The City of Darebin (Darebin) is located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne
Darebin is home to people of diverse races, ethnicities, faiths and beliefs, abilities, gender, talents and aspirations, sexualities and sex and gender identities, age, occupations, income, and lifestyles.
Today, more than 165,000 people live in Darebin, more than 33% are overseas-born, with about 138 languages, 37% of Darebin population speaks a language other than English. These figures include\ a large number of newly arrived people from refugees and asylum-seeking backgrounds.
Darebin is home to several rooming houses that specifically house people seeking asylum, making Darebin their first community and home in Australia.
Darebin City Council (Council) has a long-standing commitment to supporting and advocating for the rights of newly arrived, refugee and asylum seeker communities in our municipality, including supporting and advocating for the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum in our municipality, which have been progressed through Council’s ongoing plan of actions, as well as through Council’s active involvement and commitments to a number of local, statewide, national and global policies, advocacies and networks. This includes:
Darebin Welcoming Cities Community Reference Group
As a member of Welcoming Cities network, Council is committed to supporting migrant and refugee communities. This commitment is guided by the Council’s Darebin Welcoming Cities Community Reference Group, which is made up of community members with lived experience and representatives from key migrant and refugee organisations. Its purpose is to advise on and supports Council’s progress towards achieving this commitment through Darebin Council Action Plan.
Darebin Intercultural Centre
Darebin Intercultural Centre is a dedicated space for intercultural dialogue, engagement, and community development. It is a practical demonstration of Darebin City Council’s commitment to combat racism and foster cultural diversity and connectedness between Darebin’s diverse community members, with a particular focus on newly arrived and migrant communities,
Advocating for the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum
As a member of the Local Government Mayoral Taskforce Supporting People Seeking Asylum and the Taskforce Back Your Neighbour campaign, the Council, with mayors from municipalities across the country, is advocating to seek urgent intervention from the Federal Government to provide a basic safety net and fair process for people seeking asylum in Australia.
Anti-racism
Working towards a discrimination-free, and systemic racism-free Darebin, the Council is working with Darebin community and local organisations, to address systemic racism and discrimination and foster respect, and this is through developing baseline data set regarding the experience of racism in Darebin, designing and implementing programs and Council-led events to address systemic racism and discrimination.
Employment support
Aiming at Creating equitable and diverse opportunities for employment, the Council is catalysing new jobs at scale in Darebin focusing on jobseekers facing multiple employment barriers including culturally and linguistically diverse communities including migrants and people with refugee backgrounds.
Darebin Community Grant
Through Darebin Community Grant, the Council is promoting active participation of Darebin residents, especially those who have been identified as ‘at risk’ of exclusion including recently arrived migrants, refugees, and people seeking asylum,
Refugee Week
Council celebrates Refugee Week each year and aims to create a culture of welcome for refugees and people seeking asylum living among us. The celebration strives to create a better understanding between different communities and enable refugees to live in safety and with respect for their stories and their incredible contribution.
Refugee Week is a unique opportunity for Darebin community to experience and celebrate the rich diversity of refugee communities, and it is an important opportunity for asylum seekers and refugees to be seen, listened to, and valued.
