0

16

6

1,137

1,833

4

12

209

3,217

Iraq
Syria
TOTAL
(Iraq + Syria)
Source: (SRF)

1
5
6

58
37
95

12
20
32

5,846
5,067
10,9137,040
5,840
12,880

7
15
22

48
16
64

555
359
914

13,567
11,35924,926

6

Number of Syrian-Conflict
humanitarian entrants

Figure 2: Number of dependants of each Syrian and Iraqi humanitarian entrant who had family dependants
and arrived in Australia between 1 July 2015 and 31 December 2017
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 or
more

Number of family dependants
Source: (SRF)

Visa Categories
The refugee and humanitarian visas in Australia are defined by different subclasses, including Refugee visa
(subclass 200), In-country Special Humanitarian visa (subclass 201), Global Special Humanitarian visa
(subclass 202), Emergency Rescue visa (subclass 203), and Woman at Risk visa (subclass 204) (Departmentof Home Affairs 2017b).
 Refugee visa (subclass 200) is a permanent residence visa that allows the visa holders to: live,
work, study, enrol in Medicare (Australia’s national health benefits scheme) indefinitely, attend
English language classes, access certain social security payments, apply for citizenship after four
years of residence, and propose family members to apply for permanent residence. It can beapplied for if the applicant is outside of Australia and outside of his/her home country and issubject to persecution in his/her home country. In order to be able to apply for this visa, one needs
to be referred by the UNHCR to the Australian Government. There are no fees for the Refugee
visa, and the Australian Government is responsible for paying the travel and associated costs toAustralia.
 Global Special Humanitarian visa (subclass 202) has the same requirements and benefits as the
200 visa subclass. However, unlike the 200 visa, 202 visas can be applied for if the applicant issubject to ‘substantial discrimination amounting to a gross violation of [his/her] human rights in[his/her] home country and [is] proposed by a person or organisation in Australia’ (DIBP 2017).
Importantly to qualify under this visa category, the applicant must be proposed by residents inAustralia. Notably, the holders of the Global Special Humanitarian visa are responsible forpayment of their own travel costs. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) offers
partial financial assistance for the journey of migration and settlement but the applicant must
apply for this.
 Woman at Risk visa (subclass 204) has the same benefits as 200 and 202 visa sub-classes. A female
applicant can apply for this visa if she is outside of Australia and her home country and does nothave ‘the protection of a male relative and [is] in danger of victimisation, harassment or serious
abuse because of [her] gender’ (DIBP 2017). In order to apply for this visa, one typically needs tobe referred by UNHCR to the Australian Government. There are no fees for the Woman at Risk
visa, and the Australian Government is responsible for paying the travel and associated costs toAustralia.
7

In terms of SCR arrivals to Australia, the vast majority arrive on a Global Special Humanitarian visa (seeTable 4), which means that they are proposed by other community members (family or friends) ororganisations. Such connections also impact their preferences for settlement locations (see Section 7).
Importantly, the cost is borne by the proposer for travel.
Table 4: Visa subclass (202 and 204) entrants to subdivisions of NSW, Qld, and Vic, arriving between 1 July
2015 and 31 December 2017
Country of Birth(Settlement)

Afghanistan
Iraq
Syria
TOTAL
(Iraq + Syria)
Source: (SRF)

NSW(4 subdivisions ofWestern Sydney)
Visa
Visa
subclass
subclass
202
204
65
28

Qld
(3 subdivisions ofBrisbane)Visa
Visasubclass
subclass
202
204
33
20

Vic
(3 subdivisions of
Melbourne)
Visa
Visa
subclass
subclass
202
204
41
68

TOTAL

255

5,038
4,583

207
136

30
48

0
8

1,604
1,775

28
42

6,907
6,592

9,621

343

78

8

3,379

70

13,499An examination of the entry visa pathways for SIRs and Afghani refugees shows that the great
proportion of SIRs arrives in Sydney on Global Special Humanitarian (202) visas (see Figure 3). In
comparison, Afghani humanitarian entrants arrive in Sydney mostly on Refugee (200) visas (see Figure 4).
While a comparable proportion of SIRs (3%) and Afghani refugees (6%) enter under the Women at Risk
pathway (on 204 visas), the proportion of Global Special Humanitarian (202) visas for SIRs (77%) is far
greater than the 14% for Afghani refugees, which suggests that, in comparison with Afghani humanitarian
entrants, SIRs in Sydney have greater links with their community members on arrival.
Figure 3: Syrian and Iraqi Humanitarian entrants to Figure 4: Afghani Humanitarian entrants to four
four Western Sydney subdivisions, by visa subclass Western Sydney subdivisions, by visa subclass
14%

20%

6%

202 Visa3%

77%

202 Visa

204 Visa

204 Visa

Other Visa

Other Visa
80%

Similar pie charts for refugees entering Melbourne (see Figures 7-8) show that a large proportion of
Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Melbourne are also 202 visa recipients, while most of those entering the Cityof Brisbane districts are 200 visa recipients.

8

Figure 5: Syrian and Iraqi Humanitarian entrants to Figure 6: Afghani Humanitarian entrants to three
three Brisbane subdivisions, by visa subclass
Brisbane subdivisions, by visa subclass202 Visa

202 Visa

204 Visa

204 Visa

Other Visa

Other Visa

Total number of humanitarian visas for SIRs = 979

Total number of humanitarian visas for Afghani
refugees = 145

Figure 7: Syrian and Iraqi Humanitarian entrants to Figure 8: Afghani Humanitarian entrants to three
Melbourne subdivisions, by visa subclassthree Melbourne subdivisions, by visa subclass202 Visa

