Why do we need an agency?
One of the largest increases of arrivals into Australia are from the Indian Sub-Continent region. The methods and means in which they arrive and attain their residency, is not always straightforward which brings unique social and domestic issues outside of the Australian norm. A need to address specific issues for the target demographic being the communities of the Indian Sub-Continent in Australia is considered overdue.
The concept of a specific agency has come about after about three years review of:
- existing systems and their effectiveness;
- key issues that affect the Culturally & Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community of the Indian Sub-Continent.
- Social Policy and Justice
- Education and
- Community Intelligence (Research & Statistics)
The key findings can be summarised as follows:
- Temporary Resident Migrants (TRM). Currently in Australia we have the largest number of TRM in Australia’s history and set to grow. TRM have varying entitlements and there is no formal or structured avenue for support for this vulnerable section of the community, who are highly exploitable.
- Community Growth & Evolution: As the community as a whole grows and enters the next generations; proportionally the issues do too both in volume and complexity. There is a distinct lack of lack of support systems from any public sector agencies despite the rapid and expedient growth of the community in a relatively short time. The community is evolving with divisions, with lesser integration even within itself, anecdotal evidence suggests a number of emerging social issues for which the community and service sector is largely unprepared for.
- Fair Access to Services: The community itself is fragmented and pockets of people in small groups end up being relied on for support which is limited in substance and in being localized. People who are mostly volunteers rely on their own knowledge on a myriad of problems and though inevitably well-intentioned can offer misguided advice that can have negative outcomes. The community needs professional services.
- Planning & Policy: The community has grown rapidly and contributes to the economy in many ways, including a high growth in tourism through family members as well as in migrating here to work or study. In moving forward the community now needs to legitimately be part of Planning and Social Policy in moving forward.
The academic teaching of multicultural community service provision is relatively new, based largely on assumption, collectivisation and standardisation. There is a huge gap in the research and statistics that needs to be applied to academic content at all levels.
The Agency focus is on meeting the needs for this target demographic in collaboration with existing services and service providers.