Refugees and settlement

As part of its philosophy of inclusion, the Brotherhood aims to strengthen the capacity of new and emerging communities to become active participants in the social and economic life of Australia.

Many of our settlement services have been pioneered by the Ecumenical Migration Centre (EMC), which has been working with new arrivals since 1963. Today, the EMC, together with the African Australia Community Centre (AACC) lead the Brotherhood’s work in the areas of refugees, immigration and multiculturalism.

The Brotherhood works in partnership with communities, government and businesses in order to influence public policy and program development and achieve the social inclusion of our newest arrivals. We assist with settlement of refugees through:

• services that focus on family, youth, employment, asylum seekers and settling in Australia, as well strengthening communities and their organisations (through complex casework and counselling, community development and organisational support for new and emerging communities)
• the shaping of responsive service provision (through service development, advice, information, special projects across a range of sectors)
• influencing public opinion and public policy (through advocacy, policy analysis, advice to government and community education) and
• innovation as a centre of knowledge and experience (through information, consultation and advice, documentation, action research, submissions and publications).

This year marks 50 Years of EMC welcoming migrants and refugees (1963 - 2013). If you have been part of EMC's history please get in touch so we can include you in celebrations.

If you are keen to volunteer with us we'd love to hear from you.

What Works DVD

Our "What Works" DVD is available from Ecumenical Migration Centre (EMC)Reception and can be viewed below. The DVD resource was created by the Employment Action for Refugees Network supported by the Brotherhood's EMC and Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre.