Palmer Progress Fact Sheet

Case management and community care

This fact sheet is also available in PDF format.
See: Case management and community care (207KB PDF file)

DIMA's most vulnerable clients are benefiting from the one-on-one attention of well-trained and equipped staff involved in the new case management service delivery approach.

A growing network of case managers is ensuring that immigration outcomes are reached for clients in a timely, lawful, fair and reasonable manner, that clients are treated as individuals and that government policies are implemented sensitively.

As at 31 July 2006, more than 650 referrals had been made to the department's case management service. Some 250 exceptional cases involving vulnerable people, such as elderly clients or those with a disability, were either being assessed or individually managed in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. The department is in the process of expanding the case management service to all its state and territory offices and is hiring and training additional case managers.

Already about $1 million has been invested in an interim IT system to support case managers, with Systems for People to provide further improvements in 2007.

Community partners such as the Australian Red Cross and the International Organisation of Migration are working with the department on running a new community care pilot programme in New South Wales and Victoria in 2006-07. The programme complements the case management system by providing personalised and tailored services to clients while they await their immigration outcome. The range of services offered could be as simple as food, clothing and basic living expenses, or might involve helping the client prepare for their immigration outcome with information and counselling services. The pilot programme will be formally evaluated after 12 months.

More information is available.
See: Palmer Progress Update: September 2006