Refugee students have today received vital funds to pursue their education, under a scholarships program that nurtures the aspirations of refugees like scientist Simon Issa, who is changing lives after receiving a scholarship back in 2016.   

The key to easing Australia’s skills shortages could be closer to home than anticipated, with new research commissioned by non-profit SSI showing more than 620,000 migrant workers already in the country do not have the opportunity to fully use their skills.

New funding announced in this week’s Federal Budget will offer some support to families fleeing the conflict in Gaza, many of whom are currently at risk of homelessness and poverty, according to non-profit organisation, Settlement Services International (SSI), which provides human services to around 50,000 people a year.

SSI welcomed the Federal Budget announcement of a $900k injection to extend Medicare eligibility to 30 June 2025 for Bridging Visa E holders arriving from affected areas of Israel and Palestine.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said families had escaped the crisis in Gaza only to arrive in Australia and find themselves largely reliant on charities like SSI, which is currently supporting close to 70 families.

“The situation in Gaza has worsened and worsened. With no hope of return, families are now navigating the process of applying for asylum in Australia, but in the meantime, their visa types mean they are mostly unable to work and ineligible for government support.

“At a time of rising costs of living, this has translated to families sleeping in cars, or living with 14 people in two-bedroom apartments,” she said.

“We welcome the extension of Medicare eligibility, noting however that most of the families we work with are currently not on visa types that are eligible for this support. More needs to be done so that refugees from Gaza receive the same support as people fleeing conflict in places like Ukraine.”

Ms Roumeliotis said it was encouraging to see broader measures to support people who are building new lives in Australia, such as a $120.9 million investment to strengthen the settlement sector and enhance outcomes for refugees and migrants.

“Robust on-arrival and settlement support is critical to ensuring newcomers are positioned to realise their full potential in Australia. It was welcome to see measures to this effect, including a modest increase in funding for some of the core settlement programs that support these outcomes,” she said.

“Disappointingly, the humanitarian intake will remain static at 20,000 places, despite record-breaking global numbers of people who are currently forcibly displaced from their homes by violence, conflict and persecution.

“A scale-up of our humanitarian intake is needed to meet the massive shortfall in resettlement places globally. It would also open up more opportunities for refugees already settled here to be reunited with family and, critically, allow Australia to demonstrate its credentials as a strong global citizen.”

Ms Roumeliotis said a strong theme of the budget was women’s safety, ranging from economic security to targeted violence prevention measures and more.

“It is a scary time to be a woman in Australia. An average of one Australian woman is violently killed every week, a significant portion of which occurs in intimate and family settings. There is no panacea for this, but this budget includes significant investment to make women’s lives safer and more equitable,” she said.

Ms Roumeliotis said SSI welcomed a number of other budget measures designed to improve access and equity in Australia, including:

• $27 million over three years to extend targeted support for Youth Transition Support services, which assist refugee and migrant youth to access education, employment and government services.
• $253.6 million over five years to reform employment services and supports for people with disability.
• $468.7 million over five years to support people with disability and get the NDIS back on track.
  $925.2 million over five years to improve financial support, safety assessments and referrals to support services for victim-survivors leaving a violent intimate partner relationship.

Media enquiries:
Hannah Gartrell, Head of Executive Communications and Media
M: 0423 965 956 E: hgartrell@ssi.org.au

Filipino, Murrawarri and Ngemba artist, DOBBY will be joined by special guests, Aussie hip hop legend, L-FRESH The LION, and hard-hitting Palestinian-Australian creative, Sereen Omran, for a one-of-a-kind performance at New Beginnings Festival 2024.

The festival, produced by non-profit SSI, is being held on the wharves of the National Maritime Museum on Saturday, January 27, at 3 -11pm.

DOBBY is set to perform unique collaborations with the duo, as well as his latest release ANCESTOR as a headliner at Sydney Festival’s most iconic celebration of Refugee, Migrant and First Nations artists.

An electrifying storyteller, whose 2020 single, ‘I Can’t Breathe,’ became an anthem for Australia’s Blak Lives Matter movement, DOBBY is expected to play unreleased tracks from his highly anticipated album, WARRANGU; RIVER STORY.

“I played New Beginnings Festival in 2022. That show was special for me, it marked a new stage in my career, and became one of my favourite shows I’ve played. I’m so excited to join the wholesome, vibrant and joyous array of acts again at this year’s New Beginnings Festival!

“I’m also really excited to have my good friends L-FRESH The LION and Sereen joining me on the stage for this special show!”

