2.1.1 Settlement planning and information delivery

Objectives

This component:

• provides a planning framework for the delivery of settlement services and information for recently-arrived migrants and humanitarian entrants that complements the services governments direct to all Australian residents
• provides demographic data and other information to assist service providers across the three levels of government to plan to meet the needs of newly-arrived migrants and humanitarian entrants.

Description

This output component supports the planning of settlement services. It also supports the provision of information to newly-arrived migrants and humanitarian entrants and to those who provide mainstream or specialised settlement services including the community sector.

Performance

Regional humanitarian settlement

In recent years, the department has sought to support and increase humanitarian settlement in regional areas where appropriate settlement infrastructure, services, employment opportunities and community support exist.

Direct humanitarian settlement commenced in Ballarat, Victoria, in May 2007 and Mount Gambier, South Australia, in June 2007. The department has recently initiated evaluations of the settlement of humanitarian entrants in these areas to identify any areas for improvement. The evaluations are expected to have been completed by September 2008.

The Sustainable Regional Settlement program was established to strengthen the capacity of regional towns to settle humanitarian entrants. In 2007–08, the department funded projects to a value of $92 000 in Castlemaine, Victoria, and Mount Gambier and Murray Bridge, South Australia.

Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council

The appointment of members for the fifth term of the Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council was approved by the Australian Government on 19 March 2008. There were six new council members appointed including the Chair, the Hon. Bruce Baird, and four councillors from the fourth term were reappointed. The council has an ongoing dialogue with both the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services and continues to provide high quality policy advice and input on the settlement of newly-arrived migrants and humanitarian entrants. Among other activities, the council provided input to the deliberations of the Citizenship Test Review Committee. The fifth term ends on 30 June 2010.

Settlement information

The Settlement Trends and Needs 2007 reports were launched in October 2007 with separate reports for each state and territory providing detailed information on migrant and humanitarian settlement in Australia, including trends in arrivals, demographic characteristics and potential settlement challenges. The information assists service providers to understand and respond to the likely needs of new arrivals.

The Beginning a Life in Australia booklets were updated twice in 2007–08. The booklets provide useful settlement information for prospective and newly- arrived migrants and humanitarian entrants as well as sponsors and service providers. Settlement information is provided in separate booklets tailored to each state and territory. An additional 13 community languages were introduced for the May 2008 edition in response to the changing caseload. The booklets are now available in English and 37 community languages on the department’s website.

A second edition of the New beginnings: Supporting new arrivals on their settlement journey booklet was released in April 2008, providing a comprehensive up to date statistical and descriptive account of the humanitarian settlement experience. It includes personal stories of refugees and explains the assistance available to support new arrivals on their settlement journey.

The department’s website provides ready access to extensive settlement information and services for clients including prospective migrants, newly-arrived migrants, sponsors of migrants, service providers and the wider Australian community. This is a popular site and the main index pages relating to settlement alone attracted almost 900 000 page views during 2007–08.

Settlement Database

The department’s Settlement Database provides statistical information for settlement planning, publications, research and policy development.

In 2007, as part of the government’s initiative to increase and sustain the settlement of humanitarian entrants in regional Australia, the department received $300 000 over two financial years (2007–08 and 2008–09) to improve data capture and the reporting capability of the database.

The Settlement Database development team continues to work closely with partners including the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Medicare Australia to improve the quality of the department’s data.

Policing project

The department is currently working on a project to develop online material to promote initiatives that build relationships between police and humanitarian communities, and raise awareness of Australian law. National consultations with police commenced this year.