We provide culturally-responsive employment support for people from refugee backgrounds in NSW, QLD and Victoria living with injury, illness or disability.

With over 25 years of experience offering refugee employment support services and job support for migrants, we help people recognise their skills and build confidence in what they can do.

Our track record shows the difference: We assisted over 11,600 participants between 2017 and 2024 into employment, education pathways, obtaining overseas skills and qualification recognition, and referrals into wrap-around and support services.

By focusing on refugee participants, SSI offers a culturally safe employment program, that is trusted and proven — giving people the best chance to succeed in the workforce and build a bright future.

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SSI offers the Inclusive Employment Australia program in NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

P: 1800 299 486 (NSW)

P: 1800 299 487 (QLD)

P: 1800 299 482 (VIC)

E: ieassi@ssi.org.au

When children cannot live with their parents, they need care that is safe, supportive, and connected to their family and culture.

Wherever possible, children are placed with family (kin).

When that’s not possible, we look to community members who can provide a culturally appropriate home.

Children thrive when they are supported to learn about and maintain their culture, language and religion. This helps them:

Kinship carers are approved to provide care in their own homes for a child or young person they are related to, or who knows them as part of their extended family or community. A kinship carer may be:

• A grandparent
• An aunt or uncle
• Another relative
• A close family friend
• For children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, kinship care may also include someone who is known to the child and shares the child’s community, culture, or language group.

SSI’s Multicultural Family Based Care Program works with and supports kinship and foster carers in Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich.

• Foster carers are approved to provide care in their own home for children and young people who are not related to them biologically.
• This care can be short-term or long-term and is supported by a service provider – in this case, SSI.

Becoming a carer is a meaningful way to make a lasting difference in a child or young person’s life. As a kinship or foster carer, you’ll be supported every step of the way with:

• A chance to change a life – Provide safety, stability, and connection for a vulnerable child or young person.
• Ongoing support and training – Access tailored training programs and in-home assistance to help you feel confident in your role.
• Services for children in your care – Children can benefit from early intervention programs delivered through local community hubs.
• Specialist cultural guidance – Receive support from an organisation with expertise in CALD communities, ensuring culturally safe and sensitive care for both you and the children you support.

At SSI we believe every child deserves safety, belonging, and the chance to stay connected to their family, culture, and community.

The Multicultural Family Based Care Program supports children and young people who cannot live at home by:

When children need to be in out of home care for their safety and wellbeing, the best outcome for them is to be placed with family wherever possible. If this isn’t possible, we help connect them with carers from their cultural community.

We also support families through a process called family mapping, which helps identify relatives or culturally appropriate carers who can provide children with stability while maintaining their important connections.

By strengthening family and community ties, this program helps children and young people grow up with love, stability, and a strong sense of identity.

If you’re interested in becoming a kinship or foster carer, or simply want to learn more:

Call us on 0466 252 298

Email us at mfbc.logan@ssi.org.au

Safe, Healthy and Empowered Relationships (SHER) is a Domestic and Family Violence behaviour intervention program for men who speak Dari, Swahili, Samoan and Karen, and are living in Logan, Ipswich, Brisbane, Gold Coast or Moreton Bay.

The goal of this program is to increase safety for women and children by providing men an opportunity to take accountability for their actions recognising the harm their violence and behaviour choices are having on family.

This program helps you:

• Build effective ways to handle difficult situations without conflict
• Take responsibility for your actions and impact on others
• Build healthy family relationships as a father and husband

This program is for men who:

• come from an Afghan Dari, Swahili, Samoan and Karen speaking backgrounds living in Logan, Ipswich, Brisbane, Ipswich, Gold Coast, or Moreton Bay
• are concerned about how their behaviour affects their family
• are ready to make positive changes in their relationships

The SHER program can help to:

• Understand the difference between unhealthy and healthy relationships
• Build new ways to handle difficult situations
• Take accountability for your actions to build a safer home for your family
• Build better connections with those you care about

Individual support phase

• One-hour weekly sessions
• Private discussions with a skilled bi-cultural workers
• Opportunity to discuss your specific situation
• Prepare for group work in a comfortable, private setting
• Explore new perspectives on family relationships
• Build strategies for creating a safer home environment

Group program phase (16 weeks)

• Weekly sessions
• Closed group format (same participants throughout the program)
• Learn from and support other men in similar situations
• Develop practical skills for positive change

Sessions take place every Thursday evening for 16 weeks, 6 – 8pm commencing April 2025
Gould Adams Community Centre, 558-662 Kingston Road, Kingston

If you or someone is in immediate danger, please call Triple Zero (000) for emergency services.

