Swimming is a big part of life in Australia and newly arrived refugees are now getting the opportunity to safely enjoy the water thanks to a new SSI partnership.

Learning English, connecting with the community, and finding employment and housing will be the key priorities for refugee families arriving in Armidale in the coming months, according to a leading settlement expert. Yamamah Agha, the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP) Manager for community organisation and social business Settlement Services International (SSI), said in the 16 years she had been working with refugees, those areas consistently rated among new arrivals’ top goals for life in Australia.

SSI is working hand-in-hand with local communities to resettle refugees in regional NSW, including through a new Coffs Harbour office launched in December.

Hundreds of Sydneysiders showed their support for refugees when an eclectic group of Sydney’s newest community members took centre stage at Darling Harbour on November 18.

An eclectic group of Sydney’s newest community members took centre stage at an arts and culture festival in Darling Harbour over the weekend.   On Saturday November 18, Sydney’s iconic Darling Harbour hosted Settlement Services International’s (SSI) New Beginnings Festival in Spring, where thousands of Sydneysiders gathered to enjoy the musical, culinary and artistic talents of people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.  

Refugees and other newly arrived community members are turning their stories into song with a global musical movement that empowers people from all backgrounds to express themselves through music.

Refugees in the Liverpool area are getting support to feel more at home in Australia, thanks to a partnership that introduces new arrivals to local businesses that will greet them with patience, understanding and welcome.

A new program that aims to teach young refugees basic business skills and help them find a job was announced in Sydney today. The ‘Allianz Ladder’ program will familiarise refugee youth with business environments and help them develop the core skills and confidence they need to find their first job in Australia.

Community support will play a critical role in the successful settlement of an estimated 200 refugees in NSW regional hub Armidale, according to leading humanitarian settlement not-for-profit Settlement Services International (SSI). Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter, announced on Friday that SSI had been contracted to provide on-the-ground settlement services to an estimated 200 refugees who will settle in Armidale in 2018 as part of the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP). SSI was recently successful in obtaining the contract for two of the 11 HSP contract regions: Sydney and NSW regional, which includes Newcastle, Coffs Harbour and the newly defined Armidale refugee settlement area.

An inspiring group of volunteer teachers are offering free English language tuition to people from CALD backgrounds who are supported by SSI.

It has been a full few days at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement in Geneva. SSI is one of a number of international NGOs attending, to discuss pressing issues in response to the global refugee crisis.

A group of newly arrived young people from Syria and Iraq learned how to keep themselves and their friends safe in the Australian surf on a recent outing to Manly Beach.

Over 200 young refugees have spent a day developing the fundamental skills to successfully settle in Australia at SSI’s E3 Youth Forum, a day of workshops and activities held at the Refugee Welcome Centre in Callan Park earlier this month.

We all remember finding our first job. That initial leap into the workplace means navigating a new world with its own unique jargon and requirements like CVs, interview skills and position descriptions.

Global polls consistently rate Sydney as one of the least affordable cities to find a home. The problem is universal, affecting buyers and renters of all ages and backgrounds. This ongoing issue has once again attracted significant media attention in 2017.

The Inner West community of Sydney extended a warm welcome to newly arrived refugees at the Refugee Welcome Centre in Callan Park this week.

A number of media reports since the start of 2017 have claimed communities in western Sydney are concerned about the arrival of the extra cohort of 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees, using figures that are not supported by facts.  As one of the largest settlement services providers, we know that the main reasons our humanitarian clients choose to settle in an area are: affordability, availability of suitable housing, access to services such as schools, IEC, SSI, and proximity to family.

The relationship between SSI Ignite Small Business Start-ups (Ignite) and the University of Wollongong (UOW) began almost two years ago and has since enabled several entrepreneurs from refugee backgrounds, or who are seeking asylum, to start their own businesses supported by a student from the UOW Faculty of Business.

Using experience gained over a career in technology and management, Ian Elgey is supporting young refugees and migrants to find their feet in the Australian workplace.

As the New Year ticked over, a common theme in reflections on 2016 was the adversity the year brought with it. Along with the loss of popular icons such as David Bowie, Harper Lee and Leonard Cohen, we experienced unprecedented global events, like Brexit and the mass migration of people seeking safety, and saw escalating violence in areas such as Syria and South Sudan.