No-one knows more about the barriers people with disability face every day than someone with a lifetime of first-hand experience. But what can apparently be a drawback has been used by Yagoona resident Quang Nyugen as a drive to establish his own business, while also finding a way to help the community.

SSI’s social enterprise The Staples Bag had an inaugural launch in Baulkham Hills in February, hosted by Hills Community Aid. The launch was paired with a local book fair and a long queue of enthusiastic grocery shoppers.

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.

Australia has always had a mixed relationship with its multicultural identity. On one hand, we embrace multiculturalism through national celebrations like Harmony Day and take great pride in the diversity of cultural expressions like food.

The NSW Government has recently awarded SSI with a grant to expand Cumberland Council’s Friendship Garden. The grant stems from the NSW Community Building Partnership program that awards grants for community infrastructure projects and will go towards the installation of an accessible children’s sensory garden for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families and children of all abilities.

Refugee communities in south-west Sydney will benefit from a spate of innovative new projects when Settlement Services International (SSI) unveils the recipients of its Community Innovation Fund on Australia Day 2018. SSI opened the first round of applications for the $50,000 fund in September 2017 to celebrate the strength and resilience of the community of south-west Sydney and to encourage innovative ideas to support newly arrived refugees.

Ania Kebabjian fled Syria via Lebanon and arrived to Australia in 2016 as a refugee. She admits that starting up a new life and settling in takes time - but 2017 was different, Ania explains to Marie Claire magazine, as she finally feels at home.

SSI observed the 2017 International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) by celebrating community organisations, local governments, businesses and community members working towards disability inclusion.

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.

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.

Over 350 women from across Sydney and communities worldwide attended the second annual Women of Diversity Dinner in Bankstown on July 29 — over 50 of them having been in our community less than six months. 

{loadposition gala-1}   Download Sponsorship Prospectus The event The SSI Mosaic Gala will be held at the stylish Ivy Ballroom on Friday, September 14, 2018. An estimated 400 guests will attend. Purchase tickets/tables now! The concept of a mosaic is about bringing many different elements together to form a beautiful whole. In this way, it […]

A number of new directors were welcomed to the Settlement Services International Board Annual General Meeting, while three stepped down, including long-term Chair Kamalle Dabboussy.

We all know how active we are as an organisation, but these last few weeks have been especially busy with outcomes and events that I‘m very much looking forward to sharing with you.

SSI enthusiastically welcomes Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement that the government will permanently maintain Australia’s commitment to settle 18,750 refugees a year from 2018. This provides assurance that Australia will continue to settle a significant number of people and families fleeing conflict zones, saving many lives.

SSI enthusiastically welcomes Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement that the government will permanently maintain Australia’s commitment to settle 18,750 refugees a year from 2018. This provides assurance that Australia will continue to settle a significant number of people and families fleeing conflict zones, saving many lives.

Community and sustainability were the focus of the inaugural Auburn Community Friendship Garden Spring Party on October 24, but face painting, rock decorating and a live petting zoo won over the dozens of children who attended. Held at the Auburn Centre for Community from 10am-2pm, the Spring Party brought together more than 200 people from the local community, including many refugees and people seeking asylum who are supported by Settlement Services International (SSI).

SSI and partner organisations are in Geneva at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees consultations with NGOs. Over two weeks, NGOS from around the world will discuss best practice, lobby for support and plan to ease the global refugee crisis. Here are the top posts from the consultations.

SSI was honoured last November to be invited to join the committee of the International Metropolis Conference (IMC) after we participated in the event for the first time in Milan. Metropolis has a global network of 68 partner organisations in 23 countries. The network is composed of universities, think tanks, governments, service provider agencies and international organisations that work to enhance Metropolis’ collaborative approach on bridging research, policy and practice on migration and diversity.