202 Visa

204 Visa

204 Visa

Other Visa

Other Visa

Total number of humanitarian visas for Afghani
refugees = 399

Total number of humanitarian visas for SIRs = 4,548

2. Characteristics of the Syrian and Iraqi Refugees on Arrival
English Language Competence and Education
The vast majority of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani refugees have reported nil or poor levels of English, andamong those who did report, roughly 29% of Afghanis, 24% Iraqis and 27% Syrians have reported poor tovery good English, which shows that they already have some level of English language competence (seeTable 5).
Table 5: English language proficiency of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia,
arriving between 1 July 2015 and 31 December 2017
Country of
Birth(Settlement)
Afghanistan
Iraq
Syria
TOTAL
Source: (SRF)

Not recorded

Nil

Poor

Good

Very Good

TOTAL

132

2,189

726

114

56

3,217

217
154
371

10,0908,234
18,324

2,800
2,441
5,241

340
430
770

120
100
220

13,567
11,35924,926

9

As per the level of education, the majority have not reported any data. Among those who did report,
the level of education varies to a great extent, in that there is a broad spectrum of educational attainment.
The largest number of Afghani refugees have attained 6+ years tertiary education, followed by 5 and 12
years of schooling, the highest number of Iraqi and Syrian refugees have 6 years of schooling, followed bymore advanced levels of education (see Table 6).
Table 6: Level of education of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving
between 1 July 2015 and 31 December 2017
Years of education
1 year schooling
2 years schooling
3 years schooling
4 years schooling
5 years schooling
6 years schooling
7 years schooling
8 years schooling
9 years schooling
10 years schooling
11 years schooling
12 years schooling
1 year tertiary
2 years tertiary
3 years tertiary
4 years tertiary
5 years tertiary
6+ years tertiary
Not Stated
TOTAL
Source: (SRF)

Country of Birth (Settlement)
Afghanistan
Iraq
Syria
77
246
317
99
295
323
109
309
374
112
396
369
172
537
480
127
1283
1355
88
469
469
118
591
552
58
855
1161
60
268
231
48
291
264
163
953
1006
49
173
218
65
860
808
49
380
290
54
1064
507
31
323
250
178
980
375
1560
3294
2010
3,217
13,567
11,359TOTAL(Iraq + Syria)
563
618
683
765
1,017
2,638
938
1,143
2,016
499
555
1,959
391
1,668
670
1,571
573
1,355
5,304
24,926Ethnic Background
Syrian and Iraqi refugees come from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. Refugees from Syria havereported as largely Syrian, followed by Assyrian, Arab, Armenian and Kurdish, while refugees from Iraq arelargely Iraqi, followed by Chaldean, Arab, Assyrian and Kurdish backgrounds. Refugees from Afghanistan
are relatively more homogeneous, constituted of mostly Hazara backgrounds (see Table 7).
Table 7: Ethnicity of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghani humanitarian entrants to Australia, arriving between 1 July
2015 and 31 December 2017
Country of Birth (Settlement)
Ethnicity
Afghanistan
Iraqi
SyrianAssyrian
Arab (NFD)
Chaldean

Iraq
0
0
0
0
5

Syria
5376
285
1405
2863
3192

39
5120
3840
1377
14

TOTAL
(Iraq + Syria)
5,415
5,405
5,245
4,240
3,206

10

Hazara (Afghan)
Armenian
Kurdish
Tajik
PashtunAfghanPalestinian
TurkmenNo specific
Persian/Farsi
Hazara (NFD)
Chadian
Alevi
IranianMiddle Eastern
SomaliStateless
TurkomanFaili Kurd
Greek
Lebanese
TOTAL
Source: (SRF)

2431
0
0
287
285
169
0
8
0
13
9
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
3,217

0
90
276
0
0
0
39
7
6
0
0
8
0
6
0
0
5
0
5
0
0
13,563

0
790
128
5
0
0
0
7
6
0
0
0
7
0
6
0
0
5
0
5
5
11,354

0
880
404
5
0
0
39
14
12
0
0
8
7
6
6
0
5
5
5
5
5
24,917

3. Response by Authorities on Arrival
Federal Government
The Australian Government committed a total of AUD$827 million over four years (2015-16 to 2018-19)
to support 12,000 of the refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria and Iraq, which was an additional group to
the Refugee and Humanitarian visa entrants. Of the AUD$827 million, AUD$142 million is earmarked forthe provision of settlement services (see Australian Government 2016a).
Before arrival, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) is responsible for ensuring
all applicants meet the criteria for Refugee and Humanitarian visas. After refugees obtain their visas andarrive in Australia, the Department of Social Services (DSS) becomes responsible for providing settlement
guidance and assistance.
All newly arrived refugees, including Syrian and Iraqi refugees, are entitled to receive initial settlement
assistance, with a particular focus on their first twelve months. This is provided through the Humanitarian
Settlement Services (HSS) program, which includes various services in the areas of housing, education andtraining, language, employment, physical and mental health and well-being, financial management,
community participation, family functioning and social support, justice and legal assistance (DSS 2017a).
In each state and territory, HSS are provided by a number of different organisations called
Humanitarian Settlement Program Service Providers (see Table 8).
Table 8: Humanitarian Settlement Program Service Provider Locations
State

HSP Contract Region (s) Settlement Locations

ACT /
NSW

Canberra and Surrounds

Canberra; Wollongong; Wagga
Wagga; Albury

WA

Western Australia

Perth

HSP Service Provider
Australian Red Cross Society

11StateHSP Contract Region (s) Settlement Locations
SydneySydneyRegional NSW

Newcastle; Coffs Harbour;
Armidale

Brisbane and Surrounds

Brisbane; Gold Coast; Logan;
Toowoomba

North Queensland

Cairns; TownsvilleNT

Northern Territory

DarwinSA

South Australia

Adelaide; Mount Gambier

TAS

Tasmania

Hobart; Launceston

Melbourne

Melbourne

Regional Victoria

Mildura; Shepparton; Geelong;
Wodonga

NSW

QLD

VIC

HSP Service Provider*Settlement Services
International Limited*MDA Ltd
Melaleuca Refugee Centre*AMES Australia

Source: DSS (2018)(* Partner Investigators (PIs) in this project)

The service providers assist refugees with specialised and targeted services in these areas determinedaccording to their individual needs and circumstances. These services may include, for instance, meetingclients at the airport, property induction (such as for instance, provision of information about tenancy
rights and responsibilities, assistance with electricity modes and methods in their homes), provision of an
initial food package, assistance with registering and enrolling in institutions such as schools, banks,
Medicare, Centrelink, Job Active and other key agencies, assistance with navigating the public transportsystem as well as connecting them with other community members and recreation programs. The service
providers must ensure that newly arrived refugees have found suitable accommodation within their firstsix months, have registered all school age children with schools and have understood the services available
to them. Below is the list of outcomes service providers work to achieve (see Figure 9).

