Regional settlement

While the majority of refugees and humanitarian entrants to Australia settle in the eight state and territory capital cities, hundreds are settled each year in regional cities and towns. Others choose to move to regional areas in search of work after a period of initial settlement in metropolitan areas.

Regional settlement provides both opportunities and challenges for newly arrived refugees. The engagement of the wider community in supporting refugees after arrival is often greater in regional locations than in metropolitan areas, providing new arrivals with additional opportunities to make early connections with a broad range of people. However, specialist support services for refugees and transport options are generally much more limited, as are options for support from people of the same language and cultural background. Depending on the location, employment opportunities can also be restricted.

The Regional Settlement Working Group of the Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council has produced an annotated bibliography of research on regional settlement issues. This bibliography was compiled with the assistance of the Settlement Planning Branch of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship in October 2009 and has since been updated by RCOA. The bibliography can be downloaded here.

For more information and links to resources on regional settlement, see our Settlement Resources page.