Finally – you can now sponsor and welcome the next refugee household to arrive in Australia
Notification from the Refugee Council of Australia
You may have seen recent news coverage of the first community-sponsored refugee families being welcomed to Australia by their community supporter groups.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed at the scale of the global refugee situation, this is your chance to help – one family at a time. Get involved and experience the joy and satisfaction of working with others in your local community to change a family’s life.
Apply to be involved
- Formed a group? Fill in the group intention to apply form
- Still looking for a group? Fill in the individual expression of interest form to put yourself on our radar and then, if you need to, head over to ourfind a group Facebook page to find like minded people from your area.
How does it work?
The new national ‘community sponsorship’ program, introduced by the federal government, is based on the popular 40-year-old Canadian model that has seen more than 325,000 refugees rebuild their lives in Canada.
Under this model, locals form a group to welcome a refugee household to their area and provide support over the next year. The group meets the new arrivals at the airport and helps them settle into their new home and community. The group needs to raise a modest budget to help with income support for the first couple of weeks, household furniture and temporary accommodation; but refugees can work and have access to Centrelink support, Medicare and other mainstream government services.
Ongoing support might include help with school or uni applications, setting up bank accounts, driving lessons or introducing them to a local business that is looking for staff.
More information can be found at: Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia