Orygen has become the 100th organisation to join a growing alliance of businesses, unions, and non-profits calling for urgent reform of the overseas skills recognition system to help address shortages, improve access to mental health care, and support workforce sustainability.
(more…)Settlement Services International (SSI) welcomes the Albanese Government’s 2025-26 Federal Budget and continuing measures to address cost of living pressures and promote social cohesion which goes some way to delivering stronger inclusion and integration for multicultural communities.
SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said, “SSI commends the government’s investment of $178.4 million over five years to support social cohesion, which includes vital funding for multicultural organisations to deliver tailored programs and services to the communities they serve and continuing to address the recommendations of the Multicultural Framework Review.
SSI welcomes $3.5 million over three years (and $1.2 million per year ongoing) to embed the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement program following the conclusion of a pilot. We recommend this critical stream to Australia’s humanitarian response is in addition the current overall humanitarian intake.
SSI acknowledges the extension of the Economic Pathways to Refugee Integration program to boost refugee employment and a raft of sector-specific measures to address skills shortages in health, construction and energy. However, SSI is disappointed at the lack of action by the Government for urgent reforms to unlock the skills of 620,000 permanent migrants already in Australia as one in three professions face critical skills shortages.
“Since the launch of the Activate Australia’s Skills campaign, over 100 organisations and fourteen of Australia’s most influential leaders have called for urgent reforms to the skills and qualification recognition system” says SSI CEO, Ms Violet Roumeliotis AM. “Our campaign has provided costed, ready to go solutions for systemic reforms and place-based employment hubs to remove persistent barriers impacting refugees and migrants which could inject $9 billion annually into Australia’s economy. A piecemeal and sector-specific approach to skills shortages is not the most meaningful investment to unlock the skills of migrants.”
SSI also cautiously welcomes the announcement of $364.5 million for foundational supports for people with disability and the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building program. We know that people with disabilities from multicultural backgrounds are significantly under-represented in the NDIS and we also know that they also struggle to access mainstream services, like health, delivered by states and territories. SSI is calling for more detail on how a long-term agreement for foundational supports to access mainstream services will be struck with states and territories.
In terms of cost of living, SSI welcomes the government’s measures to increase bulk-billing incentives for GPs, establish more urgent care clinics, make PBS medications cheaper, provide energy bill relief and subsidise certain medications and treatments under a new women’s health package.
SSI also welcomes the commitment of the Albanese government to increase funding for public schools, cut student debts by 20% to address intergenerational unfairness and build a universal system of early childhood education and care ensuring that every child has the right to three days of subsidised early education to ensure they don’t start school behind.
While this moves Australia closer to universal access to early childhood education, SSI sees that it will not address the financial and non-financial barriers we see multicultural families face in accessing early childhood education.
SSI’s and UniSA research, Stronger Starts, Brighter Futures II (2024), found that children from multicultural backgrounds in Australia are much less likely to participate in early childhood education and start school behind. SSI calls for governments at all levels to improve access by multicultural children and families through a mix of targeted and place-based interventions that complement universal approaches like those announced in this budget.
Ms Roumeliotis added, “This Budget represents meaningful progress towards building stronger, cohesive communities across Australia, but we urge the government to act decisively on unlocking migrant skills, improving employment pathways, and progressing disability and early childhood education reforms in ways that ensure greater equity. True social cohesion can only be achieved when every Australian – regardless of their background – has the opportunity and support to fully participate in our society and economy.”
Media enquiries:
Sharon Lanyon, Group Head Strategic Communications & Engagement
M: 0413 595 946 E: slanyon@ssi.org.au
Sandy Fitter, Group Head Stakeholder Relations, Research & Policy
M: 0402 771 390 E: sfitter@ssi.org.au
Fourteen of Australia’s most influential leaders have united to call for urgent reforms to unlock the skills of 620,000 permanent migrants in Australia as one in three professions face critical workforce shortages.
(more…)We have welcomed news that the Australian government will make its community sponsorship pilot a permanent program, marking an important step forward in strengthening Australia’s humanitarian commitments.
(more…)An updated national disability strategy, released this week signals much-needed attention to building a more inclusive Australia.
(more…)Businesses can help unlock a talent pool of more than 110,000 jobseekers with disability and do their part in building disability-positive workplaces by making four practical commitments, according to a new report produced by non-profit SSI.
Logan locals have received a sneak peek at a new site that is being transformed into a game-changing community facility to get residents job ready in Logan Central, formed in partnership between the Queensland Government and non-profit SSI.
(more…)Leading non-profit SSI congratulates David Crisafulli on becoming Queensland’s 41st Premier and the Liberal National Party on forming government, following this past weekend’s state election.
SSI has operated in Queensland since 1984, initially under the name Access Community Services. Through support in settlement, education and training, health and wellbeing, and dedicated commitment to community engagement, our organisation has been connecting people with opportunities and creating a place of belonging in Queensland for 40 years.
SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said it was heartening to see the Crisafulli government’s commitments to strengthening these communities, including allocating $5 million to Multicultural Connects Grant to build or upgrade community and sport facilities.
“This is an area of particular benefit for young people, something we see through our Multicultural Sports and Community Centre, which has a focus on disengaged youth, mental health and social cohesion.
“These spaces bring people together, providing a hub where community members can come together around a shared interest.”
Ms Roumeliotis also commended the incoming government for taking steps to strengthen Queensland’s vibrant community services sector, including by matching Labor’s commitment of $1.5 million in funding over four years to the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland.
“In addition, the commitment to introduce new minimum contract terms for community sector contractual arrangements will ensure greater stability and certainty for our sector,” she said.
As a leading provider of human services designed to overcome inequality, SSI also welcomes the incoming government’s focus on the needs of children and young people.
This includes a $27 million professional foster carer pilot for children with complex needs; a new carer supervision model for residential out-of-home care and broader reform of the system; and an early intervention plan to keep at-risk teens out of crime.
Ms Roumeliotis acknowledged the efforts of the outgoing Miles Government to support communities to overcome inequality, including increasing funding to the Logan Maternity Hub, which supports refugee and migrant women through pregnancy and the first few months of motherhood.
“The outgoing government also funded a critical domestic and family violence (DFV) program, 99 Steps, which supports culturally and linguistically diverse women experiencing DFV.
“At present, this program only operates in Logan, but we hope that with continued government support, this can be expanded to other communities with high migrant and refugee cohorts,” she said.
SSI looks forward to working with the new Premier and his Government to continue to deliver and grow the services our joint constituencies’ need in order to overcome inequality and realise their full potential.
Significant recommendations in a parliamentary report tabled this week offer a call to action that would revitalise Australia’s migration policy, particularly when it comes to activating skilled migrants who are already in the country but blocked from using their full skillset, according to leading non-profit organisation Settlement Services International (SSI).
(more…)Business groups, unions, social services and community organisations have united to demand changes to federal workforce strategy that would address skills shortages crippling Australian communities, families and businesses.
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