12Figure 9: Humanitarian Settlement Program Outcomes Framework

Source: DSS (2017b)

HSS providers also link newly arrived humanitarian entrants with the following settlement programs:
1. Settlement Grants: provides settlement services to communities in disadvantaged locations.
2. Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP): provides up to 510 hours of English language training. This
program is administered by the Department of Education and Training. Extensions on the hours oftutelage may be undertaken on a case by case basis.
3. Settlement Language Pathways to Employment and Training (SLPET): provides 200 additional
hours to AMEP with the express aim of improving language skills for employment. This program isadministered by the Department of Education and Training.
4. Skills for Education and Employment (SEE): provides various training opportunities for job seekers.
This program is administered by the Department of Education and Training.
5. Jobactive: assists jobseekers to find a job. This program is administered by the Department of
Employment.
6. Disability Employment Services: assists jobseekers with a disability to find a job. This program isadministered by the Department of Social Services.
7. Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma: assists and provides services for
migrants and refugees who are experiencing mental health difficulties due to previous experiencesof torture and trauma. This program is administered by the Department of Health.
8. Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS): provides 7/24 translating and interpreting support. This
program is administered by the Department of Home Affairs.

13Following their initial phase of settlement (usually lasting between six and twelve months),
humanitarian entrants are referred to general settlement services for migrants, including NGOs such as
migrant resource centres (MRCs), migrant service agencies and a number of organisations funded under
the Settlement Grants Program.
Additionally, the Department of Social Services (DSS) initiated the Career Pathways Pilot (CPP) in orderto help refugees find suitable and sustainable employment. To be eligible, refugees should have arrived inAustralia in the past five years through the Humanitarian Program and should have a good level of English
and qualifications earned overseas. The pilot will be effective for at least three years and will provide
employment opportunities for up to 1200 humanitarian entrants in line with their qualifications and careergoals (DSS 2016). In the three states hosting the largest number of SIRs, Career Pathway Advisors arelocated in AMES Australia in Melbourne, Multicultural Development Australia (MDA) in Toowoomba,
Queensland and Settlement Services International (SSI) in New South Wales. Improving the employmentoutcomes for refugees, including SIRs, is a priority for the Australian Federal Government, as it is seen as
the most effective way for refugees to become ‘self-reliant’ while it is also seen as a key to successful
integration.

State Government Service Arrangements: New South Wales
New South Wales is the largest recipient of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. As part of the 12,000 places, around
6,570 SIRs arrived in New South Wales during the period November 2015 and July 2017. Notably, there isa clear movement of SIRs into NSW from other states due to higher levels of ethno-cultural specificcommunity links and available employment opportunities. Overall, among all humanitarian arrivals in
NSW, more than 9,980 were people displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
In June 2016, the NSW Government committed AUD$146 million to develop and ensure theappropriate services for the newly arrived refugees over the course of the following four years. The
following new funding sources and some existing programs and services will be providing support to the
newly arrived SIRs.
 Education: Intensive English Centres to help SIRs, (among other groups of refugees, humanitarian
entrants and migrants) to learn English. Some SIRs are also eligible to apply to the NSW
Government for educational and vocational training subsidies (NSW Government 2017a).
 Employment: In May 2017, the NSW Government dedicated AUD$22 million over the course offour years to the Refugee Employment Support Program (RESP). This program is administered by
the NSW Department of Industry and delivered Settlement Services International (SSI) in
cooperation with a number of corporations (see Section 4) and aims to support up to 6,000
refugees and 1,000 asylum seekers with finding employment in Western Sydney and the Illawarra(NSW Government 2017a). A number of private corporations have committed to developing
specialised employment programs for refugees (see examples in Section 4), and the NSW
Government has pledged to employ at least 100 refugees across the public sector (NSW
Government 2017b).
 Housing: In May 2017, the NSW Government dedicated AUD$3.9 million to assist refugees to findsafe and sustainable housing.
 Health: A team of Refugee Health Nurses under the Refugee Health Nurse Screening Programprovides refugees with relevant health education, referrals to relevant public health clinics andinformation regarding trauma-counselling services (NSW Government 2017c).
 Legal Aid: Funded by the NSW Government, Legal Aid Refugee Service assists refugees to learn
about their legal rights and obligations and provides them with legal advice as needed (Legal Aid
2017). Since its inception in 2016, the service based in Bankstown has supported around 700
people (NSW Government 2017a).
14

State Government Service Arrangements: Victoria
Victoria is the second largest recipient of SIRs expecting to receive around 4,000 of 12,000 (in addition to
4,000 refugees arriving through the Humanitarian Program) (Victoria State Government 2016a). The
Victorian Government has dedicated the following new funding schemes to ensure SIRs can successfully
settle into their new communities:
 Education: In October 2017, the Minister for Early Childhood Education announced a
AUD$600,000 funding booty to assist kindergarten teachers, maternal and child health nurses andothers to gain a better understanding of refugee families, particularly with regards to the refugee’s
experience of torture and trauma. This funding will help to create professional development
programs that will be delivered by Foundation House in partnership with the Hume City Council
hosting a large number of SIRs (Victoria State Government 2017).
 Health: The Victorian Government has committed an additional AUD$11 million to assist refugees
with specific physical and mental health-related needs. A number of specialised services andprograms, including the Refugee Health Program, the Refugee Health Fellows Program, immigrant
and refugee health clinics in a number of hospitals, the new Cabrini Refugee and Asylum Seeker
Health Hub, the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, the Refugee Minor Program, andthe Victorian Refugee Health Network, will be supporting newly arrived SIRs (Victoria State
Government 2016b, 5).

State Government Service Arrangements: Queensland
The Queensland Government (2017) has offered to settle up to 3,500 Syrian and Iraqi refugees and is
expecting to receive around 1,400 refugees. The Government has recently dedicated the following
additional services to meet the needs of the higher number of refugees:
 Education: Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) provides extra hours of English tuition. English
as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) programs are offered in schools as integrated in the
curriculum, in addition to intensive English classes available in key sites. TAFE provides the
Pathway Gardens hub at Logan and Bracken Ridge—two districts of Brisbane hosting a large
number of Syrian conflict refugees—at Levels 3 and 4 with some opportunity for transitioning toa Diploma program.
 Health: In 2016 Refugee Health and Wellbeing: A Strategic Framework for Queensland waslaunched, and in 2017 Refugee Health Network Queensland (2017) was established. In 2016, thedental fair expanded its reach to include Logan and the Gold Coast to meet the needs of the newly
arrived refugees from Syria and Iraq. Around 300 volunteers from the Tzu Chi Foundation,
Queensland Health, MDA, Access Community Services, Red Cross, Mater Health Services, Micah
Projects Inc, Brisbane South PHN and medical students worked to provide health education andsupport for dental care in addition to offering coordination services, reception, administrative
assistance, childcare and cooking for refugees (Queensland Government 2017, 11).

Local Council Initiatives
InAustralia, there are a number of Refugee Welcome Zones—that is a Local Government Areas (LGA) thathave committed to welcome refugees and to enhance cultural diversity in the community. This initiative
began in June 2002 as part of the Refugee Week celebrations, and currently there are 143 Refugee
Welcome Zones throughout the country (RCOA 2017).33

See the list of current Refugee Welcome Zones: (RCOA 2015).

15

Fairfield—one of the Refugee Welcome Zones, in the Western suburbs of Sydney—has a long historyof welcoming diverse communities including migrants and refugees. The Fairfield Migrant Interagency
hold monthly meetings where service providers from local ethno-specific community groups, government
and non-government organisations come together to identify the changing needs of the local community.
Recently, Fairfield has witnessed a 500% increase in the average number of refugee settler arrivals to thecity with the majority of them having links with communities from Iraq and Syria (Fairfield City 2017).
Accordingly, the council has required increased funding to continue to service the needs of the growing
community with such program as the Fairfield Emerging Communities Action Partnership (FECAP), whichassists newly arriving refugees to build linkages with existing local communities.
Sydney’s Inner West Council—has established a Refugee Welcome Centre in Callan Park in Rozelle toprovide (limited) short-term accommodation for SIRs (IWC 2015). The Refugee Welcome Centre has since
welcomed more than 1,000 refugees, mostly SIRs who live in the outer suburbs of Sydney, offering the
new arrivals assistance during their resettlement. The Catholic Archdiocese through its Justice and Peace
Office has provided the Council with funding to hire two on-site personnel for the Centre (IWC 2017).

4. Response by Civil Society
A number of NGOs, volunteer groups and corporations including major businesses and small-scale not-forprofit social enterprises have committed to assist SIRs by providing them with work experience, personal
goods, recreational activities, mentoring and assistance in schools and/or English language training.

Not-for-profit Organisations and Volunteer Groups
An essential philanthropic organisations assisting SIRs is Community Hubs Australia (CHA), which primarily
works to fund and facilitate programs for refugee and migrant families, with a particular focus on womenand children, as well as some international students (CHA 2017).4 Community Hubs are found to help
refugee and migrant children’s smooth transition to school, promote a sense of belonging and wellbeing
in their new communities, and increase parents’ awareness and understanding of the expectations ofschools and the education system—more broadly—in Australia. They also help teachers with developinga better understanding of refugee children’s diverse linguistic and cultural needs (Centre for Community
Child Health 2017, 25-27).
CHAs assist refugees and new migrants to access services and activities in their local communities,
including playgroups for pre-school children, English language classes, various community engagement
programs such as gardening, sewing groups, coffee circles and also the provision of services targeting
vocational pathways.
Currently, there are 59 Community Hubs (CHA) in 3 main states of new arrivals (New South Wales,
Victoria and Queensland), in 11 highly diverse Local Government Areas (LGAs) assisting around 8,000
families across Australia (CHA 2017). Each Hub has a designated Hub Leader who has extensive knowledge
about their local community and available services. Hub Leaders develop close relationships with service
providers, and therefore come to play a critical role in information sharing, network/community building
and facilitating access to services.
Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) was incorporated in 2008 as the national peak body forsettlement sector. SCoA (2018), currently represents over 80 settlement agencies across Australia andoperates as a network of settlement service providers, in addition to providing direct settlement services
to those from migrant and refugee backgrounds, sharing innovation and best practices through their

4

Community Hub model was piloted in southern Hume under the Supporting Parents–Developing Children (SPDC)
program, which Scanlon Foundation contributed over AUD$1 million. Today Scanlon Foundation (2017) continues tocontribute to the funding of National Community Hubs program.

16

innovation centre and policy hub, and contributing to better settlement policy and program design incollaboration with the Australian Government.
Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA 2017), based in Sydney, is the national umbrella body for refugees
and asylum seekers with around 200 member organisations. RCOA works on ameliorating Australia’s
refugee and asylum policies through research, collaboration with member organisations and refugeecommunities to identify key issues and conduct advocacy work.
Refugee Communities Advocacy Network (RCAN) operates under the RCOA and serves as a network forpeople from refugee backgrounds to come together to discuss and pursue advocacy work to improve
Australia’s refugee and asylum policies.
The Brisbane Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support Network (BRASS 2017) links refugees and asylum
seekers with organisations providing services for them. They also work for advocacy and awareness raising
as well as enabling neighbourhoods where refugees and asylum seekers live to be more welcoming andinclusive.
Additionally, there have been a number of volunteer groups assisting the newly arrived SIRs among
other refugees.
 The charity GIVIT distributes donated goods to assist the 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi arrivals in addition
to other Australians in need.
 Volunteers teach English under the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) Home Tutor Scheme.
 In Sydney, Bower Reuse and Repair Centre collects personal goods to distribute to newly arrived
refugees.
 Dandelion Support Network collects nursery items to distribute to refugee mothers and babies.
 Australian Refugee Volunteers (ARV 2017) is a volunteer-run organisation, based in Sydney
providing social outings, recreational activities and school holiday camps for children and young
refugees.
 Friends of Refugees (FOR 2017) provides refugees and asylum seekers in Melbourne’s south-east
with material aid, food aid, education support and employment and training opportunities
through various social enterprises.
 Based in Fairfield, Sydney Lost in Books (2017) sells children’s books in various languages spoken
by migrants and refugees.

Corporations and Peak Professional/Employer Bodies
A number of Australian corporations and peak professional/employer bodies—including Telstra, Harvey
Norman, NRMA, Australia Post, First State Super, the Business Council of Australia, Clubs NSW, Crescent
Wealth, Henry Davis York, IAG, the Master Builders Association of NSW and TransUrban—have committed
to assist the NSW Government’s new program of AUD$27 million (AUD$6.83 million per year) to hire up
to 7,000 refugees and 1,000 asylum seekers over the course of the following four years.
This program includes the AUD$22 million Refugee Employment Support Program (RESP), which isadministered and delivered by Settlement Services International in NSW, to assist refugees to have training
and career development programs, internships, scholarships and mentoring programs that will help
refugees to find suitable and sustainable employers. The AMP Foundation helped with the developmentof the program and committed to provide an additional AUD$500,000. The RESP focuses on Western
Sydney and the Illawarra regions that together receive the majority of the refugee intake as part of thehumanitarian resettlement program. The RESP aims to assist refugees who have arrived in Australia since
1 December 2011, but particularly targets those who have arrived from 1 December 2015. Refugees andasylum seekers are able to participate in this program through referrals either from their Humanitarian
Settlement Services provider, their Career Pathways Provider or other government agencies and17

programs. They can also self-refer themselves as long as they do not receive similar benefits from anotheragency simultaneously (Department of Industry 2016).
Corporations participating in this program provide training and work experience opportunities andsome of the other related navigational assistance in the refugees’ search for employment. Examples
include: Driver’s licenses help refugees enormously while they look for work and also when they startworking. To this end, the National Roads and Motorists' Association is helping refugees to get adriver’s license in NSW through two driver education programs in Western Sydney and theIllawarra regions.
 First State Super, a not-for-profit Australian superannuation fund, provides internships forrefugees, which assists them with gaining the local work experience that many businesses require.
Since the inception of the program, some of the participating refugees have gone on to become
full-time workers. Similarly, Australia Post provides refugees with work experience opportunities.
 Together with Western Sydney University, Crescent Wealth (2016), an investment company, funds
scholarships for high-achieving students from refugee backgrounds.
 ClubsNSW provides 30 jobs for refugees at registered clubs in the Greater Western Sydney.
Refugees gain employment following a series of training programs. As of April 2017, five graduatesof the hospitality program have been employed in various Western Sydney clubs (ClubsNSW
2017).
 Telstra is developing community programs to create job opportunities for newly arrived refugees(Patty 2017).5
Additionally, Cotton Australia, which is a member of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), hasrecently signed a Memorandum with the Migration Council of Australia pledging to roll out a refugee
resettlement pilot project in rural and regional parts of Australia. The existing Refugee Welcome Zones
include Griffith, Dubbo, Gunnedah, Moree and Toowoomba. This pilot project will help coordinating
employers in two regional areas that can offer jobs to refugees (CA 2016).
Friendly Nation Initiative, launched by the former head of the Business Council of Australia Tony
Shepherd and Director of the Migration Council Carla Wilshire, helps to link businesses looking to hire byconnecting them with refugees with appropriate skills and qualifications. Several major companies,
including Wesfarmers, Woolworths and Harvey Norman have been participants in this initiative (ABC2015).
A number of platforms also help to connect refugee job seekers with businesses:
 Jobactive is an employment service at national scale targeting job seekers and employers looking
for the right employees. Jobactive providers that have an understanding of labour market
demands help job seekers with the skills and attributes the employers need, and some local
Jobactive providers encourage employers particularly to look for migrants and refugees(Australian Government 2016b).
 In Victoria, the Jobs Victoria Employment Network aims to help migrants and refugees to find longterm employment. VICSEG New Futures has recently been awarded a AUD$550,000 funding toplace disadvantaged jobseekers into long-term employment. JobsVictoria (2017), together with
VICSEG New Futures, organise programs for jobseekers from migrant and refugee backgrounds
and some have already been placed in the aged and disability care sector, areas of high labourdemand.

5

In 2017, Telstra also chose the CEO of Settlement Services International, Violet Roumeliotis, as the AustralianBusiness Woman of the Year (ABC 2017), which demonstrates the importance the company is giving to the subject
as well as SSI’s important work on refugees’ employment.

18

Refugee Talent is an essential digital platform that connects refugees, in particular, withcorporations offering short or long-term opportunities. It was founded in 2015 by Nirary Dacho
who was a refugee himself with IT skills, and Anna Robson who previously worked in the Nauru
Detention Centre for an international NGO. The two decided to establish the platform after they
met at the Sydney Techfugee Hackathon6.
There are also a number of small-scale businesses including, not-for-profit social enterprises, whichassist refugees to have training and employment.
 The Bread & Butter Project (2017) in inner-west Sydney (NSW), provides refugees with training,
work experience and employment at local bakeries and cafés.
 Catalysr (2017), a start-up incubator based in Parramatta (NSW) offering intensive
entrepreneurship programs for migrants and refugees to develop their own businesses.
 Green Connect (2018) helps settled refugees to find work in the Illawarra region in NSW, an areawith one of the highest unemployment rates in Australia by recovering waste and growing fairfood—ensuring humane working conditions and wages for the workers who are largely former
refugees and young people.
 Space2b (2017) is a Melbourne based initiative located in St Kilda. This is an art and design social
enterprise founded to assist newly arrived migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to become
financially independent. Space2b helps refugees develop their business and English language skills
and to promote and sell their artistic products.
 ASRC Catering (2017) of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Footscray (Melbourne), a not-forprofit social enterprise, offers hospitality training to asylum seekers caters food reflecting theirdiverse cultures.
 Free to Feed (FTF 2017) employs asylum seekers to organise pop up cooking classes inside Free toFeed’s kitchen in Thornbury, North Melbourne or homes, cafés or schools.
 Brewing for Change Inc., Long Street Coffee (2017) in Melbourne offers a 3-month traineeship in
hospitality industry with a particular focus on barista training for refugees.
 The Social Studio (2018) in Melbourne operates a training school for migrants and refugees in
hospitality, fashion and manufacturing.
 CareerSeekers (2018) which was founded in 2015 works to create employment opportunities forrefugees and asylum seekers by facilitating 12-week paid internships for university students andmid-career professionals who had tertiary qualifications in their home countries. These internships
provide them with much needed local work experience. Westpac, one of the major supporters of
CareerSeekers, provides AUD$300,000 and employs 10 interns with plans to employ higher
numbers in 2018 (White 2017). As of December 2017, CareerSeekers has placed 170 interns in 38
companies including Lendlease, IAG and Ericsson to name but afew (White 2017).

5. Settlement Locations
In Australia, humanitarian entrants receive permanent citizenship and are free to settle and to move. The
Department of Social Services (2017c) encourages regional settlement ‘as much as possible, in all states
and territories’ and have chosen a number of regional settlement areas according to work opportunities,
availability of affordable housing as well as health, education and employment services, interpreting andtranslation support, communities’ ethnic/cultural and religious characteristics, and the local council andcommunity support.

6

Techfugees (2017) is a non-profit organization organizing conferences, workshops and meetups around the world‘in an effort to generate tech solutions for and with refugees’.

19

As previously noted, humanitarian entrants tend to choose locations where there are already somemembers of their own community and/or services available for them. Often these are found in outer
metropolitan areas that have pre-existing services available for diverse groups. Since their arrival, theSyrian and Iraqi refugees have tended to reside in areas where there are readily available services in theircommunity language. For instance, in Sydney, many SIRs moved to the Fairfield and Liverpool areas (seeFigure 10). The relatively sudden intake resulted in Fairfield City Council requesting more support from the
NSW Government (Hunter 2017, Brennan 2017), but some SIRs who first arrived in Fairfield are also
reported to have moved to other Western Sydney suburbs—primarily for employment reasons but also
housing.
Figure 10: Syrian and Iraqi humanitarian entrants in subdivisions of Western Sydney

Blacktown
CanterburyBankstown
Central Western
SydneyFairfield-Liverpool

The regional settlement areas of NSW include Wollongong, Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Albury, Wagga
Wagga and Armidale (NSW Government 2017a).7 Armidale, situated west of Coffs Harbour, has recently
been chosen as a new settlement location, expecting the arrival of at least 200 SIRs from February 2018
onwards (DSS 2017c). In Victoria, the main regional settlement areas have been Geelong and Shepparton,
respectively one and two hours drive away from Melbourne city centre. In Melbourne, SIRs have largely
settled in the north-western parts of the city, such as Hume, Darebin, Moreland, Whittlesea, Wyndham,
Brimbank and Melton, where there are already some established Syrian and Iraqi communities. In
Queensland, the main settlement areas have been Logan and Bracken Ridge (suburbs of the City ofBrisbane), the Gold Coast and Toowoomba (Roe 2016). Tables 9, 10 and 11 show that Syrian and Iraqi
humanitarian entrants settle in particular areas of major cities: largely in Fairfield-Liverpool in Sydney;
Logan City in Brisbane; and the Hume City subdivision of Melbourne.
Table 9: Humanitarian entrants to NSW in targeted Statistical Subdivisions, arriving between 1 July 2015
and 31 December 2017
Country of Birth(Settlement)

7

Subdivisions of Western Sydney
Blacktown

CanterburyBankstown

Afghanistan

40

24

CentralWestern
Sydney
345

Iraq

267

61

180

Regional
FairfieldLiverpool

TOTAL

Coffs
Harbour

52

53

514

6,784

112

7,404

As of mid-2017, at least 47 Ezidi families successfully settled in Wagga Wagga (Kassoua 2017).

20

SyriaTOTAL(Iraq + Syria)
Source: (SRF)

447

613

644

3,541

78

5,323

714

674

824

10,325190

12,727

Table 10: Humanitarian entrants to QLD in targeted Statistical Subdivisions, arriving between 1 July 2015
and 31 December 2017
Country of Birth(Settlement)

Subdivisions of Brisbane

Regional

Afghanistan

15

123

Northwest
Outer Brisbane
7

Iraq
Syria
TOTAL
(Iraq + Syria)
Source: (SRF)

80
99

231
311

179

542

Inner Brisbane

Logan City

TOTAL

Toowoomba
62

207

157
101

192
204

660
715

258

396

1,375

Table 11: Humanitarian entrants to VIC in targeted Statistical Subdivisions, arriving between 1 July 2015
and 31 December 2017
Country of Birth(Settlement)

