2017-18 Refugee and Humanitarian Program: consultation

Questions for people supporting humanitarian entrants

Each year since 1984, the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) has been invited by the Australian Government to provide input on the planning of the following year’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program. RCOA will be conducting local consultations around Australia to seek input to inform its submission to the Minister and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) on Australia’s 2017-18 Refugee and Humanitarian Program. This year, RCOA is seeking feedback on international refugee needs, Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program, settlement support for all humanitarian entrantsand views on Australia’s asylum policies.

How to get involved

Face-to-face consultations will be taking place across Australia from August 2016. To find details of consultations in your area, go toour website, call RCOA’s Sydney office on (02) 9211 9333 or email ten responses to our key consultation questions can be emailed Monday 31 October. If you cannot attend a face-to-face consultation or provide written responses, call RCOA’s Sydney office on (02) 9211 9333 or arrange a time for a phone interview.

International refugee needs

  1. What feedback do you have in relation to conditions in countries of origin and countries of asylum?
  2. What could be done to improve conditions for refugees and asylum seekers in these countries?
  3. What role could the Refugee and Humanitarian Program play in response to key refugee protection issues and new and existing humanitarian crises?
  4. What role should Australia play in regional protection in the Asia-Pacific?

Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program

Size and composition
  1. What suggestions would you like to make in relation to the size and composition of the Refugee and Humanitarian Program?
  2. What comments do you have in relation to the 12,000 places for people fleeing the crises in Syria and Iraq?
  3. Which groups would you nominate as being in priority need of resettlement under Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program during 2017-18?
  4. What have been the implications for service providers and communities of additional temporary humanitarian visas being granted over and above the Refugee and Humanitarian Program allocation?
Family Reunion
  1. What feedback or suggestions do you have in relation to the Community Proposal Pilot/proposed Community Support Program?
  2. What concessions and support should be made available to humanitarian entrants via the General Migration Program? What concessions would be most useful to facilitate family reunion?

Settlement support for all humanitarian entrants

General
  1. What would you nominate as the top priorities in post-arrival settlement support? What would you like to see the Government do to address these issues?
  2. Which community-based, local or state government initiatives and programs are examples of good practice in settlement support?
  3. What are the emerging issues, challenges and priorities relating to post-arrival settlement support that RCOA should be aware?
People from a refugee background with disabilities
  1. What has been your experience of disability services for people from a refugee background?
  2. What has been your experience in referring people to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)?
Health and Mental health
  1. What has been your experience in referring people from a refugee background to health services? What is working well and where are the gaps?
  2. From your perspective, what kind of supports would be most useful to support people’s well-being?
Education and employment
  1. What has been your experience referring people you support to employment services (e.g. JobActive)? What aspects have been helpful and how could the services be improved?
  2. What are your observations about people’s access to educational and training opportunities, including English language training and services?
Temporary visas for refugees
  1. What comments do you have in relation to access to settlement support services by temporary humanitarian visa holders?
  2. What feedback do you have in relation to the issuing of Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEVs)? What has been the impact on individuals, communities and services?
Regional and rural settlement
  1. What comments do you have in relation to settlement in regional or rural areas of Australia?
  2. Have people you supportedmoved to regional or rural Australia or considered doing so? What were the considerations that people had in making this decision?

Asylum policieS

  1. What are your observations on howpeople seeking asylum living in the community are currently faring, in relation to both day-to-day living and the processing of claims?
  2. What comments do you have about the current situation of people in immigration detention?
  3. What comments do you have about Australia’s deterrence policies, including turnbacks and offshore processing?
  4. What impacts do you see of Australia’s deterrence-based policies on you, your communities and on Australia more broadly?

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