Humanitarian Settlement Services
Regional profile #16
Cairns, Queensland
Contents
About Cairns
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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 Centacare Migrant Services (CMS) 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
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About Cairns
The city of Cairns is located in the state of Queensland on the northeast coast of Australia and has a
population of approximately 124 436. The region is known for tourism attractions such as the Great
Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics World Heritage rainforest and has a rich and enduring indigenous
culture.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make up around 10 per cent of the population and children
under 14 years of age make up 21 per cent.
Cairns is a diverse and thriving multicultural community, with strong Filipino, Japanese, paua New
Guinean, New Zealand, United kingdom, Italian, Greek, German and Chinese communities actively
participating in society. There are also new and emerging communities in Cairns including African,
Hmong and Bhutanese among others.
The climate is hot and humid during summer with mild, dry winters and the ‘wet’ monsoonal season
generally occurs between January and March, during which the region may experience extreme
weather events such as cyclones.
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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, education, English language tuition, training and employment, in addition
to links to the community and community organisations.
Centacare Migrant Services (CMS) is the service provider delivering services on behalf of the
Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) in Cairns and is a major program of Centacare
Cairns – the social services arm of the Catholic Diocese of Cairns. CMS has worked as part of the
Cairns community for over ten years to provide a range of free services for individuals, families and
migrant communities in Cairns and the surrounding regions. As the lead agency for settlement
services in the region, their aim is to encourage and facilitate migrants’ full participation in all aspects
of community life.
CMS services are tailored to provide support to newly arrived individuals and families, refugees and
humanitarian entrants and new and emerging migrant communities and groups. CMS can help with
settlement issues, community development projects, employment, facilitating participation in cultural
events and advocacy. CMS provides full access to interpreter services for non-English speaking
clients and is supported by a dedicated professional volunteer network.
CMS offers tailored wrap around services of HSS, Settlement Grants Program, Migrant Employment
Services, Youth Support and can also access services such as counselling, mental health, emergency
relief and youth services.
Accommodation
Short-term accommodation is provided by two motels in Cairns, which are situated a block apart on
the main road into Cairns from the airport. They are approximately five-minutes by car from Cairns
airport and a 15 minute walk to Cairns CBD with bus stops directly outside. Both motels provide
accommodation in the form of studio, 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom apartments and rooms are booked
according to family size. All apartments are fully self-contained and families are provided with one
week’s initial food supply upon arrival. CMS has a solid working relationship with the proprietors,
which has resulted in a very supportive environment for families.
The Initial Rental Payment covers the cost of short term accommodation for up to four weeks. During
this time (CMS HSS) case managers will support families to find long term accommodation.
Long-term accommodation is primarily obtained through the private rental market and CMS works with
clients to secure affordable and acceptable housing within their desired locations. CMS continues to
build relationships and support local real estate agents with cultural awareness and competency.
Long-term accommodation is usually sought close to bus stops and schools, and where possible,
community links. As at September 2012, average rents are:
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three bedroom house accommodating a family of up to 6 people: $300-330 per week.
two bedroom unit accommodating families of up to 4 people: $200-230 per week.
Sometimes units are located on levels one and two requiring access via stairs. Affordable
accommodation for single clients is a little more difficult to find and local pressures on the rental
market are beginning to have some effect on availability and affordability in some inner city locations.
CMS is working with clients to investigate suitable alternative locations.
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Education
Cairns has pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary schooling available. Local primary and
secondary schools offer additional support for children with English as a Second Language (ESL) and
Trinity Bay High School offers a dedicated ESL program.
Tropical North QLD TAFE (TNQT) offers a range of vocational training programs to HSS clients.
Recent clients have attended courses in Aged Care, Assets Management, Child Care and Hospitality.
The Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program is also available through the STEPS group Australia
which is based in Cairns.
TNQT provides all AMEP general services to approximately 300 students, (40 per cent of whom
arrived as humanitarian entrants) at its Cairns campus in Eureka Street, Manunda. Services include:
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registration of all AMEP clients
English Language Proficiency Assessment of all AMEP clients
entry interview by AMEP case manager for all AMEP clients
referral of AMEP clients to appropriate tuition option: Face-to-Face, Teacher-Assisted
Distance Learning, Home Tutor Scheme, Self-Paced e- modules
delivery of Face-to-Face tuition (Monday to Friday, full & part time) and Home Tutor Scheme
to AMEP clients
delivery of Special Preparatory Program, Youth Course, Settlement Course and Vocational
Focus Course
provision of skill specific classes at the lower levels e.g. reading, speaking or computer focus,
according to individual student needs
provision of ongoing progress reviews to all AMEP clients, including exit interviews and
referral to appropriate post-AMEP service providers
delivery of Home Tutor Scheme
delivery of Home Tutor Scheme Enhancement Program
referral to document translation & overseas skills and qualifications recognition services
referral to counselling and other services as appropriate
arrangement of childcare for AMEP clients
James Cook University has a campus in Cairns. Several former HSS clients are enrolled in studies
related to social work, community services as well as social and applied science fields. JCU is ranked
in the top four per cent of the world’s tertiary institutions by the Academic Ranking of World
Universities. Over 4,000 students study at JCU Cairns, including about 380 international students and
there is an established mature aged student population.
Trinity Bay High School
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Health Services
Cairns has a hospital, refugee health service, integrated dental clinic, local doctors and a nursing
service available. Queensland Health operates a weekly refugee health clinic staffed by registered
nurses. This service provides an initial health assessment and referral to other allied health services
as required.
Queensland Health services offer a free interpreter service for all non-English speaking clients but do
not offer a specialised refugee service. These services are supported by the regionally-focused
Refugee Health Network which is targeted at front-line service providers to share information and
planning for refugee health.
Employment Opportunities
CMS is the only initiative funded in Cairns to provide employment assistance to new arrivals. The
highly successful Centacare Migrant Employment Services is currently funded by the state
government until June 2013. This program supports migrant job seekers and helps them to overcome
barriers to employment using individual case management and group work. It is the only service of its
type in Far North Queensland.
Services include job preparation and Australian workplace readiness; appropriate referrals for training,
advocacy and mainstream service providers; job placements and volunteerism; information regarding
employment, vocational training and education in Cairns. The program also works with bi-cultural
workers and is establishing a volunteer program to assist with employment support. CMS is also
enhancing the facilities available to clients, such as increased access to computer and internet
facilities to assist with research and preparing job applications.
Childcare support is available through Centrelink subsidised arrangements or an alternate option is the
Community Kindergarten, which seeks in-kind contributions from families. Two central childcare
services use bi-cultural workers.
There is currently no Job Services Australia (JSA) provider specialising in assisting refugees.
JSA providers refer clients to a literacy and numeracy program for people experiencing difficulties in
reading, writing and speaking English. The program, called STEPS, trains refugee clients who have
already exited their AMEP classes.
Clients looking for work or starting work may be eligible for financial assistance with transport and child
care services.
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A welcoming community
Cairns has a number of community service organisations that provide services to new arrivals. These
include:
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St Vincent de Paul Society
St John’s Community Care
Lifeline Community Care
Carers Queensland
Salvation Army
Centacare Cairns
Pymjama Angels
Zonta Club
Rotary Club
Diversicare
Uniting Care
Headspace Cairns (youth services)
Aftercare’s Time Out (youth services)
Police-Citizens Youth Club
There are also a number of committees and networks dedicated to addressing the needs of the
diverse communities of Cairns. Some are focused on specific themes such as health, and others focus
in different areas, such as supporting cultural links. Some of these include:
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Cairns and Region Multicultural Service Providers meeting (Diversicare) is a network of
service providers and members of the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community
in the Cairns region. They work to understand diversity, empower communities to participate,
share information and encourage community initiatives amongst multicultural service
providers.
The Refugee Health Network is targeted at front-line service providers to share information
and planning for refugee health.
The Cairns Regional Council Multicultural Advisory Group is made up of representatives and
leaders of multicultural communities from the region. This group is focussed on communitybased initiatives and providing an avenue for CALD communities to speak to local government
about their needs.
Cairns and Region Multicultural Association is an independent multicultural community
organisation. It aims to build collaborative working relationships and support cultural groups to
maintain and develop their heritage and practice their cultural values. It supports multicultural
activities and social cohesion and builds relationships and referral links with key service
providers and agencies.
The Far North Queensland Local Area Coordination group was established under the
Humanitarian Settlement Strategy to establish regionally owned and longer-term strategies to
address settlement needs.
The main Centrelink office in Cairns supports Multicultural Service Officers who work with
community groups and other agencies to help refugees and people from CALD backgrounds
link up with government and community services.
The African and Bhutanese communities in Cairns also have established representative
groups who participate in several of the committees above.
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