Refugee Council of Australia

Since 2008, RCOA has worked with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in coordinating exchanges between Australian Cultural Orientation (AUSCO) trainers based in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and staff of Australian-based refugee settlement service agencies.

RCOA is currently seeking expressions of interest from Australian agencies providing settlement services (including post-arrival orientation to newly arrived refugees) to participate in the 2011 Australian Cultural Orientation (AUSCO) Exchange Program. This EOI process seeks to identify two Australian agencies and two Guest Trainers from within the selected agencies currently designing and delivering settlement services, including orientation activities for refugees, to participate in a short-term exchange with AUSCO training teams in two priority locations, probably in the Middle East region. Applications close 5:00pm AEDT Friday 11 March 2011. For further information about the program and details on how to lodge an EOI, download this information sheet.

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.

In September 2010, RCOA sought expressions of interest for the next phase of the AUSCO Exchange Program, aimed at assisting IOM trainers in the refining of orientation programs for refugee youth preparing to settle in Australia. RCOA received 29 expressions of interest and, after interviews with six candidates, selected Nadine Liddy from the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) in Melbourne and Mohamed Baaruud from STARTTS in Sydney to participate in the exchange. The exchange will begin in late October 2010 with CMY and STARTTS hosting IOM trainers from Malaysia and Kenya, arranging meetings with representatives of refugee settlement and specialist youth services in Victoria and NSW. After the Australian leg of the exchange, Nadine will travel to Malaysia and Mohamed to Kenya to provide input to the local AUSCO teams.

CURRENT ISSUES - CULTURAL ORIENTATION

ABOUT THE AUSCO PROGRAM