After initially living in neighbouring Iraq, Ms Razzouk arrived in Australia in April 2022 on a humanitarian visa. But with no professional network, a lack of understanding of the Australian job market, and no local driver’s licence, she needed support to get back on her feet and rebuild her career in a new country. And she could not wait!

“From the moment I arrived in Australia, I wanted to start applying for jobs. I really didn’t want to wait any longer because I spent four years in Iraq due to the pandemic lockdowns. I spent a lot of time waiting so when I arrived in Australia, I felt the wait was finally over.”

Support and encouragement from her dedicated Refugee Employment Support Program (RESP) Employment Facilitator provided Ms Razzouk with pathways to explore employment goals, improve her resume and interview skills, attain a driver’s licence, and explore short-term goals that would lead to greater employability skills.

“I was in touch with my facilitator every day asking what else I can do to learn new skills or enrol in courses. As a newcomer in Australia, I had so many questions and need a lot of information.”

At the start of the job hunt, she found the Australian accent particularly challenging despite having studied English for years.

“I already knew how to express myself and engage with new people in English but during my first months, the Australian accent was a challenge. In job interviews, I would struggle to understand the interviewer as they would speak quickly, and I’d have to ask them to speak slower or repeat their questions. But day by day I got better and improved my language skills.”

With SSI’s support, Ms Razzouk was referred to various job opportunities, and within six months of arriving in Australia, she was offered a part-time job with IKEA working in their member and customer relations team.

“As my first local work experience, it was the first for me for everything – my first office, first team, and first manager in Australia. This experience taught me so much about the Australian workplace, and I felt supported from the start. The team trained me and arranged every small detail to help me deliver my best performance. Everything was well organised, and I never felt scared or embarrassed if I didn’t know something. This surprised me a little.”

Following her first positive entry to the Australian workplace, Ms Razzouk landed a full-time position with the organisation that supported her from the start, SSI. As an intake administrator in SSI’s RESP team, she now helps others achieve their career goals in their new home country. She is also planning to enrol in a course to study community services to deepen her skills in the sector and continue achieving her big career goals.

“I plan to keep building on my skills in management and administration so I can reach higher, year after year. In 1-2 years, I plan to be a supervisor and in 3-5 years, a team leader,” she said.

“When it comes to my long-term goals, I could manage my own business, or even build a big training centre. Or I could have a political job or stay in the community sector. These are all different fields I could explore because of my qualifications, skills and the flexible personality and strength I have.”

Ms Razzouk’s confidence and passion are immediately evident to anyone who meets this future leader. When reflecting on this part of her character, she acknowledges her confidence is a key ingredient that’s helped her achieve a lot she can be proud of today.

“The first reason for my confidence is my family who are in Syria but support me every day. Being in Australia is a personal win for me. I’m proud I was able to move on, face all the challenges I faced for all those years, and end up here,” she said.

“When you live in limbo for years, and then life gives you an opportunity to realise your dreams and rebuild your life in a safe country – you will get this confidence! Because life is giving a new opportunity to rebuild the life that you want. This is the source of my confidence.”

Before being compelled to leave his homeland in search of asylum, Iranian-born Mohsen had successfully attained a Bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, specialising in prosthetics and orthodontics. Throughout his studies, he worked in the banking sector, an experience that unexpectedly sparked his interest in finance.

Despite his education in the medical field and experience in finance, Mohsen faced challenges in securing employment in either sector.

“I applied for so many jobs all over Sydney, but no one would give me a chance,” he said.

Mohsen still has all 37 employment rejection letters sitting in his email inbox. He looks at them from time to time for motivation.

“I faced a disheartening pattern of consistent rejection, with doors being slammed shut in my face despite all efforts,” he reflected.

Mohsen’s limited proficiency in English proved to be a major challenge in obtaining work. Due to being on a temporary bridging visa, he couldn’t initially access English courses. But he remained determined in his conviction, that ‘no one can stop [him] from learning’.

Mohsen, set to overcome his obstacles, employed resourceful methods to continue his learning. He enrolled to study at the Sydney Bible College and tried to follow along in English. He also made the most out of YouTube to enhance his skills.

Mohsen’s language proficiency not only affected his job prospects but also his confidence.

“It’s easy for people to understand that language barriers are hard, but they don’t understand how it feels to experience it… My confidence plunged to its lowest depths,” he said.

“When you only know a mere ten words of English, anxiety takes hold, leaving you unable to recall even those few words during job interviews,” Mohsen recalled.

Upon obtaining the permissions through his visa, Mohsen enrolled in SSI’s Refugee Employment Support Program (RESP) and participated in work readiness workshops, gaining insights into the local job market, establishing networks, and connecting with mentors. He enrolled in English courses at TAFE and decided to study a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Applied Finance through a scholarship.

In 2022, Mohsen successfully found a job opportunity with the ANZ bank, a transformative stepping stone into the financial industry for him.

As Mohsen contemplated his career journey, he consistently emphasised the importance of learning opportunities. If he could say anything to himself ten years ago it would be to ‘learn, learn, and keep learning’.

Unfortunately, Mohsen’s temporary protection visa imposed further limitations, which hindered his prospects for ongoing employment at ANZ.

Yet, demonstrating resilience once again, Mohsen leveraged his financial knowledge to establish his own successful business, In2mortgages, as an independent mortgage broker.

Reflecting on his journey, Mohsen wanted to remind employers of the potential of empowering refugees, “Whilst it is unfortunate that they have had to leave their home countries, it presents a unique opportunity for employers in Australia.”

“Diversity brings opportunities to employers. They are fortunate to have access to this pool of diverse and talented people who can bring unique perspectives into their workplaces,” he said.

“At the end of the day, we [refugees] are going to open our own business, just like I have done. It is the employers who are missing out on seizing the opportunities that come with hiring us.”

With more than six years practising dentistry in a clinic, and seven years lecturing at a dental faculty, Sadia was hopeful she would have the opportunity to continue her career in Australia. But she has faced a maze of barriers to achieving her goal.

Sadia undertook the complex and expensive process of having her overseas qualifications recognised with the guidance and support of SSI’s Refugee Employment Support Program (RESP). Her efforts came to a standstill after she was unable to attain one of the government documents from her country of origin, which is required to sit the Australian Dental Council (ADC) exam.

In the meantime, Sadia searched for employment in dental clinics across Sydney so she could earn a living and maintain a connection to her career.

“I applied for dental assistant jobs in the meantime but was declined because I did not have Australian experience,” Sadia said.

To resolve this, Sadia asked to sit in at a local clinic two days a week as a volunteer ‘observer’ while she completed her English language course at TAFE.

After several months of hard work and frustration, Sadia’s situation took a positive turn. In December 2022, she was offered a part-time role at Auburn Road Dental Surgery, and with the support of RESP, she was able to track down alternative documentation to sit her dental exam.

Sadia is now juggling working at the clinic two days a week while caring for her two young children and working towards refining her professional English language skills.

She plans to sit her ADC exam in early 2024 and is determined to be able to utilise her years of experience and expertise in Australia.

Refugee women have been shown to have the same or higher participation in higher education as Australian-born women, and more than a fifth of refugees work in the healthcare sector.

By removing the additional barriers professionals like Sadia have in utilising their skills in their new homes, Australia can unlock a skilled workforce that will positively contribute to our economy and society.

“I have dedicated almost 20 years of my life to my profession – I cannot leave it behind. I dream of working again as a dentist, but it’s incredibly difficult,” Sadia said.

But despite an impressive 15-year career in medicine, experience leading Afghanistan’s first HIV treatment centre, and a Master of Public Health at James Cook University, Mohammad faced an upward battle to find employment in the Australian medical sector.

Instead, with the support of the Refugee Employment Support Program (RESP), he has embarked on a new career path with Transport NSW, while undertaking the lengthy process of getting his overseas qualifications recognised.

“I eventually want to get back into the medical field. RESP helped me to get recognition of the documents and has also offered to support me with the fees for the AMC exam.”

While Mohammad works towards an Australian medical license, he collaborated with RESP to overcome some of the additional barriers refugees often face in finding employment in Australia. This includes gaining an understanding of local recruitment practices and work culture, building a network, and gaining practical skills and qualifications, such as an Australian driver’s licence.

“Most of the jobs when I was applying required me to have an Australian driver’s licence. So, RESP also supported me to get some classes, doing my learner’s test and getting my full licence.”

In July 2022, after seven months in Australia, Mohammad gained a Humanitarian Cadet position at Transport NSW. Mohammad excelled in his role with the Infrastructure and Place division and has since gained both a promotion and a permanent position in the team.

“In the beginning, it was a bit challenging but each day I learn new things and skills, so I just go with it. I am defiantly enjoying the role because I always enjoy challenges. Easy jobs can be done any time, but the good thing is I really enjoy challenging work like this,” Mohammad said.

“Importantly, my role with Transport NSW allows me to work from both home and the office, which has enabled me to encourage and support my wife to complete her studies as I have extra time to look after our kids and family.”

While Mohammad is making meaningful contributions to Transport NSW and enjoying his work, he remains determined to utilise his medical skills and experience to positively impact people’s lives in Australia.

“I have aspirations to get back into the medical field but first I have to get some background in Australia and working with government,” Mohammad says.

Reconciliation Australia has compiled a list of practical steps we can all take to create change. Click here for information on how you can be a voice for listening, unity, fairness and more.

At SSI, we’re on a journey of reconciliation to ensure we are doing everything within our power to contribute towards realising makarrata – a Yolngu word that means coming together after a conflict.

SSI’s Reconciliation Action Plan has mechanisms for improving our practices, ways of working and engaging with First Nations staff, clients and communities in which we operate.

These have ranged from building more effective community relationships to implementing practices within programs that incorporate lessons on First Nations history and rituals, to taking a public position acknowledging the dual nature of January 26.

We are almost at the two year mark and will soon prepare for a review with Reconciliation Australia, before developing our next two year RAP. We continue to learn valuable lessons the deeper we dive into our actions.

We have learnt that engaging and building relationships with First Nations people – be it staff or external communities, takes much time and many, many cups of tea. In Queensland, for example, our staff have made considerable efforts the last couple of years to consult with and develop a relationship with community elders in one region, working to listen, understand and immerse themselves into community, before creating a dialogue. These efforts are ongoing and the team learn more and more about the community, through each engagement opportunity.

At SSI, there is a genuine appetite and desire to support the RAP and reconciliation efforts across the business. Staff have come forward to contribute in many different forms.

Just recently, we formed a Voice to Parliament working group that was initiated by two staff members. This initiative has grown legs and will see SSI out in CALD communities, conducting forums aimed at educating and assisting people to make an informed decisions when it comes time to vote at the referendum.

There are many different ways to progress reconciliation. Whatever path you chose, I encourage you to take some time this week to reflect on steps you can take to realise makarrata.

For more information, visit the Reconciliation Week website, or click here to read SSI’s RAP.

By the end of 2023, the Australian government will hold a referendum to ask Australians if there should be an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice enshrined in the constitution – a proposal from the Uluru Statement from the Heart, to which SSI is a signatory.

Today, as an organisation, SSI is formally announcing its support for the upcoming referendum by publishing a position statement, approved by the board, in which we fully endorse the Voice to Parliament as a historic opportunity to move our country forward.

As a leading settlement organisation, we welcome newcomers to a place where First Nations people have had a continuous connection to the land for more than 65,000 years, having a rich culture, wisdom and care for the land that has not always been acknowledged or respected, including in Australia’s 122-year-old Constitution. We have an opportunity to change this.

We believe the establishment of a Voice to Parliament presents an opportunity for us to walk with First Nations people, side-by-side, and take a step forward on our journey towards achieving makarrata – a Yolngu word that means coming together after a conflict.

Constitutional recognition through a Voice is a simple but powerful proposal whose time has come. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have great strength and wisdom. These are attributes that must be harnessed in order to meaningfully address the inequality they face and work together to achieve a shared vision of a fairer future for all Australians.

The reality is that even with the best intentions, governments and parliamentarians alone cannot provide lasting solutions without working with First Nations community leaders. A Voice to Parliament would simply ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are able to advise politicians about what really works in their communities before decisions are made.

We recognise that a Voice to Parliament does not present an instant fix for the many and varied issues of inequality facing First Nations communities. Much more needs to be done to realise makarrata – but this is an important practical first step. 

The world is changing, and Australia’s migration system and humanitarian program need to change with it.

Our proposals acknowledge that the global demand for skills has intensified.

1. To strengthen Australia’s position as a destination of choice, SSI proposes the four-year waiting period for income support is waved or reduced to six months for all new permanent residents. The existing waiting period denies new residents support, even when they have already made a significant social and economic contribution to Australia. Waving the waiting period will help attract skilled individuals and promote a fairer country.
2. Additionally, SSI proposes the visa processing fee for skilled migration pathways is reduced or abolished for humanitarian entrants, especially for those with in-demand skills. The prohibitively high costs associated with alternative migration pathways is one of several systematic barriers that prevent refugees from migrating for employment, educational or reunification purposes. Supporting skilled pathways for refugees through a fee visa waiver would also help address Australia’s critical skills shortages.
3. Another avenue for addressing skills shortages and humanitarian need is to increase the quota or expand the pilot for skilled migration pathways for humanitarian entrants. The limited number of Refugee and Humanitarian Visas available means that skilled refugees often miss out on protection in Australia. SSI proposes that increasing the quota or expanding the pilot for skilled migration pathways for humanitarian entrants would create an alternative and complementary pathway to protection while enabling skilled refugees to contribute to Australia’s economy.
4. Importantly, SSI also proposes to increase Australia’s humanitarian intake from 13,750 places to 27,000 places. This is consistent with the government’s policy commitment, and SSI urges that it should be implemented as soon as possible. Increasing Australia’s humanitarian intake from 13,750 places to 27,000 places would reflect the changing global environment and Australia’s commitment to humanitarian values.
5. Finally, with Australia’s migration and humanitarian programs expanding, the country is set to welcome approximately one million people over the next five years. Ensuring newcomers feel connected, engaged, supported, safe and settled is key to reaping the many benefits of migration, and settlement services are fundamental to achieving this. That is why we also recommend the government better resource settlement service organisations, especially at a time of rising service delivery costs.

SSI’s nine proposals for migration and humanitarian reform, including those listed above, aim to strengthen Australia’s position as a destination of choice, improve its reputation as a fair country, and enable skilled refugees to contribute to Australia’s economy.

Read SSI’s full policy submission: https://lnkd.in/ghxM6XEG 

“Our delegation was made of women of all ages, cultural backgrounds, and disciplines of music. But we had one thing in common: we are passionate about what we do and we’ve all have been fighting to do it,” Marina said.

“Every other woman had been going through the same struggles, we’ve been fighting to come out with our voices. The delegation was not about competition, it was about sisterhood. We are still in touch to this day.”

Marina was part of a ground-breaking initiative where SSI, BEMAC and AWMA joined forces to invite female artists from diverse backgrounds across NSW and Queensland to take part in a carefully curated program. The program included workshops and industry talks, and culminated in attendance at the AWMA ceremony and concert.

As the applications open today to form this year’s delegation, Marina encouraged emerging artists to apply.

“I would tell all female musicians from all ages and cultural backgrounds that just by applying you are supporting all of us,” she said.

“Apply and if you get chosen that’s a gift. You will connect with a wonderful family of women supporting each other. You will connect with people who understand your journey and struggles. It’s an experience I find hard to put into words because it’s profound on so many levels.”

The aim of the delegation is to promote diversity and equality in the Australian music industry by empowering diverse emerging artists to develop their artistic practice, connect with each other, and network with Australia’s most established female musicians.

Marina noted that although she has sometimes felt alone as a musician from a diverse background, the experience left her feeling a renewed sense of empowerment, ready to build her next show that is ‘all about women’.

“I come from a Croatian background, I grew up in New Zealand, then migrated to Australia, then the UK, and Italy. In each of these places, I learned about their customs and language. My whole life has been adapting to different cultures and listening to different languages, trying to fit in,” Marina said.

“Being part of the delegation and AWMA gave me an opportunity to be acknowledged by representing myself and women like me by being a delegate. It was also empowering for younger women to see an older female artist being showcased and uplifted in this way.”

“Women like us, diverse women from every background, shouldn’t be invisible.”

How to apply

Applications to be part of the next delegation are now open and close at midnight on 2 June. We welcome applications from emerging, female-identifying, or non-binary artists from diverse cultural backgrounds in NSW and Queensland.

Apply using this form, which gives more details on what’s included and who can apply.

Olga and her daughters.

Valeriia’s journey began on the morning of February 24, 2022, when her family were woken by bombing at Kiev airport, a short distance from their home. In that moment, they made the decision to pack up their lives and flee in search of safety.

The family arrived in Sydney on March 12, 2022, and were supported by SSI to access the essentials needed to navigate their new home.

“I was surprised someone was caring about us. Then they provided us with a case manager who was very supportive because we were like blind kittens—we didn’t know anything [about Australia],” said Valeriia.

Now, almost 12 months since they left Ukraine, they have found stable accommodation and are determined to contribute to the community that has welcomed them with open arms.

Valeriia is studying English working towards re-building her family’s successful landscaping business in Australia.

They are thrilled that their nine-year-old son, who was homeschooled in Ukraine due to his anxiety, is attending local school and making friends with his classmates for the first time ever.

“The teachers at the school are so supportive, they try so hard and are very creative. For example, the principal brought in dogs just to make him comfortable,” she said.

Olga and her two daughters also found refuge in Sydney in March after fleeing their home in Odessa.

Like many Ukrainians who have left the country, Olga’s friends have been a core support for her and her girls. Having migrated to Australia 20 years ago, they encouraged her to seek asylum and allowed her family to live with them for the first six months in Sydney.

Olga’s SSI case manager Muniera, who has supported the family to register for Medicare, translated documents, organised medical support, provided them with technology, and more, has also been key in their settlement journey.

“I did not imagine that this could happen. She was organised at such a level and so professional; I did not have time to come to my senses. I burst into tears of happiness,” said Olga.

With a 20-year career in Ukraine as an Accountant, Olga quickly found part-time employment as a finance administrator. She is working towards acquiring the English language skills needed to get her overseas qualification and experience recognised.

And like many Sydney locals, on her days off work Olga has been getting out to explore the region’s beautiful scenery and walking tracks.

“My friends gifted me a book of harbour and coastal walks because I enjoy beaches. And I have done maybe six or seven walks now, Bondi, Manly, Coogee, Bundeena,” she said.

Both Valeriia and Olga never imagined they would be forced into the situation they have experienced over the past 12 months. But despite the challenges, they are both determined to make the most out of their lives in Australia and feel positive about the future.

“When I feel bad I look around at my surroundings and see happy people and beauty,” says Valeriia. “A lot of good things have already happened, and I think they will continue to happen.”