If you are subjected to or impacted by sexual violence, know someone who is, or are triggered by this content and would like to access support, please contact:

• 1800 RESPECT – Call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, chat online or video call via their website for confidential domestic, family and sexual violence counselling information and support services
• DV Connect – Call 1800 811 811 for immediate support with crisis transport and accommodation in QLD
• Lifeline – Call 13 11 14
• 99 Steps – 07 3412 8282 or 99steps@ssi.org.au for women from CALD backgrounds living in Logan/Beenleigh experiencing DFV. Support includes information, advice, case work support and referral

Due to a high volume of applications, the Health Support Navigation Service (HSNS) will temporarily pause new Expressions of Interest (EOI’s) from 2 February. The EOI form will reopen on 4 May when new referrals will resume. This short pause will allow our team to focus on supporting people who have already applied, ensuring we continue to provide timely, person-centred assistance without extended wait times. We appreciate your understanding and we are grateful to be supporting so many community members who need help navigating the healthcare system.

The service supports individuals from CALD and refugee populations, and those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to have better access to primary health care in South Western Sydney Region

There is a critical need for improved service navigation to support better primary healthcare outcomes for CALD, refugee, and homeless communities. Many face barriers such as limited culturally appropriate services, low health literacy, stigma, and financial or mental health challenges. With the right care and support, people can more easily navigate the system and access the healthcare they need.

People who are eligible for the service include those who:

• are residents of the South Western Sydney (SWS) Local Government Areas (LGA’s) of: Bankstown-Canterbury, Fairfield, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Camden, Wollondilly, Wingecarribee.
• are refugees or asylum seekers
• are experiencing homeless or are at risk of homelessness
• are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who were born overseas and usually speak a language other than English at home

Eligible participants receive:

• GP visits
• Health checks
• Pathology
• Preventative health activities such as vaccinations, cancer screening and STI/BBV testing
• Wound care
• Allied health such as speech therapy and podiatry
• Mental health psychology and/or psychiatry visits
• Approved medical aids
• Medical form support

We’d love to work with your organisation. Partner with us to bring your expertise to those who need it most.

Whether you’re a community health centre, GP clinic experienced with homeless populations, CALD and refugee community organisation, multicultural group, faith leader, or specialist service provider, we invite you to join us on this initiative.

• Co-host information sessions within your community
• Address the multifaceted needs of individuals and families within the target populations by facilitating smooth client transfers and referrals
• Provide your expertise to contribute to a robust referral network to ensure clients can access holistic support – from a range of services, including:
  • CALD and refugee organisations
  • Refugee and asylum seeker support services
  • Homelessness support and services
  • Community health providers and GPs
  • Community and faith groups

Contact us at clientservices@ssi.org.au for more information.

Victims of sexual violence from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities face unique challenges in reporting and reaching out for assistance when there is a lack of culturally responsive and trauma-informed services. Often, sexual violence services are not equipped with culturally and linguistically informed information, further enhancing barriers that victims may experience.

SafePath is a two-year project funded until June 2025 by the Department of Communities & Justice. The project aims to further equip frontline practitioners in identifying and responding to CALD victim survivors of sexual violence perpetration.

SafePath will develop culturally and linguistically informed resources to support victim-survivors, practitioners, and wider communities about sexual violence.

We invite you to share and use the resources when they are available. Some resources will be available in-language.

If you or someone is in immediate danger, please call Triple Zero (000) for emergency services.

If you are subjected to or impacted by sexual violence, know someone who is, or are triggered by this content and would like to access support, please contact:

• Full Stop Domestic Violence helpline on 1800 385 578 or Full Stop NSW Sexual Violence Helpline on 1800 424 017
• Lifeline on 13 11 14

Should you have any comments, feedback, or questions, please contact us.

