July 2025
Community Connections CEO Message Elfa Moraitakis, CEO
Refugee Week Reflections This year’s Refugee Week events, delivered through the Western Sydney Region Settlement Consortium, offered a powerful moment for reflection. We all now know that it is time to act. While we have seen progress at a national level, the daily realities experienced by refugee and migrant communities in Western Sydney reveal that far more is needed. At SydWest Multicultural Services, we witness both the limitations of an overstretched system and the potential for genuine, lasting change. Symbolic gestures must now be matched with meaningful policy and that policy must be backed with the resources to make a difference. We and our partners are calling for a coordinated national approach to refugee settlement and integration, grounded in community wisdom and led with purpose. Specifically, we urge the government to: • E xpand the Refugee and Humanitarian Program to at least 27,000 places, reflecting Australia’s values, capacity, and international responsibilities. • B uild a sustainable Community Sponsorship program, growing to 10,000 additional places per year beyond the existing program. • T ransition the Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Pilot into a permanent program. It must not be allowed to end on 30 June.
(L-R:) Madeline Gleeson, UNSW_Law, Dor Achiek, SSI, Adama Kamara, Refugee Council of Australia and Dima Alkaed, SBS at Refugee Week 2025 Conversations event, Rooty Hill.
• D evelop a National Framework for Refugee Integration, co-designed with lived experience voices, to clearly define the roles of diaspora, community and service providers. • S upport diaspora organisations through a dedicated, accountable capacity-building funding stream delivered via experienced settlement providers. • I nvest in community engagement and social inclusion as core pillars of the settlement process. This includes properly resourcing regional and rural settlement strategies, where community infrastructure can be limited but the need for belonging is just as urgent. Australia has the people, the experience, and the infrastructure to lead on this issue. What’s needed now is the political will to match that capability. Let’s turn reflection into action. Let’s ensure that belonging is not just a theme but a commitment.
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