Statewide meeting Thursday 22nd April 2021 - Victorian ...
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Statewide meeting Thursday 22nd April 2021
Agenda
1. Welcome and Acknowledgment of country
2. Meeting protocol
3. Data update – Meg Quartermaine, Network Coordinator
4. Policy updates – Rebecca Eckard, Director of Policy, Refugee Council of
Australia
5. Victorian Policy Context, Jeanine Hourani Sector Development and Policy,
Victorian Refugee Health Network
6. Department of Health Victoria Update . Kim van den Nouwelant
7. Topics and Speakers
1. Generation V (MCRI)
2. Covid Vaccination Department Health Victoria - “Where we are up to ,
where we are going.”
Evaluation (SurveyMonkey)
Refugee and Humanitarian Program entrants since 01/01/2021 residing in Victoria
Since 01/01//2021, 24 people who arrived through the Refugee and Humanitarian Program settled in Victoria
Visa Numbers Visa Numbers
Country of Birth Total Gender Total
200 201 202 204 200 201 202 204
Afghanistan
Refugee and Humanitarian Program entrants in the last 10 years residing in
Victoria
In the last 10 years, 145,635 people have arrived in Australia through the Refugee and Humanitarian Program. Of
these, 47,950 are residing in Victoria.
Country of Visa numbers Main Visa number
Total
Birth 200 201 202 203 204 866 language Total
4936 18 5566 0 261 669 18,588 spoken 200 201 202 203 204 866
Iraq
239 Arabic 5491 264 7782 5 339 1229 15,110
2494 478 1134 0 634 13,540
Afghanistan 8
Myanmar 3433 0 2612 0 324 33 11,396 Dari 1529 220 744 0 598 589 3,680
Syrian Arab
1233 0 3521 5 105 130 8,630 Hazagari 936
Refugee and Humanitarian Program entrants in the last 10 years residing in
Victoria cont’d
Local Visa number
Government Total
Area 200 201 202 203 204 866 Age Visa number
Hume 4269 34 6367 0 339 635 11,644 Total
range 200 201 202 203 204 866
Casey 1963 276 1195 0 428 1706 5,568 00-05 2520 166 1951
Policy updates: National
Rebecca Eckard RCOA
▪ People subject to offshore processing transferred to
Australia
▪ Update on fast-track processing and interviews –
primary decisions and re-assessments for people on
TPVs and SHEVs
▪ Women on Temporary Visas facing Family Violence
▪ Medicare Renewals - update
Refugee & Humanitarian Program
• Planning figures for 2020-21 was 13,750
• Not going to be met
• 4,000 permanent humanitarian visas issued but unable to reach Australia before COVID
restrictions (FY2019-20)
• 2,000 additional visas issued from FY 2020-21
• 350 urgent cases have arrived since April 2020
• ~10,000 who have been granted visas but remain offshore
• Onshore protection visas planning figure is 1,650 but likely 2,000 visas will be issued FY
2020-21
• Currently, there in an individual exemption process required
➢ Over 1,000 exemptions granted but arrivals in Australia have not yet happened
➢ Quarantine process: over 38,000 non-citizens or residents accessing quarantine and
getting exemptions
Nauru and PNG refugees
3,127 people sent to Nauru & PNG since July 2013
• Where are they now?
• About 700 returned to countries of origin
• 14 have died (6 suicides, 1 murder, 3 accidents, 1 heart attack, 3 due to
preventable medical complications)
• 7 sent to Cambodia but only 1 left (now with wife and child)
• 936 resettled to US, 11 resettled to Canada, 13 resettled to 8 other countries
• 1 granted asylum in NZ
• 1,438 remain – 130 in PNG, 109 in Nauru, 1,199 in Australia
RCOA estimates from multiple, sometimes conflicting, government
sources]Policy Updates: Victoria ▪ Department of Health Victoria ▪ Report on the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System
Department of Health update
In February the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
transitioned to two new departments:
• the Department of Health (DH)
• the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).
The DHHS Diversity team has transitioned to two teams: Health Diversity
and DFFH Diversity. Your refugee and asylum seeker policy contacts are:
Health DFFH
Kim van den Nouwelant Crystal Russell
Senior Policy Advisor - Diversity Senior Policy Advisor –
kim.van.den.nouwelant@dhhs.v Diversity
ic.gov.au Crystal.Russell@dffh.vic.
03 9456 4063 gov.au
OFFICIAL 03 9256 3695Department of Health
OFFICIALDepartment of Health Ministers
OFFICIALDepartment of Families Fairness and Housing
OFFICIALDepartment of Families Fairness and Housing
Ministers
OFFICIALHospital access for people seeking asylum
All Medicare ineligible people seeking asylum are to be
provided full medical care in Victorian hospitals as admitted,
non-admitted or emergency patients.
Includes:
✓ emergency care
✓ elective care
✓ pathology and radiology
✓ mental health services
✓ pharmaceuticals
OFFICIALHospital access for people seeking asylum
Hospitals have discretion to provide an extended level of
service to support the health and wellbeing of people
seeking asylum, especially people at risk of or experiencing
destitution.
✓ Filling prescriptions at the co-payment rate prior to discharge is
encouraged.
✓ Specialist clinics should facilitate the completion of required
diagnostics where required and possible.
✓ Consider ways to reduce other out of pocket expenses.
✓ Consider engaging hospital social work team or specialist asylum
seeker service for additional support.
OFFICIALHospital access for people seeking asylum
The updated policy provides additional guidance on funding
and reporting arrangements.
• table - details funding and coding for different asylum seeker
circumstances
• flow chart - to determine funding and coding for different asylum
seeker circumstances
• guidance note - on asylum seeker identification
Find the policy at:
https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/about/publications/policiesandguideli
nes/Hospital-access-for-people-seeking-asylum
OFFICIALMental Health Royal
Commission Final Report
• 5 volumes, 40 chapters, 65 recommendations
• Overview of findings
– Access not equitable
– System operates in crisis mode
– High demand for community-based services
– Services poorly integrated
– System needs to be more responsive to trauma
– Workforce is under-resourced
– Families, carers and supporters are left outMental Health Royal
Commission Final Report
• Overview of recommendations
– Better integration of services
– Increasing access to services
– Increasing responsiveness to community needs
– Increasing responsiveness to traumaSector updates • NDIA Independent Assessment Scheme now paused due to “disability groups backlash” with a review being undertaken • Early Start Kinder Changes to Early Start Kindergarten for 3 year old children, now include children & families of refugee and asylum seeking background. This is a free program of 15 hours a week with a qualified teacher, meaning children now get 2 years of kindergarten. Some mixed information within families and professionals so please contact your Council – or Foundation House Early years Program • SRSS Exits Continued eligibility for SRSS is being determined in line with the current SRSS eligibility criteria, with the Department of Home Affairs looking at milestones and progress towards addressing barriers to status resolution within certain timeframes, and this is reviewed over time for each individual client. Evidencing vulnerabilities also a key requirement for SRSS eligibility
Speaker Sessions Q&A after each session
Evaluation via Surveymonkey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KJYN5ZW
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