Humanitarian Settlement Services
Regional profile #10
The Illawarra region, New South Wales
Contents
About the Illawarra region
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Service provider
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Accommodation
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Education
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Health services
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Employment opportunities
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A welcoming community
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DIAC wishes to express its thanks to Navitas English for compiling this material.
While every care has been taken, DIAC makes no guarantees that the information provided is up to
date.
For further information on the Humanitarian Settlement Services program see:
http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/delivering-assistance/government-programs/settlementprograms/hss.htm
Regional profile | Illawarra region 2
About the Illawarra region
The Illawarra Region of New South Wales is situated on the coast immediately south of Sydney. It
encompasses the cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and the town of Kiama.
Wollongong, 70 km south of Sydney, is the largest city with a population of almost 410 000.
Over the years the Illawarra region has been a welcoming and permanent home for many refugee
communities. Wollongong embraces multiculturalism and is home to people from many different
cultural backgrounds. After English, the main languages spoken at home are Mandarin, Italian, Greek,
Cantonese and Serbian. The population is young and a third are between 15 and 24 years of age.
Communities that have an established presence in the Illawarra region include Burmese, Burundian,
Congolese, Togolese, Liberian, Sierra Leonian, Sudanese, Iraqi and Iranian.
Regional profile | Illawarra region 3
Service providers
Humanitarian Settlement Service (HSS) services provided in the region focus on helping refugees to
gain access to mainstream services such as Centrelink, Medicare, banks, general and specialist
health and medical services, English language tuition, training and employment, in addition to links to
the community and community organisations.
Navitas English is the provider in the Illawarra Region that offers services on behalf of the Department
of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). Navitas English works with a consortium that includes Mission
Australia and NSW Refugee Health, to deliver services to clients in the first six to 12 months of their
settlement in Australia.
The Consortium provides intensive settlement support to newly-arrived refugees, with the aim of
assisting them to become self-sufficient as quickly as possible. The assessment process used has a
case-management approach to ensure that the services they deliver are based on the needs of each
individual.
Accommodation
Navitas English are able to provide reasonable short and long-term accommodation for refugees.
Short-term accommodation properties are located close to community services, employment,
education, public transport and shops.
Navitas English has long-term private residential leases that can be used for short-term
accommodation.
As of September 2012, examples of typical rents are:
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five bedroom house: approximately $500 per week
three bedroom townhouse: approximately $300 per week
two bedroom half-house: approximately $380–$410 per week
self-service rooms: approximately $510 per week
two bedroom cabins: approximately $826–$1540 per week.
Four weeks after the date of their arrival, clients are required to contribute to the rent. Their
contribution is up to 40 per cent of family income (excluding rent assistance), or of the fair market
rental value of the property (the amount that Navitas English pays in rent), whichever is cheapest.
Long-term accommodation is available for refugees, including in suburbs that are near Wollongong’s
central business district. Where possible, the accommodation is close to their community contacts.
Examples of long-term accommodation
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Examples of short-term term-accommodation
Education
Pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary education institutions in the region offer services to
refugees. Primary and secondary school students are enrolled in schools in the zone closest to their
accommodation.
Pre-school
A number of pre-school places are arranged through the Illawarra College of Technology and Further
Education (TAFE) and Lady Gowrie Early Education and Care. TAFE also has a child care centre at
the Wollongong campus.
Primary and secondary
All schools have teachers in English as a Second Language (ESL) who assist students to improve
their English skills. In most cases, ESL teachers have language support workers who assist students
in communicating in the class room.
High school students are enrolled in intensive English classes where they spend up to four terms,
depending on their ability, before moving into the mainstream. The Intensive English Centre, which
was established in 1979, has assisted more than 1500 students from non-English-speaking
backgrounds. The centre is supported by schools in the district.
Tertiary
The University of Wollongong runs access programs that allow students to undertake degrees of their
choice upon successful completion of the access programs. Culturally and linguistically diverse
(CALD) students undertake courses that depend on their chosen career paths. The most popular
courses are nursing, social work, engineering, commerce, accounting, finance, social science and
human resources.
TAFE Illawarra has courses and programs to assist students to access employment and tertiary
education, including:
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the Settlement Pathways to Employment training course
English for academic purposes
business management, community services, nursing, childcare, aged care and retail.
TAFE also provides Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) classes at its Wollongong Campus, in
Kiama and in rural areas. English courses are based on the national Certificates I, II and III Spoken
and Written English (CSWE). Participants can study full-time for 15-20 hours per week over three
days, or part-time while working at the same time.
Regional profile | Illawarra region 5
Other support services provided by TAFE Illawarra to AMEP students include:
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interpreters under certain circumstances (for example, trade-testing and course information)
advice on the recognition of overseas qualifications
learner support to students in Certificate III level courses and higher
information on English language programs and culturally specific community services
home tutoring
distance learning
online learning
educational and career counselling
translation of documents
access to computers, the internet, libraries and book stores.
Health Services
In the Illawarra region, there are health services which specialise in refugee health, including:
 general health assessment
 immunisation
 dental health, through community health centres
 referral to specialist services
 general health advice.
Wollongong Medical Centre
Employment Opportunities
The Illawarra Region has many employment opportunities for HSS clients and a number of
organisations provide refugees and migrants with the skills they need to secure work, and assist them
to find jobs.
These include:
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TAFE Illawarra: the Settlement Pathways to Employment training course.
Department of Community Services and Health Services: interpreting for refugees and
accreditation for the recognition of rare languages can be arranged through Centrelink, and
Translating and Interpreting Service (TISNational).
Strategic Community Assistance (SCARF) volunteer group: runs ‘Green Connect’ which
assists refugees to gain work experience.
Regional profile | Illawarra region 6
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Salvation Army Employment Plus, Mission Australia Employment Solution, MBC Employment
Services. Many other job network services in the Illawarra region assist refugees to find work
by linking them with employers and developing their resumé-writing and interview skills.
Navitas English and Illawarra Multicultural health services: provide employment to former
refugee clients as settlement case workers.
Illawarra nursing homes and asset maintenance provide employment for refugees
Wollongong City Council is researching a refugee employment initiative to assist in finding
employment for refugees
several security agencies, including Oz Tech Security, Wollongong University and Illawarra
City Security, are able to provide refugees with security training and employment.
Employment services which assist refugees to find work in the Illawarra region include:
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Mission Australia employment services
Salvation Army Employment Plus
MBC employment services
Jobfind Centres Australia
Quest Employment and Training Solutions
Workskills employment services.
A welcoming community
Navitas English works with many groups and organisations in the community that are committed to
making new refugee arrivals feel welcome. These include:
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Centrelink Multicultural Unit: interpreters and support for refugees.
Illawarra Multicultural Services (IMS): support services for refugees for up to five years after
leaving the HSS Program. The assistance provided by IMS includes settlement advice,
assessment of overseas qualifications, job seeking, education and training, family and
community services, youth services, child care services, immigration applications and advice,
advice on services available from government departments, cultural awareness training and
student work experience placements.
Strategic Community Assistance to Refugee Families (SCARF): support services for refugees
before and after the HSS Program including assistance with home tutoring for primary and
high school age students, English literacy and conversation classes, sporting programs and
employment opportunities.
St Vincent de Paul: second-hand clothing and welfare support.
Smith Family Partnership brokers: support with English home tutoring, literacy program and
mentoring, and financial assistance for education.
Anglicare: welfare support.
Multicultural Community Council of Illawarra (MCCI): community events and youth services.
STARTTS: Torture and Trauma Counselling Service, and the Families in Cultural Transition
Program.
Mission Australia: support with employment, English (Language, Literacy and Numeracy
Program) and volunteers.
multicultural health: support with health referral and health worker home visits.
Warrawong Intensive English Centre: initial education program for high school-age students,
before entering into mainstream education.
Wollongong City Council: support with community events and program delivery.
family and community services (Brighter Future): support for vulnerable children and their
families.
established Burmese community: support in entering into the wider community, and provision
of ongoing support.
Burundian/Congolese Community: support with initial community orientation and provision of
ongoing social support.
housing for women: support through Housing NSW.
Regional profile | Illawarra region 7