Read the full report here.
Humanitarian migrants who accessed settlement services early recorded stronger employment, education, English and independence outcomes in the years after arrival, according to new research prepared by Deloitte Access Economics for the Settlement Council of Australia.
Accelerating Settlement Outcomes, to be launched today at Australian Parliament House, examines ten years of longitudinal data to explore whether accessing settlement services early is associated with people’s subsequent settlement trajectories.
The research finds that humanitarian migrants who accessed settlement services during their first year in Australia had an employment advantage that reached 8.6 percentage points by year five, after adjusting for other observable differences between groups.
The additional hours worked by early service users equate to approximately $18,000 in additional wages per person over ten years, or $135 million across the humanitarian cohort examined.
The research also identifies stronger participation in education and training, improved English proficiency and greater confidence navigating Australian systems among people who accessed support early.
Settlement Council of Australia Chair Melissa Monteiro said the research strengthens the evidence available to governments and the settlement sector about the longer-term value of early settlement support.
“Settlement organisations have long understood that the support people receive early in their lives in Australia can influence what becomes possible in the years that follow. This research gives us a stronger evidence base through which to understand that relationship.
“SCOA commissioned this work because decisions about settlement policy and investment should be informed by evidence about long-term outcomes. As a national sector, we need to keep building that evidence and asking what enables people to participate and contribute as early and fully as possible.”
The report grew from SCOA’s Road to Belonging work, bringing settlement organisations together to examine how Australia can strengthen the journey from arrival through to participation, independence and belonging.
Road to Belonging Working Group Chair Angelica Svensson said the findings reflect the interconnected nature of settlement that organisations encounter every day.
“People don’t engage with employment, learning English, education, housing, health and community connections as separate parts of their lives. Progress in one area can open possibilities in another, while an unresolved barrier can reverberate across several.
“For settlement organisations, the significance of this research is that it follows those connections over time. It strengthens the case for early, coordinated support that gives people the foundations from which they can build independence, participate and use the skills and experience they bring to Australia.”
SCOA CEO Maria Dimopoulos AM said the findings should inform wider national debates about productivity, workforce participation and Australia’s capacity to make better use of people’s skills and potential.
“Australia is having important conversations about productivity, workforce participation, skills shortages, migration and social cohesion. This research asks us to bring another question into that conversation: what allows people to contribute as early and fully as possible?
“The evidence points us towards early intervention. Settlement support can help create the conditions from which participation becomes possible. The policy challenge now is to ensure those foundations are strong enough, early enough, for people to build on them.”
The report considers settlement outcomes across three domains: economic participation, independence and wellbeing, and social connection and cohesion.
The report also identifies areas requiring further work, including consistent funding, stronger data and impact monitoring, and closer collaboration between specialist settlement organisations and mainstream services.
Accelerating Settlement Outcomes was commissioned by the Settlement Council of Australia and prepared by Deloitte Access Economics with support from settlement organisations across Australia.
Read the full report here.
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Jordan Wise
M: 0481 484 761