Fact Sheet 67 – The Australian Cultural Orientation (AUSCO) Program

The Australian Cultural Orientation (AUSCO) program is provided to refugee and humanitarian visa holders who are preparing to settle in Australia. The program provides practical advice and the opportunity to ask questions about travel to and life in Australia. It is delivered overseas, before they begin their journey.

The program is the beginning of the settlement process for people coming to Australia under the Humanitarian Program. AUSCO is available to all refugee and humanitarian visa holders over the age of five. The course is delivered over five days to ensure that all topics are covered in sufficient detail.

From the beginning of the program in 2003 to the end of December 2010, more than 2100 courses have been conducted in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, India, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Romania, the Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, assisting more than 39 000 people.

Refugee and humanitarian visa holders are also eligible to receive on arrival settlement support through the Humanitarian Settlement Services (HSS) program.
See: Fact Sheet 66 – Humanitarian Settlement Services

Program objectives

AUSCO is designed to:

• prepare visa holders for travel
• enhance settlement prospects
• create realistic expectations about their life in Australia
• provide information about Australian laws, values and lifestyle.

Curriculum

The course is tailored for delivery to four separate groups—adults, youth, children and pre-literate people. In addition there are family day sessions for all family members.

The curriculum is designed to give participants confidence and independence starting their new lives in Australia, and is an opportunity for them to meet others making the same journey.

Topics covered during the course include:

• travel to Australia including arrangements for the airport, the flight, transit and arrival
• settling in, including on-arrival assistance
• an overview of Australia including government, geography and climate
• cultural adjustment, including communication and behaviour
• health care including Medicare, hospitals, immunisation and preventative health
• education including learning English, schools, tertiary and community education
• finding a job including Centrelink, Job Network, recognition of overseas qualifications and experience and Australian working conditions
• money management including banking, budgeting, taxation and credit
• housing including renting and household management arrangements
• public transport and driver's licences
• Australian law, values and citizenship
• how to access torture and trauma counselling.

Teaching methodology

AUSCO teachers utilise a variety of teaching methods throughout the course including brainstorming, simulations, case studies, debates, discussions, problem solving and role plays.

The department also provides classroom and reference materials such as videos and DVDs, maps, posters, newspapers, and books about Australia.

A student handbook is supplied to participants and provides information on all AUSCO topics. Participants are also given copies of the Beginning a Life in Australia booklet which is available in 37 community languages on the department's website.
See: Beginning a Life in Australia

Program delivery

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is currently contracted to deliver the course on behalf of the department.

IOM is an inter-governmental organisation that manages the safe and efficient passage of displaced persons, refugees and other migrants to their final destination. This is achieved through the provision of services and advice on travel and related issues to governments and to migrants. The IOM has around 460 field locations across the world.
See: International Organization for Migration

Review and improvement

The AUSCO curriculum resources are monitored and updated regularly to ensure they are relevant for the target audience and presented in an interesting and culturally appropriate way.

For example, a comic book titled One Step at a Time was introduced into the AUSCO youth course and was developed and informed by the experiences of young people who came to Australia as refugees. The book addresses issues that youth in particular face during settlement.
See: One Step at a Time

A testimonial DVD titled Step by step was launched recently to be used as a learning resource for cultural orientation participants. The DVD contains a series of testimonials from humanitarian entrants who have recently arrived in Australia and speak candidly about their settlement experiences and the challenges they faced.

Snippets of this DVD are available under Education Resources on ImmiTV.
See: ImmiTV

The department has also partnered with the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) program. The partnership has supported three AYAD staff so far to assist the IOM in Thailand on projects to improve the delivery of the AUSCO course.

An internal evaluation of AUSCO was completed in 2009 and the evaluation report is available on the department's website.
See: The Evaluation of AUSCO 2009 (384KB PDF file)

Further information is available on the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au

The department also operates a national general enquiries line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm (recorded information is available outside these hours).

Fact Sheet 67. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Last Reviewed March 2011.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2010.