Paul MerwoodMigration Research Evaluation and AnalysisMinistry of Business Innovation and Employment11 July 2014

New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy and the English Language measures

Self-sufficiency OutcomeAll working-age refugees are in paid work or are supported

by a family member in paid work.

Success IndicatorReduced proportion of working-age refugees receiving unemployment related

benefits after 6 months, 2 years and 5 years in New Zealand.

Success IndicatorIncreased proportion of working-age refugees in paid employment after 6

months, 2 years and 5 years.

Health and Wellbeing OutcomeRefugees and their families enjoy healthy, safe and

independent lives.

Success IndicatorRefugees’ utilization of general practitioner services

Success IndicatorRefugees’ access to mental health services

Success IndicatorChildren of quota refugees receiving immunisations 6 and 12 months after arrival

Housing OutcomeRefugees live independently of government housing

assistance in homes that are safe, secure, healthy and affordable.

Success IndicatorA reduction in the amount of housing subsidy spent on quota refugees after two

years and five years in New Zealand

Education OutcomeRefugees’ English language skills enable them to participate in education and achieve qualifications, and support them

to participate in daily life.

TargetXX% of refugee school leavers achieving NCEA Level 2 after 5 years or more in the

New Zealand education system

Success indicators and measures

Success IndicatorEnglish language achievement of adult refugees (if feasible)

New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy: Success Indicators and MeasuresBaseline Outcome Data

Self-sufficiency OutcomeAll working-age refugees are in paid work or are supported by a family member in paid work.

Success IndicatorReduced proportion of working-age refugees receiving unemployment related benefits after 6 months, 2 years and 5 years in New Zealand.

Success IndicatorIncreased proportion of working-age refugees in paid employment after 6 months, 2 years and 5 years.

Education OutcomeRefugees’ English language skills enable them to participate in education and achieve qualifications, and support them to participate in daily

life.

TargetThe target of, by 2014, 67% of refugee school leavers achieving National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2 after 5 years or more in the New Zealand education system.

Success IndicatorEnglish language achievement of adult refugees (if feasible).

The baseline data for this indicator cannot be calculated because currently refugee students are not identified in the tertiary education data.

The Ministry of Education and the Tertiary Education Commission are reviewing the tertiary education data collections. This requirement will be considered as part of that review.

Source: Ministry of Education

This baseline measure uses the 2006/07 cohort of quota refugees to observe the change in the proportion earning wage/salaries over a five-year period. This indicator shows that the proportion or working age refugees earning wages and salaries increases by each of the three time points (6 th, 24th or 60th

month) after residence approval. At 24 months, one in 4 working-age refugees (25%) was earning wages /salaries and the trend is tracking over 30% towards the five years mark.

Source: Integrated Data Infrastructure, Statistics New Zealand. Earnings data (from the Inland Revenue Department) is available to December 2011. The 6 th month estimate is suppressed for confidentiality reasons.

This baseline measure uses the 2006/07 cohort of quota refugees to observe the change in the proportion receiving an unemployment benefit over a five-year period. This indicator shows that the proportion or working age refugees receiving an unemployment-related benefit at the end of the 6th, 24th, or 60th month after residence approval decreases over time (from 74% at the 6th month, 46% at the 24th month, and 14% at the 60th month). Research shows many refugees receive other forms of income support such as Sickness Benefit, Domestic Purposes Benefit, or Invalid’s Benefit. Welfare reforms will impact on the measurement of this indicator for future cohorts of refugees.

Source: Integrated Data Infrastructure, Statistics New Zealand.

Health and Wellbeing OutcomeRefugees and their families enjoy healthy, safe and independent lives.

Success IndicatorRefugees’ utilization of general practitioner services

Success IndicatorRefugees’ access to mental health services

Success IndicatorChildren of quota refugees receiving immunisations 6 and 12 months after arrival

This baseline measure uses the 2012/13 cohort of quota refugees to calculate the number of refugee children who completed age appropriate immunisations at 6 and 12 months of arrival.

• 18 out of 71 refugee children (25%) who have been in New Zealand 6 months are fully immunised.

• 17 out of 26 refugee children (65%) who have been in New Zealand 12 months are fully immunised.

Source: Ministry of Health

The Refugee Health Clinic at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre supplied a list of all National Health Identity for refugees who arrived during the period 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013. This list was matched to the corresponding vaccination events recorded on the National Immunisation Register (NIR). Immunisation coverage includes children born on or after 1 January 2006 when the NIR became operational.

Notes: Fully immunised status has been achieved when the child has received the

number of antigens recorded in the National Immunisation Schedule or the Immunisation Catch-Up schedule table.

There are known messaging issues between the practice management system and the national immunisation register resulting in under reporting.

Coverage figures relate to small numbers of eligible children completing scheduled vaccinations by 6 and 12 months. Because the numbers are small large variations may result in coverage.