DOBBY is co-headlining the festival with rising Afro-Caribbean, Arrernte RnB and neo-soul artist SOLCHLD, alongside a lineup of Aussie artists from 15+ cultural backgrounds.

SSI Arts and Culture Producer Raphael Brasil said, “As one of the most multicultural countries in the world, Australia’s creative industry is home to a melting pot of ideas, cultures, and talents. New Beginnings Festival embodies our diversity by showcasing an eclectic mix of music, dance, art, culture, and food from Australia’s leading culturally and linguistically diverse artists and entrepreneurs.”

SSI’s New Beginnings Festival began in 2014 as a platform to use arts and culture to build bridges between refugee communities and wider Australia. From its origins, the event has evolved to include strong representation of both migrant and First Nations artists in recognition that true inclusion can only be achieved by acknowledging and celebrating diversity.

Other New Beginnings Festival performers include:

• East-African pop band, Chikchika, which draws upon the rich traditions of both Tigrinya and Oromo music, with a healthy influence from contemporary Australia.
• DJ Deepa from Kerfew, an Australia-wide creative collective of South Asian musicians, designers and broadcasters who use art as a vehicle to explore, reimagine and celebrate the cultures and stories.
• Reggae Powerhouse, The Strides, whose music builds on the foundations of classic roots reggae with a hip-hop edge, forging a sound that brings together modern dance hall, dub beats and reggae-pop.
• Internationally acclaimed musicians, Avaye Rood, presenting a blend of Persian-inspired original music, combining English and Persian poems by Rumi.
• Ghana Road Show, an engaging combination of circus, dance, and music that will take you on a journey through West Africa.
• The Curious Works Showcase, an exhibition featuring visual art photography, and digital art that provides insight into the experiences of three refugee artists.

After a turnout of nearly 6,000 Sydneysiders in 2023, New Beginnings Festival is again featuring as one of Sydney Festival’s major events, enabling underground artists and hidden gem stall holders to display their talents to an even wider audience.

Guests can explore food stalls featuring cuisine from Jamaica to the Pacific Islands, to Sierra Leone, and market stalls with entrepreneurs selling wares from First Nations, refugee and migrant backgrounds.

Mr Brasil said, “Now in its eighth year, New Beginnings Festival has showcased more than 363 performers and artists from across 80+ cultures – giving the public the opportunity to discover creatives often outside of their circle of understanding.”

How to join

The free festival takes place on Gadigal Land, at the wharves of Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at 3 -11PM and is open to people of all ages.

The festival is proudly presented by non-for-profit organisation SSI and its partners, the Australian National Maritime Museum; Mundo Institute and BUZZ Speaker Hire; with Stage Partner Allianz Australia, and Experience Partner Smartraveller.

Find out more

For venue details, registration and full lineup, see New Beginnings Festival webpage.

Settlement Services International (SSI) has launched a new learning program to train aged care workers on culturally safe service for seniors from diverse backgrounds as a proven way to boost health outcomes and quality of life.

The offering is a response to feedback from aged care providers that there is a need for practical training directly addressing the real-world challenges faced by workers. It also offers solutions to the recommendations in the government’s Aged Care Diversity Framework, which has called for better training to support providers in accommodating the diverse characteristics and life experiences of seniors, such as arriving in Australia as a migrant or refugee.

With a target of training 14,600 people within 18 months, SSI aims to help unlock the proven benefits of this person-centred approach for Australia’s ageing population by significantly raising the skill level of direct care workers in interacting with culturally diverse seniors. In doing so, it will reduce barriers for seniors accessing healthcare, increase customer satisfaction and business performance for aged care providers, and improve retention of direct care workers within the short-staffed industry.

About the diversity e-learning modules

The online program is delivered in seven accessible e-learning lessons, which can be completed on any laptop or mobile device in approximately 90 minutes. The content is aimed at supporting direct care workers and covers the following topics: ‘what is culture’, ‘caring for people from culturally diverse backgrounds’, ‘culturally responsive support’, ‘communication’, ‘getting to know your client’, ‘understanding trauma’, and ‘self-care’.

Iggy Pintado, Head of SSI’s Home Care Workforce Support Program, says the learning program will support new and existing workers in providing the highest level of support.

“The feedback from seniors is that they want access to support from carers who understand and have respect for their culture, and we know that culturally responsive care leads to better health outcomes. The sector has been crying out for a practical training program like this,” Mr Pintado said.

