Refugee Support Programs in Australia Case Study 2022

Running head: REFUGEE SUPPORT PROGRAMS IN AUSTRALIA
Refugee Support Programs in Australia
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REFUGEE SUPPORT PROGRAMS IN AUSTRALIA
Australia has got a long history and evolution for supporting refugees and migrants I
needed assistance as well as accommodation. Australia has extended support programs in order
to cater to the needs of this people on humanitarian grounds. These programs and initiatives are
directed towards bringing harmony and coexistence in order to build a better community. These
services related to settlement programs so people migrating to Australia, has contributed
immensely to bring social coherence. The picture of the Australian society which provides
services and settlement programs to refugees have undergone a transformation in the last 60
years. It has evolved from basic accommodation to a wide range of services which are offered in
order to provide quality living and access to amenities which help to meet specific needs of these
people. Australia established its first Department of immigration in 1945 (Vaughan et al., 2016).
It has provided accommodation to more than 70,000 refugees for their humanitarian needs who
shifted to Australia from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and United Kingdom mostly.
These programs aim at accepting the people migrating to Australia as well as making
them participate to the economy of the country. These programs were laid out soon after the
World War II by the Commonwealth Government (Karlsen, 2016). However they have moved
towards multiculturalism by integrating diversity in the population through services and policies.
These programs include health services, tutorials for English language in order to build a
common tongue, and interpreting services to bridge the gap which persists. In the past 10 years,
these people have been made skilled, through different programs, taught English language and
focused largely on humanitarian entrants. Some refugees, who undergo these programs stay back
in Australia permanently while some return to their native origin or elsewhere (Earnest et al.,
2015). It often happens that the refugees who merely are seasonal migrants, become inadequately
benefited, whereas some emerge as highly skilled people under these programs. However, it will

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REFUGEE SUPPORT PROGRAMS IN AUSTRALIA
only get more challenging for Australia to consider and develop better services for these people
with varying needs, culture and ethnicity.
In the post-war period, in Australia, there were limited provision for assimilation. The
refugees had difficulties to blend in, as there were assistance for learning a common tongue and a
place a stay, in very less number. By the 1970s, the Australian government acknowledged the
need to provide scopes to these people and preserve their cultural identity (Gibbs & Block,
2017). The goals were replaced by the intention of integration and acceptance. The Department
of Immigration, run by the Australian government soon established programs and services such
as The Child Migrant Education Program, Translating and Interpreting Service and Committee
on Overseas Professional Qualifications in order to enhance the quality of living for these
migrants. In 1977, the Review of Post Arrival Programs and Services to Migrants, as reviewed
by the Galbally helped revised the policies and programs in order to move towards
multiculturalism. Multiculturalism operated as the force through the last decade of the 20th
century which helped in modifying the services and programs. These expansions collectively
contributed in building up better space for the refugees to find support and comfort for living.
The Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS), which was introduced in 2000, ensures
services to the migrants on arrival (Alam & Imran, 2015). However, it still remains the carrier of
settlement assistance to the entrants who need programs in order to sustain and develop skills to
earn living in Australia.
In the past few decades, the focus has undergone evolution in order to promote tolerance,
acceptance and national security. The rising concern of threat to national security and tension
between the culturally diverse groups have shifted the focus to bring cohesion and harmony in
the society in order to avoid tumultuous outcomes. However, the administration has opted for