Subdivisions of Melbourne

Regional

Afghanistan

130Greater
Dandenong
386

Iraq
Syria
TOTAL
(Iraq + Syria)
Source: (SRF)

2382
1719

89
258

4,101

347

Hume City

Moreland City

TOTAL

Shepparton
96

495

38
62

4
73

2,513
2,112

100

77

4,625

6. Post-arrival Programs and Policies
Settlement
A number programs and services are available for humanitarian entrants prior to their departure toAustralia and in their first phase of settlement to assist them with ‘successful’ settlement, ‘to participate
in Australian society as quickly as possible… [and] … to integrate as peacefully and harmoniously as
possible’ (Spinks 2009: 4).
Prior to departure: The Australian Cultural Orientation Program (AUSCO) is provided to humanitarian
entrants over the age of five years. This five-day program gives participants practical information about
the journey to Australia, the post-arrival settlement services and general information about Australianlaws and norms (DSS 2017d).
Post-arrival: According to the Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS), all humanitarian
entrants, including SIRs, are entitled to receive initial settlement assistance during their first six to twelve
months through the following programs and services:
1. Humanitarian Settlement Services (HSS) program—including case coordination/management,
information and referrals to relevant agencies.
212. Complex Case Support Program—in cases where needs cannot be met by the HSS and theSettlement Grants Program, such as services related to some physical and mental health problems,
domestic violence intervention, grief or relationship counselling.
3. Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)—including a two-week settlement course, English
language training for up to 510 hours, which in some cases can be extended to 700 hours, as well
as 200 hours of vocational English and an orientation with Australian workplace culture andpractices8.
4. Settlement Grants Program—building on HSS and including community development projects
from either a casework or community-based approach.
5. Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS)—available 24/7 for more than 160 language and dialectgroups, free of charge for non-English speaking humanitarian entrants when they need to accessfederal, state and local government authorities and medical practitioners among other suchservices (RCOA 2013).

Education
Legally all young (school aged) refugees in Australia have access to free public education like all othermigrants who have permanent residency. They are provided with intensive language support with a focus
on the families as a whole particularly in the early years of settlement (first 1-5 years). Research showsthat support for refugee students requires a coordinated whole-school approach. Schools are also
encouraged to work on activities related to raising awareness particularly during World Refugee Week.
This section will provide a brief overview of the education policies in the three major states, as education
policies are largely defined at the level of state governments who are responsible for the education budget
and distribution of financial resources.

New South WalesThe NSW Government has committed AUD$93 million to support school-aged young people to successfully
settle. The funding will meet core-schooling costs including intensive English language classes andtransition support. AUD$2.5 million will be provided for a School Liaison Program run by the Service for
the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS). AUD$720,000 will be
provided for Community Hubs designated to migrant, refugee women and their pre-school children.
AUD$2.7 million will be provided for education-related expenses for refugee students in non-government
schools. AUD$2.2 million of this will be allocated to NSW Catholic schools to fund the provision of intensive
English language classes for newly arrived refugee students from Syria and Iraq (Catholic Education
Commission 2017).
Funding supports refugee students who have been enrolled in an Australian school for less than three
years and can be used to provide a safe, welcoming school environment and orientation to school, bilingual
learning support, counsellor support, assistance to teachers to differentiate teaching and learning,provision of additional English language learning and literacy support, tutorial support to assist refugee
students to complete homework and assessment tasks, peer support to assist refugee students toparticipate actively in the school community and mentoring to support refugee students in their transition
to work or further education. While welcoming the funding, some schools have admitted that the funding
available does not cover all of their expenses. For example, Holy Saviour Catholic School in Sydney's
southwest says the extra funds only cover about a third of what it spends with financial resources
therefore falling short (see Robinson 2017).

8

Humanitarian entrants are eligible for participation in the AMEP only during the first five years of settlement andthey must commence participation within their first year of arrival in Australia.

22In addition to the services implemented with this funding arrangement, there are also a number ofprograms and services available for refugee students studying in NSW. They can attend the Beginning
School Well program to ease their transition to the school system in Australia. Those who are in Years 8 to
12 can also attend the Multicultural Playwright Program to develop their creative writing skills and build
friendships. The NSW Government Education Department also established refugee teacher networks in
Holroyd and Fairfield, and Refugee Support Leader positions and Refugee Student Support teams to offer
psychological expertise to schools and as such assist refugee students and their families. Finally, as of 2016
the work readiness program: Ready Arrive Work has helped 200 refugee students in 14 different schools(NSW Government Department of Education 2016). Intensive English Centres that are attached to highschools and specialist refugee support teachers have a great role in enhancing education outcomes for
SIRs.

Victoria
In Victoria, the Refugee Education Support Program (RESP) is a Department funded initiative in partnershipwith Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) and Foundation House in collaboration with Catholic Education
Commission Victoria (CECV) and Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) (Victoria State Government 2017).
RESP works with schools in order to identify the gaps and implement solutions to support the education
outcomes of students from refugee backgrounds. In this context, professional learning and consultation
are provided to build the capacity of school staff, out-of-school hours care providers and volunteers.
Community engagement programs and activities are implemented to provide support for recently arrived
families from refugee backgrounds. Partnerships between community, business and governmentorganisations are also developed. Schools participating in the RESP are set up as a cluster. Clusters operate
for two years and are grouped by geographical region. The Refugee and Asylum Seeker Wellbeing
Supplement provides funding for the 2017-2020 period to eligible schools to support the wellbeing needsof students from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds (Victoria State Government 2017).

Queensland
In Queensland, a Refugee Program is implemented to assist schools with refugee students, especially thosewith complex learning, social and psychological needs. Funds are allocated to the seven regions of theState based on the number of ‘weighted’ refugees per region—the weightings are calculated on thenumber of refugees depending on how many years they have lived in Australia. Students are classified as
being either ‘New Arrivals’, ‘1st year’, ‘2nd year’ or ‘3rd year’ with a greater proportion of the funds allocatedfor ‘New Arrivals’. Funding can be used for language tuition, homework assistance, counselling, interpreter
services, job preparation, intensive teaching or teacher aide support development of supporting
educational materials that can be used state-wide. In metropolitan areas, AUD$250 per refugee student
is allocated for every term for each school (Queensland Government 2017).
Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) has also been particularly involved in young SIRs as
many SIRs are Catholic. A recent study conducted by the Social Justice Commission, Catholic Diocese of
Toowoomba (2012) found that the length of intensive language support is not adequate and thecurriculum offerings differ markedly from school to school. Some schools apply a whole school ethos,which is welcoming to students from refugee backgrounds, while others withdraw students for a few days
per week and mainstream them on other days.

Employment
Syrian and Iraqi refugees can benefit from the existing programs targeting migrants and refugees ingeneral. The Career Pathways Pilot (CPP), delivered by service providers in each state, assists refugees tofind employment in line with their previous qualifications and work experience (see Section 4).
23

New South Wales
Settlement Services International (SSI) administers and delivers the Refugee Employment Support
Program (RESP). Established in 2017 to support newly arrived refugees, including SIRs, the program aims
to assist refugees in gaining sustainable work particularly in Western Sydney and the Illawarra regions of
New South Wales (see Section 4). SSI also delivers the CPP for refugees in New South Wales.

Victoria
In Victoria, AMES Australia is funded to deliver the CPP for refugees in Melbourne.

Queensland
Launched in late 2015 and through the help of committed companies, Multicultural Development Australia(MDA) offers the Work & Welcome 500 initiative, which sees participating companies funding 12-week job
placements specifically designed for SIRs in Queensland (MDA 2017). MDA is also funded to deliver the
CPP for refugees in Toowoomba.

7. Public and Political Discourses and Responses
The intake of Syrian and Iraqi refugees has occurred at a time when the public and political discourses
around the arrival of refugees in Australia are polarised. In the political realm, a dehumanising discoursearound refugees and particularly asylum seekers claims that ‘boat people’ are ‘queue jumping’, resulting
in their representation as being dishonest and illegitimate (Clark 2013, Nicholson and Dodd 2012, Bickers
2017, Rowe and O’Brien 2014). This more general discourse has implications for all refugees regardless of
how they arrive. In their analysis of recent parliamentary debates, Rowe and O’Brien (2014) argue that‘[p]arliamentarians apply the label of legitimacy based on implicit criteria concerning the mode of arrivalof asylum seekers, their respect for the so-called ‘queue’, and their ability to pay to travel to Australia’.
Also, often politicians emphasise refugees’ and asylum seekers’ presumed ‘cost’ to the Australian nation(Every 2008). These political discourses are accompanied by the racial profiling and stereotyping,particularly of male refugees in the popular media, the overwhelming message being that they are
dangerous and violent (MacDonald 2017, Walker Rettberg, and Gajjala 2016). They are also presented as
suffering from torture and trauma and as dependent on social welfare, implicit in which is the burden on
the financial coffers – presenting them as an economic burden and a burden to the health sector (Reid andAl Khalil 2013). More broadly, refugees and asylum seekers are presented as comprising large numbers
when the reality is that the humanitarian intake makes up the lowest proportion of the broader migration
program.
Taken together the political and popular media discourse has enhanced the polarised opinions in the
public realm: while some groups have vehemently opposed the acceptance of refugees and asylum
seekers, others have criticised Australia’s mandatory detention and offshore processing system for asylum
seekers who arrived without permission (see Phillips and Spinks 2011). In 2016, the UN Special Rapporteuron migrant human rights also condemned these practices (OCHR 2016). Opinion polls regarding theacceptance of refugees and asylum seekers are also divided: while a recent study suggested most survey
respondents believed that mandatory offshore detention was cruel (TAI 2016), another online poll
conducted showed the majority opposing the acceptance of refugees despite increasing numbers ofpeople in need of protection (Phillips 2016). Overall, a number of studies conducted on asylum seekers
arriving in Australia by boat found that most respondents considered them as illegitimate and not ‘genuine
refugees’ (McKay et al 2016). For instance, some believed that asylum seekers received lump sum
payments and preferential treatment for services like public housing (Hasham 2016). Finally, in line with
political and mediated discourses, people smugglers were often associated with threats to national
24

security, adding another layer to the negative discourse surrounding refugees and asylum seekers (Suhnan
et al 2012).
The discourse surrounding the recently arrived Syrian and Iraqi refugees has also been divisive, whereat times it has revolved around selecting those from particular religious groups; others have placed anemphasis on the positive net contribution in terms of financial and human capital that the families andindividuals will make. This discursive context is important to understand as it shapes the experiences offamilies in our project. The dominant message from the government perspective has been one of engaging
in a process of careful refugee selection and administration as a way of creating equal access, ‘avoiding
queue jumpers’, and protecting Australia’s borders (Doherty 2015, Medhora 2015). While a moot point, it
is important to note that evidence throughout Australia’s history has shown that both migrants andrefugees have made a positive net contribution to the Australian economy (Groutsis, et al. 2016). There is,therefore, little dispute that there will be economic and social gains (Connaughton 2015, Australian
Productivity Commission 2015).

8. Concluding Remarks
This background paper describes some of the available services and programs for the recently arrived
Syrian and Iraqi refugees, the discursive context and their characteristics based on visa categories,
ethnicity, age, gender, self-reported English capability and education level. At our first international
meeting in March (13th-15th March 2018) with national partner investigators and international partnerorganisations we drew comparative insights regarding these background matters. We will have anothermeeting at the International Metropolis Conference, which will be held in Sydney, 29th October-2nd
November 2018. This three-year longitudinal study will involve extensive and deep fieldwork inmetropolitan and non-metropolitan areas of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, the states thatare receiving large numbers of Afghani and SIRs. The next report will present findings of the first stage ofour fieldwork, and will be released by the end of 2018.

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