A vital national voice for refugees since 1981
RCOA was founded in 1981 by Paul Cullen (left), pictured here receiving the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award from the then UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Poul Hartling.
Become a member
As a small not-for-profit organisation, the Refugee Council depends on the support of its members and donors to maintain its independent research, policy development and advocacy on refugee issues.
To become a member of RCOA, download and fill in the relevant application form and send it along with payment to the RCOA secretariat:
- By post: Suite 4A6, 410 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
- By fax: (02) 9211 9288
- By e-mail: admin@refugeecouncil.org.au
The individual application form can be downloaded here. The organisational application form can be downloaded here. You can also apply for membership online.
Your membership will be confirmed and a receipt mailed to you after the form and payment have been received.
Individual members
Individual members are Australians who want to be informed about refugee and asylum seeker issues and support the work of RCOA.
The annual fee for individual membership is $55.00 (inc GST) or $27.50 (inc GST) for the non-waged.
As an individual member, you will be entitled to:
- receive regular briefings and updates about evolving refugee issues, including monthly email bulletins and media releases;
- vote in elections and for thematic resolutions;
- elect members to the RCOA Board, to nominate for Board membership and to propose AGM resolutions;
- have access to hard copies of our reports and submissions, free of charge;
- participate in any of RCOA’s policy networks, which meet by teleconference. RCOA currently convenes networks on Asylum Policy, Settlement Policy and International Policy; and
- play an important role informing RCOA about refugee issues.
Organisational members
The organisational members of RCOA are involved in many areas of refugee support, including:
- assisting refugees in countries of first asylum and when they repatriate to their homelands.
- providing settlement support to refugees in Australia.
- providing protection and legal advice to refugees and asylum seekers.
- advocating on behalf of a particular refugee community.
The annual fee for organisational membership varies according to the organisation’s annual income/expenditure. The current rates (inc GST) are as follows:
| Income/expenditure per annum | Membership fee |
| Less than $100,000 | $55.00 |
| $100,000 to $500,000 | $110.00 |
| $500,000 to $1 million | $165.00 |
| $1 million to $5 million | $275.00 |
| Over $5 million | $440.00 |
As a member of RCOA, your organisation will be entitled to:
- receive regular briefings and updates about evolving refugee issues, including monthly email bulletins and media releases;
- vote in elections and for thematic resolutions;
- elect members to the RCOA Board, to nominate for Board membership and to propose AGM resolutions;
- have access hard copies of our reports and submissions, free of charge;
- participate in any of RCOA’s policy networks, which meet by teleconference. RCOA currently convenes networks on Asylum Policy, Settlement Policy and International Policy;
- advertise job vacancies and volunteering opportunities free of charge on our website;
- promote public events on our website and in our monthly bulletin, free of charge;
- have access to discounted job listings on Jobseeker, an online job site run by Infoxchange specialising in community and social sector jobs; and the Community Sector Industrial Relations Service (CSIR), a non-profit peak body which provides industrial relations advice for the community sector; and
- play an important role informing RCOA about refugee issues.
Last updated May 2012