31/07/2019

Foundation

House The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture I

To the Committee Manager, Legislati:ve Assembly Economy and Infrastructure

Committee,

Please find enclosed our submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sustainable

Employment for Disadvantaged Jobseekers.

Josef Szwarc

General Manager

Community and Sector Development

The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc.

4 Gardiner Street, Brunswick, VIC 3056

E: W: www.foundationhouse.org.au

T: I M: I Reception: I F:

HEAD OFFICE ····•··••···•••·•·••·••··••·••·•••••••••••••·••··••·•••·•••·•••••••·····•····••··•••·•••••··•·•••·•···••·•····••····•··•••·•·•·•··••·••·•·••••••·••••·

FOUNDATION HOUSE - THE VICTORIAN FOUNDATION FOR SURVIVORS OF TORTURE INC.

4 Gardiner Street Brunswick, VIC 3056, Australia It: (03) 9389 8900 If: (03) 9277 7871 I e: info@foundationhouse.org.au I www.foundationhouse.org.au

METROPOLITAN OFFICES

DALLAS (NORTHERN) DANDENONG (SOUTH EASTERN) RINGWOOD (EASTERN)

PATRON IN CHIEF: Her Excellency the Honourable Linda Dessau AC, Governor of Victoria

SUNSHINE (WESTERN)

PATRONS: Prof Hilary Charlesworth AM, Ms Dur-e Dara OAM, Prof. David de Kretser AC, Mrs Jan de Kretser, Mr Petro Georgiou AO, The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG

ABN: 52 783 974 656 I INCORPORATION REGISTRATION#: A0016163P

LA EIC - Disadvantaged Jobseekers InquirySubmission no. 45Received: 31 July 2019

Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sustainable Employment for

Disadvantaged Jobseekers

Foundation House welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Sustainable Employment for Disadvantaged Jobseekers. Foundation House was established in 1987 to assist survivors of torture and other traumatic events, of refugee backgrounds, who had settled in Victoria. Our work is guided by an understanding that recovery and wellbeing is affected by a complex interplay of pre-arrival experiences and the risk and protective factors encountered by people from refugee backgrounds in Australia – for example, their ability to participate in education, training and employment. For more information about the work of Foundation House see Appendix 1 or our website.

Key messages

People from refugee backgrounds experience high barriers to finding sustainable

employment. Particular groups, such as women from refugee backgrounds and

people seeking asylum face additional intersecting barriers to sustainable

employment.

A ‘one size fits all’ approach to employment support, such as that provided through

the Commonwealth-funded jobactive program, does not meet the needs of this

group. Rather, people from refugee backgrounds require specialised and targeted

support to overcome barriers to sustainable employment.

There is evidence that specialised and holistic employment support can lead to good

employment outcomes for these disadvantaged groups.

There are myriad benefits to improving employment outcomes for people from

refugee backgrounds, including people seeking asylum, in Victoria. These include

significant economic, social and individual benefits.

The Victorian government plays a significant role in supporting disadvantaged

jobseekers to gain sustainable employment.

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People from refugee backgrounds in Victoria

Over the past ten years more than 50,000 people have settled in Victoria under Australia’s refugee and humanitarian program1, including around 3,700 in the year 2018-192. As at March 2019, there were at least an additional 15,000 people seeking asylum living in the community3.

Barriers to employment for people from refugee backgrounds

Humanitarian migrants tend to have poorer employment outcomes than other migrants in the short and medium term. A recent survey of people from refugee backgrounds from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who had been in Australia for a year found that only 7.8% of adults in Victoria were in paid employment, compared with 11% in New South Wales and 17% in Queensland.4 Data from the Australian Census and Migrants Integrated Dataset indicate that 20.3% of permanent humanitarian migrants in the labour force who had arrived in Australia in the past 6 years were unemployed at the time of the Census, compared with 10.2% family and 6.7% skilled migrants.5

People from refugee backgrounds, including people seeking asylum, face particular barriers to labour market participation. These include:

limited proficiency in English;

lack of work experience in the Australian context, and challenges associated with

having overseas qualifications recognised6;

lack of opportunities for women, including lack of flexible arrangements for English

language learning for women with caring responsibilities and historical disadvantage

1 Victorian Refugee Health Network, Statistics for Victorian health programs: planning service provision for people from refugee backgrounds, including people seeking asylum, (Melbourne, Victorian Refugee Health Network, 2019), http://refugeehealthnetwork.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Data-bulletin_2019_March_Victorian-Refugee-Health-Network-statewide-meeting.pdf 2 “Settlement database”, Settlement Data Team, Department of Home Affairs, accessed 11 June 2019, Settlement.Data.Request@homeaffairs.gov.au 3 Victorian Refugee Health Network, Statistics for Victorian health programs: planning service provision for people from refugee backgrounds, including people seeking asylum, (Melbourne, Victorian Refugee Health Network, 2019), http://refugeehealthnetwork.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Data-bulletin_2019_March_Victorian-Refugee-Health-Network-statewide-meeting.pdf 4 Jock Collins, Carol Reid and Dimitria Groutsis, Refugee Settlement Snapshot 2018: Victoria, (University of Technology Sydney, 2019), https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/2019-04/Victoria%20Snapshot.pdf 5 “Understanding Migrant Outcomes – Insights from the Australian Census and Migrants Integrated Dataset 2016: Summary of findings,” Australian Bureau of Statistics, published July 2018, https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3417.0Main%20Features22016?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3417.0&issue=2016&num=&view= 6 Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria, Discussion paper: Qualified but not recognised, (Melbourne: Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria, 2014), https://eccv.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/23-Discussion_Paper_-_Qualified_but_not_Recognised_Final.pdf

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meaning that women are less likely to have had opportunities for further education

in countries of origin;

poor health, and in particular mental health;

experiences of torture and traumatic events which may impact one’s ability to

search for employment; and

racial discrimination7.

Despite these barriers, there is evidence that employment outcomes for refugee and humanitarian migrants improve over time, with many groups of second generation humanitarian migrants demonstrating comparable employment levels to second generation Australians8.

Data about employment outcomes for people seeking asylum are scarce however one 2015 survey reported that 50% of people seeking asylum who responded to the survey were unemployed.9 People seeking asylum may face additional barriers such as lack of work rights associated with some visas, experiences of destitution related to Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) funding cuts, temporary visa status and poor mental health as a consequence of protracted refugee status determination processes10.

Why focus on employment outcomes for people from refugee backgrounds?

Benefits to the individual

The benefits of sustainable employment for people from refugee backgrounds are well documented. These include promoting a sense of self and self-worth, promoting a sense of belonging in a new community, and contributing to perceived health status and increased standard of living.11

Employment is recognised as a key social determinant of health12. Accordingly, consultations with refugee communities about health and access to health services

7 Professor Andrew Markus, Australians Today 2015, (Caulfield East: Monash University, 2016), https://scanlonfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Australians-Today-1.pdf 8 Graeme Hugo, Economic, social and civic contributions of first and second generation humanitarian migrants, (Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2011), https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/01_2014/economic-social-civic-contributions-about-the-research2011_access.pdf 9 Professor Andrew Markus, Australians Today 2015, (Caulfield East: Monash University, 2016), https://scanlonfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Australians-Today-1.pdf 10 Australian Human Rights Commission, Lives on Hold: Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the ‘Legacy Caseload’, (Sydney: Australian Human Rights Commission, 2019), https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/ahrc_lives_on_hold_2019.pdf11 Nina Wood et al., "Qualitative exploration of the impact of employment and volunteering upon thehealth and wellbeing of African refugees settled in regional Australia: a refugee perspective," BMCpublic health 19, no. 1 (2019): 143,https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-6328-212 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Social Determinants of Health, (Australian GovernmentAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare: Canberra, 2016),https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/11ada76c-0572-4d01-93f4-d96ac6008a95/ah16-4-1-social-determinants-health.pdf.aspx

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conducted by the Victorian Refugee Health Network in 2016 highlighted income and employment as a particular barrier to positive health outcomes. Living on low incomes associated with unemployment was seen to impact health and mental health through increased stress and worry and by prohibiting access to health and medical appointments, healthy food, and sport and recreational activities13.

Economic benefits

There is a clear economic benefit to improving employment outcomes for people from refugee backgrounds. This has been detailed in a 2017 report by Centre for Policy Development (CPD). CPD’s report modelled scenarios in which employment outcomes for 17,500 humanitarian migrants were improved by 10, 25 and 50%, creating $65M, $175M, and $390M respectively in government value, and $175M, $465M and $1,040M respectively in income over the next decade14.

Similarly, an economic evaluation of Brotherhood of St Laurence’s state-funded Given the Chance employment program for people seeking asylum concluded that the program provided about three dollars return for every one dollar invested15.

Social benefits

Engagement in employment is a key indicator of integration for people from refugee backgrounds16, and can be an important avenue for forming social connections, learning about the host culture English language acquisition. Strengthening employment outcomes for people from refugee backgrounds may also improve social cohesion by reducing alienation and fostering acceptance and respect from established members of the community.

Supporting people from refugee backgrounds to gain sustainable employment

Due to the barriers described above, people from refugee backgrounds require specialised and holistic employment support. Evidence suggests that the Commonwealth-funded employment service jobactive may be problematic for this

13 Lauren Tyrrell et al., Talking about health and experiences using health services with people from refugee backgrounds, (Victorian Refugee Health Network: Melbourne, 2016), http://refugeehealthnetwork.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Report_2016_September_Victorian-Refugee-Health-Network_Talking-About-Health_FINAL-WEB.pdf 14 Centre for Policy Development, Settling better: Reforming refugee employment and settlement services, (Centre for Policy Development, 2017), https://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/New-Settling-Better-Report-18-Feb-Final-Draft.compressed.pdf 15 KPMG, Given the Chance Asylum Seekers: Cost benefit analysis, (Brotherhood of St Laurence, 2018), https://www.bsl.org.au/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/Services/GtCAS_KPMG_Cost_Benefit_Analysis.pdf 16 Alistair Ager and Alison Strang, Indicators of Integration, (London: Home Office, 2004), https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218141321/http:/rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/dpr28.pdf

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group.17 18Indeed, one of the key findings of the Employment Services Expert Advisory Panel described in their report “I Want To Work” is that the current system “must change in order to do better for those who need it most.”19 People from refugee backgrounds were identified as a cohort requiring ‘enhanced services.’

Another recent parliamentary inquiry into jobactive heard evidence that the service is “unsuited to the needs of migrants and culturally and linguistically diverse Australians” and is “particularly problematic for refugees”20. Specific concerns with jobactive include variable use of interpreters and lack of translated information, having to choose between learning English and looking for work, and a lack of opportunities to attain relevant work experience21. As CPD report in Settling Better, ‘[e]mployment support is the only humanitarian settlement service that has been ‘mainstreamed’. While on-arrival integration and other social programs are bespoke for humanitarian migrants, employment support is delivered through jobactive, with stories of thousands of humanitarian migrants getting lost in the system’22.

While mainstream employment support is clearly inadequate for people from refugee backgrounds, evidence suggests that targeted support addressing multiple intersecting barriers to employment can achieve strong outcomes for these groups. One such program with which we are particularly familiar (and involved in delivering) is the Ucan2 program for young people from refugee backgrounds. Ucan2 has been developed to support learning and employment pathways that connect these young people into the Australian community, and is underpinned by theory and evidence concerning effective ways to support recovery from trauma, integration and successful settlement. A recent evaluation of the program found that over 80% of past Ucan2 participants surveyed were studying and/or working, and 95% were actively engaged in work, study, caring responsibilities, or seeking employment23.

17 The Senate Education and Employment Reference Committee, Jobactive – failing those it is intended to serve, (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019), https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2019/02/apo-nid220751-1333261.pdf 18 Shukufa Tahiri, Not working: experiences of refugees and migrants with jobactive, (Fairfield Multicultural Interagency and Refugee Council of Australia, 2017), https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Jobactive.pdf 19 Employment Services Expert Advisory Panel, I Want to Work: Employment Services 2020, (Commonwealth of Australia, 2018), https://docs.employment.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/final_-_i_want_to_work.pdf 20 The Senate Education and Employment Reference Committee, Jobactive – failing those it is intended to serve, (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019), https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2019/02/apo-nid220751-1333261.pdf 21 Shukufa Tahiri, , Not working: experiences of refugees and migrants with jobactive, (Fairfield Multicultural Interagency and Refugee Council of Australia, 2017), https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Jobactive.pdf 22 Centre for Policy Development, Settling better: Reforming refugee employment and settlement services, (Centre for Policy Development, 2017), https://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/New-Settling-Better-Report-18-Feb-Final-Draft.compressed.pdf 23 Dr Karen Block, Dana Young, Robyn Molyneaux, Ucan2: Youth Transition Support Evaluation Report, (University of Melbourne Centre for Health Equity: Melbourne, 2017), https://foundationhouse.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/UCan2_evaluation_Full_Report_Final_May2018-1.pdf

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More information about the Ucan2 program and evaluation can be found in Appendix 2.

We are aware that the Victorian Government has initiatives in place to support disadvantaged jobseekers’ pathways into employment. These include significant investment in fee free TAFE to help people become work-ready for jobs in demand, the expansion of support for disadvantaged jobseekers through Jobs Victoria Employment Network and JobsBank24, and specialised support for people from refugee backgrounds and people seeking asylum through programs such as the Stepping Stones25 microenterprise development program for women of migrant, refugee, and asylum seeking backgrounds and the Asylum Seeker Vocational Education and Training (VET) Program.26 We commend that the Victorian Government recognises its role in supporting disadvantaged jobseekers, including those from refugee backgrounds.

Regional settlement

The importance of supporting people from refugee backgrounds into sustainable employment is becoming increasingly pertinent. 15% of humanitarian arrivals to Victoria in the past year have settled in rural and regional local government areas and the Commonwealth government has indicated plans to increase rural and regional settlement over the coming years27. Successful regional settlement can have significant economic and social benefits, as seen for example with the Karen settlement in Nhill and Bendigo, including stimulating local economies, redressing population decline, and revitalising local services28 29, and the demand for low-skilled labour in some regional areas may present an opportunity for sustainable employment. However, successful regional settlement also relies on a range of necessary conditions such as the availability of suitable employment and accommodation, and pathways for young people into further study and/or

24 Department of Treasury and Finance, Victorian Budget 19-20 Overview, (State of Victoria: Melbourne, 2019), https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/budgetfiles201920.budget.vic.gov.au/2019-20+State+Budget+-+Budget+Overview.pdf25 “Stepping Stones to Small Business,” Brotherhood of Saint Laurence, accessed 23 July 2019,https://www.bsl.org.au/services/refugees-immigration-multiculturalism/stepping-stones/26 “Asylum Seeker VET Program,” Victorian Department of Education and Training, accessed 30 July2019,https://www.education.vic.gov.au/training/providers/learnlocal/Pages/asylumseekervetpro.aspx27 Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, Discussion paper: Australia’s HumanitarianProgram 2019-20, (Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, 2019),https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/reports-and-pubs/files/2019-20-discussion-paper.pdf28 AMES Australia and Deloitte Access Economics, Small Town, Big Returns: Economic and socialimpact of the Karen resettlement in Nhill, (AMES Australia and Deloitte Access Economics, 2015),https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-small-towns-big-returns-nhill-resettlement-270415.pdf29 AMES Australia and Deloitte Access Economics, Regional Futures: Economic and social impact of theKaren resettlement in Bendigo, (AMES Australia and Deloitte Access Economics, 2018),https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-regional-futures-karen-resettlement-ames-031018.pdf

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employment30. The recently published Steps to Settlement Success: A toolkit for rural and regional communities acknowledges the importance of sustainable employment to successful settlement, and recommends identifying opportunities for settlers from refugee backgrounds to gain local work experience, and notes that new settlers may require assistance to learn English and apply for jobs31.

30 AMES Australia and Deloitte Access Economics, Regional Futures: Economic and social impact of the Karen resettlement in Bendigo, (AMES Australia and Deloitte Access Economics, 2018), https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-regional-futures-karen-resettlement-ames-031018.pdf 31 Regional Australia Institute, Scanlon Foundation and Welcoming Cities, Steps to Settlement Success: A toolkit for rural and regional communities, (Regional Australia Institute, 2019), https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2019/07/apo-nid247756-1373161.pdf

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Recommendations

Foundation House requests that the Victorian Legislative Assembly’s Economic and Infrastructure Committee consider the below recommendations.

Recommendation 1: We propose that the Committee consider recommending that the Victorian Government prepare and adopt a framework relating to disadvantaged jobseekers for employment and employment-related services such as vocational training.

Rationale: As described in the body of our submission, the ability to secure and maintain employment is affected by a range of diverse experiences including:

Health and mental health;

Gender;

Pre-arrival experiences of torture and other traumatic events;

Opportunities to attain work experience in the Australian context and challenges

associated with recognition of overseas qualifications;

Proficiency in English;

Experiences of discrimination in the workplace and other settings;

Lack of work rights associated with some visa categories; and

Experiences of destitution of some people seeking asylum.

An approach that has been developed in other contexts is the adoption of intersectionality frameworks. For example, the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended the adoption of an intersectionality framework to ensure that the family violence system is responsive, safe, inclusive and accountable to the needs of all Victorians.

Our submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System recommended the adoption of a similar framework for mental health services. The submission can be read here.

Recommendation 2: We propose that the Committee consider recommending that the Victorian Government commissions the preparation of a policy paper on strategies to promote the settlement of refugee and humanitarian entrants to rural and regional locations, including the identification of resource implications and opportunities for collaboration with the Commonwealth government.

Rationale: As described in the body of the submission, rural and regional settlement of humanitarian migrants carries significant potential but requires particular attention to factors such as the availability of suitable employment.

Our submission to the review into integration, employment and settlement outcomes for refugees and humanitarian entrants recommended that the Australian government commission a policy paper on strategies to promote the settlement of refugee and humanitarian entrants to regional and rural locations, including the

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identification of resource implications. We believe there is scope for the Victorian government to adopt a similar policy.

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Appendix 1 – about Foundation House

Foundation House provides services to advance the health, wellbeing and human rights of people of refugee backgrounds in Victoria who have experienced torture or other traumatic events in their country of origin or while fleeing those countries.

The main areas of our work are: Providing services to clients in the form of counselling, advocacy, family support,

group work, psycho-education, information and complementary therapies;

Working with client communities to improve their capacity to access the services

they need and to enable them to support recovery;

Offering professional and organisational development, consultancy and resources to

assist health, education, employment and other community service providers, to

enhance the responsiveness of their services to the needs of people of refugee

backgrounds;

Working with the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments to ensure that

policies and programs are responsive to the needs of people of refugee

backgrounds;

Conducting and contributing to research about the needs of people of refugee

backgrounds and the best possible ways of meeting those needs.

Our direct services model is based on an understanding that our clients’ wellbeing is affected by a complex interplay of their history of torture and other traumatic events, the risk and protective factors they encounter in Australia, and cross-cultural factors at play in a new settlement environment. Our work is underpinned by four fundamental recovery goals – working with clients to:

restore safety and enhance control;

restore attachment and connections to other human beings to enhance a sense of

belonging;

restore meaning, identity and justice; and

restore dignity and value and reduce shame and guilt.

In 2018-19, Foundation House provided counselling and other direct services to more than 4000 people from over 30 countries of origin. There were slightly more female than male clients. There was a wide range of ages – 361 were under 10; 906 aged 11-20 and 61 were older than 70.

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Appendix 2 – Ucan2 for young people of refugee backgrounds

One program seeking to address the barriers to gaining sustainable employment faced by young people from refugee backgrounds that we are particularly familiar with (and are involved in delivering) is the Ucan2 program.

Ucan2 aims to facilitate and support the social inclusion of newly arrived young people of refugee backgrounds, aged 16-25 years. It has been developed to support learning and employment pathways that connect young people of refugee backgrounds into the Australian community. The program is underpinned by theory and evidence concerning effective ways to support recovery from trauma, integration and successful settlement.

It has three core components: Contextualised and experiential learning focussing on work skills, with opportunities

for part time work experience or volunteering;

Psychosocial support, which assists with recovery from trauma and building

resilience, identity and belonging; and

Development of social connections and networks through contact with peer

volunteers, work experience, increasing knowledge of support agencies and group

processes that create strong connections amongst Ucan2 group members.

Ucan2 comprises a partnership between Foundation House, the Centre for Multicultural Youth and an on-arrival education provider, one day per week for 16 weeks, in educational settings. Participants who would benefit are subsequently linked with business mentors for 12 months to assist them in further developing their skills, confidence, and networks and to increase their chances of finding work. A 10 week Ucan2 Active program has also been trialed in employment and community settings.

Ucan2 is funded under the Commonwealth Youth Transitions Support Pilot32. Ucan2 was evaluated in 2018 by researchers at the University of Melbourne33 who reached the conclusion that “the combined elements of the Ucan2 program effectively support young people of refugee backgrounds by providing a holistic response to the challenges they face”34. Specific outcomes of the program were found to include that it:

Promotes English language learning

32 “Youth Transition Support Services,” Australian Government Department of Social Services, accessed 23 July 2019, https://www.dss.gov.au/settlement-services/programs-policy/settlement-services/youth-transition-support-services 33 Dr Karen Block, Dana Young, Robyn Molyneaux, Ucan2: Youth Transition Support Evaluation Report, (University of Melbourne Centre for Health Equity: Melbourne, 2017), https://foundationhouse.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/UCan2_evaluation_Full_Report_Final_May2018-1.pdf 34 Dr Karen Block, Dana Young, Robyn Molyneaux, Ucan2: Youth Transition Support Evaluation Report, (University of Melbourne Centre for Health Equity: Melbourne, 2017), https://foundationhouse.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/UCan2_evaluation_Full_Report_Final_May2018-1.pdf

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Supports engagement in education and employment

Increases the size and diversity of participants’ social networks

Fosters wellbeing and resilience and builds confidence

Builds the capacity of teachers to respond to the needs of young people of refugee

backgrounds.

The evaluation reported that over 80% of past Ucan2 participants surveyed were studying and/or working, and 95% were actively engaged in work, study, caring responsibilities, or seeking employment. All Ucan2 participants interviewed (individually or in focus groups) agreed that Ucan2 was helpful in gaining, or progressing towards gaining, employment. Some participants had gained employment as a direct result of participating in the program, and others felt that participating in Ucan2 had helped them to understand and navigate employment pathways in Australia.