Refugee Council of Australia

RCOA is currently seeking Expressions of Interest from Australian agencies providing support to refugee youth to participate in the AUSCO Exchange Program 2010-11. The program is an initiative emerging from the AUSCO Guest Trainer and Visiting Settlement Adviser Program implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and RCOA since 2008. The program will identify two Australian agencies currently delivering programs for refugee youth to participate in an exchange with two IOM AUSCO trainers from key locations where AUSCO youth training is delivered.

The background, purpose, objectives and details of the program, as well as information on how to apply, are outlined in this information sheet. Expressions of Interest close on Monday 13 September 2010. For further information, please contact RCOA's Sydney office on (02) 9211 9333 or info@refugeecouncil.org.au

ABOUT THE 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 June 2009, more than 1600 courses have been held 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 32 200 people.

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

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is currently contracted to deliver the course on behalf of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

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 about 400 offices in more than 120 countries across the world.

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.

an overview of Australia including government, geography and climate
travel to Australia including arrangements for the airport, the flight, transit and arrival
settling in, including on-arrival assistance
cultural adjustment, including communication and behaviour
healthcare 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
access to torture and trauma counselling

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

DIAC 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. This is available in various client languages and was last updated in July 2008.

During November 2009, RCOA held four briefings on the AUSCO Program, to provide feedback to Australian settlement services about how the pre-departure orientation program for refugees and humanitarian entrants to Australia is conducted and to discuss how post-arrival orientation can be improved.

The briefings were provided by three settlement service workers who have participated in a RCOA-coordinated exchange with AUSCO trainers overseas – Joseph Bol (Wollongong), Annerose Reiner (Foundation House) and Kamalle Daboussy (Liverpool Migrant Resource Centre). Briefings were held in Adelaide, Western Sydney and Melbourne (as part of the RCOA AGM forum), with settlement service workers in other cities participating in a briefing by teleconference. Ms Reiner’s presentation can be viewed here.

During 2008-09, RCOA assisted IOM in coordinating a Visiting Settlement Adviser (VSA) program. RCOA recruited eight Australian settlement service workers to serve as VSAs with AUSCO teams in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The VSAs supported the work of the local AUSCO trainers by providing inputs to the design and delivery of training, with the aim of ensure that the content of the AUSCO program reflected up-to-date information on settlement services and issues in Australia.

In 2010, RCOA worked with DIAC and IOM to build on the VSA program by developing the AUSCO Exchange Program, a two-way exchange between settlement service providers in Australia and AUSCO trainers. In February and March, Centrecare Migrant Services in Perth, Western Australia hosted May, an AUSCO trainer from the Thai-Burma border. She had the opportunity to see the practicalities of refugee in WA first hand and presented a workshop for Perth settlement service providers on how the AUSCO program is conducted. In March, Volker Schafer from Centrecare joined May and her AUSCO colleagues in Thailand for a short deployment as a guest trainer. Later in the year, Poly Kiyaga from AMES Victoria will participated in a two-way exchange with Neera Chaulagai from the AUSCO team in Nepal. Volker and Poly and their agencies were chosen for the exchange after a public call for expressions of interest and a recruitment process involving 28 refugee settlement specialists and their organisations.

CURRENT ISSUES - CULTURAL ORIENTATION

ABOUT THE AUSCO PROGRAM