E: info@ssi.org.au
P: 02 8799 6700

Our free service helps older Australians from diverse backgrounds connect to aged care services and supports. If you don’t have a carer or support person, we are here for you. We create a plan based on your needs and meet you where it suits you best – at home, in our office, or in the community.

SSI Care Finder Program is supported by funding from the Australian government through the PHN program (Primary Health Network).

• Australians aged 65 or older from diverse backgrounds, including Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 or older
• People experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness
• Live in Logan region in Queensland
• Require support to navigate the My Aged Care System and other relevant community services
• Eligible for government funded aged care support

This project educates refugee and multicultural communities about how technology can be used in domestic and family violence. It provides practical knowledge on identifying and protecting against spyware, tracking apps, cache information, and passcodes that perpetrators may use to harm women and their children.

SSI successfully tendered for funding through the Preventing Tech-based Abuse of Women Grants Program (funded by the eSafety Commissioner).  This program contributes to the Federal Government’s National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-32 (the National Plan). Fundamental to the success of the National Plan is understanding and addressing tech-facilitated abuse of women and children.

We developed educational short story-based videos to spark conversations and reflections among community groups and individuals. We also created a training package to support these conversations through a community education program.

The videos focused on four areas of technology-based abuse that can be watched in multiple languages including Dari, Arabic, Chinese and English.

• Image-based abuse
• Impersonation
• Use of children’s devices
• Tracking

These resources help facilitators and participants discuss and understand the experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women affected by technology-based abuse.

Build your understanding of technology‑facilitated abuse in domestic and family violence, with a focus on the experiences of women from migrant and refugee backgrounds. This free, 30‑minute e‑learning course designed for social services workers and community leaders equips you to recognise abuse, respond effectively and strengthen community safety.

For more information about the project, please contact us on info@ssi.org.au.

We promote culturally responsive, evidence-based and community informed responses to domestic, family and sexual violence in NSW, including in regional and rural areas.

The Centre collaborates across women’s safety, multicultural and settlement sectors in NSW to enhance quality, safe and culturally responsive domestic, family and sexual violence services and community-based responses.

Our tailored approach involves:

• case management and collaborative practice support
• community engagement: lived experience advice, supporting social responders and community education
• sector capacity building, engagement and training
• consultation, research, policy advice and advocacy to drive systemic change.

We work across four focus areas: primary prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery and healing.

Culturally responsive practice

We understand the importance of ensuring that domestic, family and sexual violence responses meet the needs of communities in all their diversity. Our work is grounded in cultural responsiveness and informed by evidence and community insights.

The Centre combines expertise in culturally responsive practice and a deep understanding of how different forms of violence can impact women, children and families from multicultural communities, as well as the specific challenges they may face in seeking help.

We work with victim survivors and communities to address these complex issues. We also collaborate with other services to provide appropriate support to migrant and refugee women, children and families.

Individuals

We provide specialist, culturally responsive support to migrant and refugee women and children who are at risk of, or experiencing, domestic, family and sexual violence. This includes:

• Support for immediate safety.
• Collaborative, culturally responsive and holistic case management.
• Counselling and recovery support.
• Support for socio-economic participation and community connection, and referrals to appropriate services.

Communities

We work with multicultural communities to support them with the knowledge and resources to effectively recognise, respond to, and prevent domestic, family and sexual violence. This includes:

• Community engagement and education on the drivers of domestic, family and sexual violence and available support services.
• Empowering communities as social responders.
• Supporting communities to lead positive change in attitudes towards gender equality and healthy relationships.

Sector and service delivery

• Expert advice and capacity building on cultural responsiveness in the context of family, domestic and sexual violence.
• Collaborative practice support, working with practitioners across sectors.
• Promoting cross-sector collaboration and developing evidence to enhance policy and practice responses.

We have created easy-to-understand resources in English, Arabic, Chinese, Hakha Chin, Karen, Khmer, Punjabi, Urdu and Vietnamese to enhance NDIS participants’ understanding of their rights and the quality of services they should expect from providers.

This project is designed to deliver robust choice and control focused outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people with disability through an approach that draws on their own experiences. SSI has worked closely with NDIS participants and providers across NSW, Queensland and Victoria to consult, co-design, test and disseminate relevant and accessible in-language resources.

SSI would like to acknowledge the project contributions made by the following NDIS Providers as Provider Consultants of The Rights Path Project: