Victorian Refugee Health Network E-bulletin October 2009

The Victorian Refugee Health Network brings together health, settlement and community services to be more accessible and responsive to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers.
The E-bulletin provides a regular forum to share news and information to support practitioners and services in providing health care to people of a refugee background.

News and Events

1. Diversity in Health Conference June, 2010: hosted by the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health, this bi-annual national conference will include a stream on refugee health and well-being. Around 800 practitioners, researchers and policy-makers will come together for three days of high-profile keynote speakers, panel discussions, peer-reviewed papers and a spectacular cultural program. It will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 7-9 June 2010. Further details can be found at the conference website: http://www.ceh.org.au/dih/Default.aspx

2. Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Open Day: will be held to inform service providers of their programs, exchange information with other agencies and provide the opportunity for organisations to witness first hand the way in which the Centre runs on a daily basis. It will be held on Tuesday 24th November, 10:15am-2pm at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, 12 Batman St, West Melbourne. RSVP: Friday 6th November, (03) 9326 6066. Click here for flyer.

3. New Australian Citizenship Test: The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans has announced the new test which assesses prospective new citizens on their understanding of Australian civics and the responsibilities of citizenship. The 20 multiple-choice questions in the new test have been written in plain English, will be conducted only in English and includes topics on Australia's democratic beliefs, laws and government and citizenship.  Click here for the media release.

4. The Council for Immigration Services and Status Resolution: this new Council replaces the former Immigration Detention Advisory Group (IDAG) and will be chaired by Paris Aristotle AM, director of the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture. The Council will provide independent advice on the implementation of the government’s immigration policy initiatives including the New Directions in Detention policy and the Community Status Resolution Service. Its major focus will be on assisting the department with strategies to resolve a person’s immigration status in a community setting rather than in a detention centre provided they pose no risk to the community. Click here for the media release.

5. The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Program: this DHS-funded program will target pregnant women who are unable to access antenatal care services or require additional support because of their socioeconomic status, culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, age or residential distance to services. It will operate in the outer growth suburbs of Melbourne and will complement existing services by linking women into clinical services earlier, providing additional community based support and strong collaboration with maternity and maternal and child health services. For further information contact Jeanette Cameron on (03) 9096 8712.

Resources

6. Eastern Access Community Health (EACH) oral health pamphlet: this pamphlet is produced in three languages Karen, Tidem and Chin-Hakka.  The pamphlets also have large pictures to illustrate good dental hygene. EACH plan to create an electronic version for wide distributions. For further details email info@each.com.au

7. Home Lands Internet Project: the Centre for Multicultural Youth is staging part two of this project that connects young people of refugee backgrounds with their homelands.  The project is for young (18-25 years) Karen people and will commence in January. Click here for more information.

8. Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand website: this refugee service is the primary NZ agency helping refugees to settle and adjust within their new communities. Its website features a number of publications, research papers and other resources. The website is easily navigated and they have a bimonthly eBulletin called "A Place to Call Home".  Click here to view the website, where you can also sign up for the eBulletin. 

Professional Development

9. Prevention is the cure - health realities for immigrant and refugee women: this symposium will explore issues relating to immigrant and refugee women’s health in Australia, including: sexual and reproductive health, human rights and migrant womens' health and the National Women’s Policy. When: 9.30am - 4pm, Wednesday 28 October at Victoria University Conference Centre, 300 Flinders Street Melbourne. Cost: $60.00. For information or to rsvp, contact: Ozana Bozic (03) 9418 0999.  Click here for further information.

Research

10. Overcoming Barriers faced by aged CALD trauma survivors: supporting culturally and linguistically diverse older people who have experienced trauma is a new project evaluation report by Murdoch University along with the Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors (ASeTTS). Enquires about the project may be directed to reception@asetts.org.au 

Subscriptions and contributions to the Victorian Refugee Health Network E-Bulletin are welcome.
If you would like to subscribe or send news or information relevant to refugee health please go to the Contact Us page on the Refugee Health Network website at www.refugeehealthnetwork.org.au or email: refugeehealth@foundationhouse.org.au

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