The program is available free of charge to participants in the government-funded Home Care Workforce Support Program, with a flexible paid option for aged care providers. A variety of customisable plans are available for small and large teams, organisations, or providers seeking ‘blended’ learning with in-person workshops to further extend learning outcomes.

Inclusive support approach for Australia’s ageing population

Working Future, a 2023 Australian government white paper, identified that migrant workers will be key to filling worker shortages in the aged care sector in the coming decade, with a total of 110,000 additional home care support workers needed by 2030 to meet the unprecedented demand from Australia’s ageing population. Approximately 37 per cent of Australians aged 65 and over were born overseas, further emphasising the need for all workers to learn about navigating cultural contexts and nuances to avoid cultural misunderstandings in a care setting, which is viewed as a key challenge for the aged care sector in the coming years.

Janet Irvine, SSI Diversity Training Manager, says equipping our workforce with the confidence and capability to understand and work inclusively with different cultural perspectives is central to any worker in Australia. “Aged care workers are working in culturally diverse teams and with clients from a range of backgrounds. This e-learning will take people beyond the compliance level training to something more practical and relevant to their everyday work.  They will increase their awareness of how culture influences them and their work with clients and equip them with information, tools and resources to tailor the care they provide to all their clients.”

SSI’s new learning program has been informed by their more than 20 years of experience, reaching approximately 60,000 people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds each year. Their workforce of industry-leading experts in multicultural engagement collectively speak more than 100 languages. Preview the program for the aged care sector here.

SSI’s learning management system also includes tailored e-learning solutions for local government, with NGO and corporate diversity training solutions added in early 2024.

Over 175 workers have been placed into the skills short aged care industry through an innovative partnership between Settlement Services International (SSI) and Hireup, a national support worker platform.

Tasked with delivering the government-funded Home Care Workforce Support Program (HCWSP), SSI partnered with Hireup, Australia’s largest NDIS registered platform of support workers, to set up the Home Care Staffing Support initiative (HCSS) aimed at breaking barriers across segments of the care sector to bring new opportunities for both staff and industry.

So far, the partnership has been a success, in part due to the alignment in values between SSI and Hireup and their focus on supporting workers through a commitment to upskilling with paid training opportunities, and the benefits of direct employment.

Sonia Vignjevic, General Manager of Client Partnerships and Business Growth at SSI, celebrated the initiative’s results to date, and the opportunities the partnership is offering to individuals and the industry alike.

“The aim of the HCWSP Program first and foremost is to find new solutions that help deliver Australian seniors the care they deserve”, said Mrs Vignjevic.

“At SSI, we work closely with people seeking employment and training pathways and understand the complexities faced in regional and remote areas regarding career opportunities”.

SSI’s background as a settlement services provider has also provided Hireup with a deep understanding of the challenges that Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) individuals and newcomers face when seeking long-term, sustainable employment.

“It is important to provide fair and fruitful opportunities for individuals and we can’t do that without partners like Hireup, who stand for the same values. Hireup’s support workers are employed directly and are supported through employment, training, good and fair pay, and ongoing support”, said Mrs Vignjevic.

The partnership also responds to findings in SSI’s recently launched Billion Dollar Benefit report, which outlined key barriers that limit the workforce potential of migrants and refugees and recommended five solutions to unleash their talent by 2025. The proposed solutions include fixing the skills and qualifications recognition system and strengthening the protections of migrant workers.

The HCSS has also helped aged care and home care providers to boost their workforce, and benefit from a 50 per cent subsidy on workers’ wages to support aged care providers with the costs associated with attracting new workers. This week, the initiative hit its halfway mark with a total of ​50 home care accessing the services thus far, including Focus Care Australia who signed up to the initiative in July 2023.

“The HCSS has given us optimism that we can overcome the sector’s workforce shortages, successfully connecting us to skilled workers who are values-aligned with our organisation, enabling us to continue providing the highest level of support to seniors who trust us and depend on us”, said Service Operations Manager at Focus Care, Maria Paul.

“Our hope is that over the next six months, the partnership will support a greater number of aged care providers with their workforce challenges, while also introducing and upskilling more workers to pursue careers in aged care,” said Stephanie Moran, General Manager, Hireup Providers.

“Almost 400 Hireup workers have already registered with the program – and are actively seeking and engaging with aged care shifts on Hireup. This number has exceeded our expectations, and over the next six months our goal is to have more than 150 providers engaging with these workers”, Mrs Moran added.

This program is available in NSW and the ACT until June 2024. For more information on how to apply to the program, visit the Hireup website.

Visit SSI Home Care Workforce Support Program.