This report looks at the experiences of refugee communities in Tasmania against the Department of Immigration’s criteria for successful settlement for new entrants, which has as a broad goal the full economic and social participation of new entrants. 

Many aspects of life in Tasmania suit refugee communities and promote good settlement outcomes – this includes a mixture of community support, and state and commonwealth funded services.

Refugees point to settlement service gaps beyond the period of eligibility for intensive settlement services. In particular, refugees are falling through gaps between settlement service and housing service providers, and their housing problems are undermining settlement outcomes for them by failing to provide security of tenure or housing that is accessible to the services they must use. 

The report proposes a range of recommendations to address the substantial problems identified. Some of these draw on existing initiatives, others on models found to be successful in other jurisdictions. All of them draw on the considerable pool of expertise and stories of success that exist among the refugee communities, settlement services and community service providers.