CURRENT ISSUES - NATIONAL SETTLEMENT POLICY NETWORK
INTRODUCTION
The National Settlement Policy Network is a joint initiative of the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) and the Settlement Council of Australia (SCOA) to enable our members (organisational and individual) to participate in planning joint advocacy on settlement issues.
RCOA and SCOA will be co-hosting a quarterly National Settlement Policy Network teleconference that will focus on specific themes. Teleconferences will provide an opportunity for members to hear from guest speakers with expertise in particular areas of settlement policy as well as raise issues of concern and ways forward.
TELECONFERENCE - 7 APRIL 2011
The next Settlement Policy Network teleconference will take place on Thursday 7 April 2011, and will focus on the topic Life after immigration detention: Exploring the settlement experiences and challenges faced by ex-detainees. Australia’s policy of detaining asylum seekers who arrive without prior authorisation has meant that an increasing number of people granted protection visas have, or will have, spent a significant amount of time in immigration detention. Recent changes to the eligibility criteria for settlement services has also permitted refugees granted protection onshore to have access to IHSS/HSS where they previously were ineligible.
Presentations and discussion will focus on:
- An overview of trends in the numbers and resettlement of ex-detainees
- Services and supports for ex-detainees who are granted protection visas
- The settlement experiences of ex-detainees – what are services and communities seeing?
- Issues and concerns with regards to the settlement challenges faced by ex-detainees
Speakers include: Sarah Moya, Acting Regional Manager, AMES Settlement (Victoria); Vicky Fisher, Case Manager, AMES Settlement (Victoria); Tracy Worrall, Director, QPASTT (Queensland); Abbas Hazara, Youth Leader, Australian Hazara Council (Victoria).
The teleconference will be held at the following times:
- 2.00-3.15pm ACT, NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria
- 1.30-2.45pm NT and SA
- 12.00pm-1.15pm WA time
A detailed agenda can be downloaded here.
RESOURCES
Background statistics (compiled by RCOA)
Australian Refugee Rights Alliance (2010). Asylum and Detention in Australia: A Two-Tiered System
http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/docs/resources/2010_ARRA_Detention_in_Australia.pdf
Coffey, Kaplan, Sampson and Tucci (2010). “The meaning and mental health consequences of long-term immigration detention for people seeking asylum” in Social Science & Medicine, 70 (2010). pp. 2070-2079
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Please note that the National Settlement Policy Teleconference is organised by the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) and the Settlement Council of Australia (SCOA) to enable our members (organisational and individual) to participate in planning joint advocacy on settlement issues.
Any non-member who wishes to participate should contact either the RCOA national office on (02) 9211 9333 or SCOA on (02) 8065 5225 prior to a teleconference to make arrangements to reimburse RCOA/SCOA for the cost of their participation in the teleconference.
To check if your organisation is a current member of RCOA, see the list of organisational members on the RCOA website: www.refugeecouncil.org.au/resources/links.html
To check if your organisation is a current member of SCOA, see the list of organisational members on the SCOA website: www.scoa.org.au/contacts.htm
PAST TELECONFERENCES
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