Multicultural NSW has launched a State-first strategy to help refugees and asylum seekers settle more comfortably in NSW.
Welcoming the NSW Settlement Strategy, Minister for Multiculturalism, Mark Coure said the strategy represented the first time any level of Government in Australia had a dedicated plan focused on helping people not just on their arrival but throughout their entire settlement journey.
“While we don’t control the number of people the Federal Government allows into NSW, we can be better prepared,” Mr Coure said.
“This new strategy helps us do this by providing a structured, whole-of-Government focus to better support the people that come into our State.”
He said that since 2015, over 35,000 people had permanently settled in NSW due to humanitarian crises, including more than 20,000 people from Syria and Iraq; 1,400 people who’d escaped Afghanistan since the fall of Kabul; and 1,500 Ukrainian nationals who escaped Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Coure said the strategy was developed with lived experience at its centre and primarily focused on people from refugee and refugee-like backgrounds within the first 10 years of settlement in NSW.
“This means coordinating the specific needs of refugees and people seeking asylum across government, such as housing, healthcare, employment opportunities, language services and even family and social support,” the Minister said.
“By having a whole-of-Government approach to their settlement journey, we will be supporting people to be active citizens in their communities.”
Multicultural NSW’s 64-page Strategy can be accessed at this PS News link.