This baseline measure uses the 2012/13 cohort of quota refugees to calculate the number of refugees who visited general practitioners.

567 out of 848 refugees (67%) utilized general practitioner services in the 2012/13 year. The earliest doctor-visit date identified was on 14 August 2012 and the latest doctor-visit date identified was on 24 May 2013.

Source: Ministry of Health.

The Refugee Health Clinic at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre supplied a list of all National Health Identity for refugees who arrived during the period 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013.

This baseline measure uses the first refugee arrival intake for 2012/13. This intake includes 122 refugees (out of the total 2012/13 cohort). The measure counts refugees who received a face-to-face activity in PRIMHD* since the date of arrival of 29 June 2012.

Of the 122 refugees, nearly half (60 people) had received face-to-face activity with a mental health service. The earliest first face-to-face contact identified was within six weeks of the arrival of intake and was on 3 July 2012 and the latest first face-to-face contact identified was on 7 August 2012.

Source: Ministry of Health

The Refugee Health Clinic at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre supplied a list of all National Health Identity for refugees who arrived during the period 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013.

* PRIMHD (pronounced ‘primed’) is a Ministry of Health single national mental health and addiction information collection of service activity and outcomes data for health consumers. The data is collected from district health boards and non-governmental organisations.

Housing OutcomeRefugees live independently of government housing assistance in homes that are safe, secure, healthy and

affordable.

Success IndicatorA reduction in the amount of housing subsidy spent on quota refugees after two years and five years in New Zealand.

The baseline data includes all school leavers between 2009 and 2012. Refugees are identified through the Ministry of Education’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) database. At least five years in the New Zealand education system is calculated from first year enrolled in ESOL to their last year at school. The data does not distinguish between quota and convention refugees. The data also does not include those who are New Zealand born from a refugee background.

The proportion of refugee school leavers gaining NCEA Level 2 or an equivalent qualification after five years or more in the New Zealand education system increased from 68.3% in 2009 to 78.5% in 2012. The government’s Better Public Service target for achievement of 18-year-olds is that 85% of all students achieve NCEA Level 2 or an equivalent qualification by age 18. The Ministry of Education is considering aligning the new target with the Better Public Service target of 85% because the current target is now out of date having been surpassed already. Options for a revised target are under consideration.

Source: Ministry of Education

This baseline measure uses the 2006/07 cohort of quota refugees to observe the change in the amount of housing subsidy spent on quota refugees after two years and five years in New Zealand.

180 families were tenants in Housing New Zealand Corporation (HNZC) houses in 2006/07. Two years later (2008/09), 167 families were HNZC tenants and $1.501m Income-Related Rent (IRR) subsidy was paid to those families representing an increase in IRR subsidy of $0.019m from 2007/08. At five years (2011/12), 144 refugee families remained in HNZC housing. The IRR subsidy at the 5-year mark was $1.458m representing a saving of $0.025m from 2007/08.

Over the five year period, 36 refugee families moved out of HNZC houses.

Source: Housing New Zealand Corporation. An Income-Related Rent is the rent payable for state housing based on the incomes of tenants and their partners.

Note: The 2006/07 cohort of quota refugees was chosen because it best illustrates the measures over the 6-month, 2-year, and 5-year period. Future analysis will monitor progress against will monitor progress against the indicators for more recent cohorts.

Note: The 2006/07 cohort of quota refugees was chosen because it best illustrates the measure over the 2-year and 5-year period. Future analysis will monitor progress against the indicators for more recent cohorts of refugees.

Ongoing monitoring against the success indicators and target: In the future, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment will coordinate annual progress reports to the Strategic Governance Group against the agreed measures, in consultation with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and Housing New Zealand Corporation. It should be noted that there is a lag time in the availability of some data. This means that in any given reporting cycle, data for the most recent intake of refugees will only be available for some measures.

Measuring English Language achievement

• English language assessment Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool

(LNAAT)…but not as effective for pre-literate of very low literacy

• In the interim Providers do their own assessment

Developing a proxy indicator for English Language achievement

The proportion of refugees achieving a level 2 qualification (or higher) on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework

Level 2 or higher qualification in ESOL or other courses will indicate a level of English to progress into higher levels of study

Refugee entry cohorts2006/07 – 2011/12

~4,150 people56% in the age range 18-60

Proportion who have gained a level 2

qualification (or higher)26%

0

10

20

30

4032.0

20.225.9

Male Female Total

Prop

ortio

n of

refu

gees

Proportion of adult refugees achieving a level 2 qualification (or higher)

Developing the indicator

1 2 3 4 5 60.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

2006/07-2007/08 2008/09-2009/10 2010/11-2011/12

Number of years since arrival in New Zealand

Prop

ortio

n of

refu

gees

Level 2 qualification achievement over time

18% after 2 years33% after 5 years