Appendix 1:
Project reference group members
- Paris Aristotle Victorian Foundation for the Survivors of Torture
- Carol Croce Australian Youth Policy and Action Coalition
- Jo Elvins (retired) Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
- Susan Ferguson Youth Affairs Network of Queensland
- Tony Fortey Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
- Nigel Hearn Commonwealth Youth Bureau
- Paul Hoban Brunswick English Language Centre
- Gail Hood Milpera Intensive English Centre
- Barbara Leggott Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
- Margaret Piper Refugee Council of Australia
- David MacKenzie Centre for Youth Affairs Research and Development, RMIT
- Susan Ward Ethnic Youth Issues Network
- Debbie Wong Youth Action Policy Association
Appendix 2:
Secondary sources of data
Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (LSIA)
The LSIA is the most comprehensive survey of immigrants ever to be undertaken in Australia. It seeks to provide government and other agencies with reliable data to monitor and improve immigration and settlement policies, programs and services. There have been two LSIA surveys:
- LSIA 1 surveyed migrants who arrived in Australia between September 1993 and August 1995; and
- LSIA 2 surveyed migrants who arrived in Australia between September 1999 and August 2000.
The sampling unit for the LSIA is the Primary Applicant. The Primary Applicant is the person upon whom the approval to immigrate was based. The main concern of the LSIA is to collect detailed information about the Primary Applicant. However, information is also collected for everyone in the household and for the migrating unit as a whole. A household comprises all persons living at the same address as the Primary Applicant. A migrating unit comprises all persons in the household who migrated to Australia as part of the same migration application as the Primary Applicant.
Although information is collected for everyone in the household, the amount of detailed information collected for an individual will vary. For example, if the spouse is a migrating unit spouse, that is, part of the same migrating unit as the Primary Applicant, detailed information on the spouse will be collected from the spouse. Otherwise, basic information on the spouse will be collected from the Primary Applicant. In most cases, only basic demographic information is collected for other people in the household.
Only a small percentage of Primary Applicants are aged between 12 and 25 years. The large majority of young people from refugee backgrounds who entered or were allowed to stay in Australia did so as part of the application of another family member and consequently information on this group of refugees is limited in comparison. Nevertheless the LSIA remains an important data source. (See DIMIA web site for a description of the LSIA.)
Translating and Interpreting Service Information System (TISIS)
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs provides a Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) to assist the settlement of migrants. Information about the use of this service is collected by an information system known as TISIS. The system was designed to improve management and financial processing and reporting. Thus, the focus of TISIS is on the nature of the agency that has booked the service, whether the service is being used on a feepaying or on a fee-free basis, the type of service provided, and the user charge relating to the service. No information is available about the recipient of services, beyond language and gender. Consequently, it is impossible to determine whether young people from refugee backgrounds are accessing TIS at an equitable rate, and/or the type of services that young people are accessing. At the time the secondary analysis of data was undertaken for this study, the limitations of TISIS were being recognised, and a more developed version of the TISIS was being developed to overcome some of these limitations.
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Literacy survey of Victorian English Language Centres
A survey of 10 secondary and six primary English Language Centres (ELCs) was undertaken in June 1995 by the Brunswick English Language Centre. The purpose of the survey was to document the literacy needs of students from non-English speaking backgrounds, as this information was not being collected through other processes or by other agencies. The schools themselves initiated the project and proposed that the cohort of young people with low literacy levels be re-surveyed at various intervals, thus developing longitudinal information about the educational and employment outcomes for young people with low literacy levels. Follow-up of the cohort did not occur as planned, and although the current project was willing to undertake some follow-up work, the cohort could not be located. Neither, then, have the preliminary results of the original survey been published or otherwise released.
In total, 1,288 primary and secondary students participated in the original survey, ranging in age from 8 to 20 years. A total of 404 (31%) students were identified as experiencing literacy problems: 117 (9%) were not literate in any language and 283 (22%) were semi-literate. No significant gender differences in literacy levels were noted. No significant differences between the literacy rates of primary and secondary students were observed.
Some 63% (810) of the sample were secondary school students aged mostly from 12 to 20 years. Notably, 22 (3%) secondary school students participating in the survey had no previous schooling, and a further 200 (25%) experienced a disruption of three or more years to their schooling. Young people from refugee backgrounds were commonly identified among those with the most severe disruptions to their schooling.
The term ‘not literate’ was defined as being unable to read or write in any language. The term ‘semiliterate’ was applied to students whose rate of literacy development was two years or more below their age level usually due to one or more of the following factors:
- no previous schooling;
- disruption to schooling of two or more years (primary) or three or more years (secondary);
- previous schooling in language other than first language; and/or
- suspected learning disability.
Data were based on information gained from parents and guardians at enrolment or parent–teacher interviews; formal and informal assessment in the first language; and observations of impaired learning progress made by teachers, ethnic teacher aides and school support staff such as psychologists, social workers or speech therapists.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
The possible use of data from the National Census of Population and Housing was investigated. However, the most recent data available were from the 1996 Census and new groups of refugees had come to Australia since that time. Also, although the Census data provides a number of questions for identifying ethnicity, refugee status is not indicated. Use of Census data to enumerate the population of people who entered as refugees or under family reunion must be estimated on the basis of an assumption that all Afghanis or Eritreans identified in the ABS data were refugees in the broadest sense at entry. In most cases this may not be an unreasonable assumption but for some groups the assumption does not hold. For other purposes, knowing the size of an ethnic group may be perfectly satisfactory.
National Settlement Database (SDB)
The National Settlement Database is the main source of population figures for refugee communities in Australia. Settlement Database records are created from data collected during the processing of a migration application. Supplementary information is added from Settlement Information Forms, the AMEP Reporting and Management System and other DIMIA data collections (see DIMIA web site for details). The SDB includes data from onshore processed settlers, including those under the Humanitarian Program. However, information on temporary protection visa holders is not included on the SDB because, like other temporary residents, these people are not considered ‘settlers’. The SDB is a key source of information on young refugee and humanitarian settlers (those with permanent residency).
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Appendix 3:
Young refugees and the definition of homelessness
The definition of homelessness is contentious as it directly determines who will and will not be included in the homeless population. The landmark report, Our Homeless Children, by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1989), which was largely responsible for attracting much public attention to youth homelessness and ensuring considerable resources were diverted to providing support for young homeless people, described homelessness as:
a lifestyle which includes insecurity and transiency of shelter. It is not confined to a total lack of shelter. For many children and young people it signifies a state of detachment from family and vulnerability to dangers, including exploitation and abuse broadly defined, from which the family normally protects a child. However, the Inquiry also found that there is a growing number of children who are ‘homeless’ because the whole family cannot obtain adequate shelter (Burdekin 1989, p.7).
This statement implies a definition of homelessness, but also contains other features of the homeless experience. Thus, it cannot easily be operationalised for research purposes.
The most widely quoted definition of homelessness was proposed by the National Coalition for Housing, soon after the release of Burdekin’s report Our Homeless Children. This definition is:
an absence of secure, adequate and satisfactory shelter as perceived by the young person and for homelessness to exist, at least one of the following conditions, or any combination of conditions should be operative:
- an absence of shelter
- the threat of loss of shelter
- very high mobility between places of abode
- existing accommodation considered inadequate by the resident for such reasons as overcrowding, the physical state of the residence, lack of security of occupancy, or lack of emotional support and stability in the place of residence
- unreasonable restrictions in terms of alternative forms of accommodation (MacKenzie 1997, p.1).
The above definition may be useful for program planning purposes as it includes both objective and subjective conditions. As such, the definition acknowledges some of the realities of homelessness as an experiential process, but again, this definition cannot be operationalised for research purposes.
A definition has recently been proposed for research and policy purposes that draws attention to the socially constructed nature of homelessness as a social problem (see MacKenzie & Chamberlain 1992, 1998; House of Representatives Standing Committee on Community Affairs 1995; MacKenzie 1997). MacKenzie and Chamberlain’s model of homelessness specifies different degrees of homelessness. The definitions used by the above named authors can be amalgamated as follows:
First-degree homelessness describes young people with no accommodation at all who may live on the streets or squats, whereas second-degree homelessness refers to those with only temporary accommodation with friends or relatives and those who move around between various forms of shelter. Third-degree homelessness describes those in long-term supported accommodation for homeless people such as youth housing programs. It may also include those constrained to live permanently in single rooms in private boarding houses.
Those experiencing incipient homelessness (and at risk of other forms of homelessness) are those who are housed but are without the conditions of home, for example without security, safety or in unhygienic, overcrowded or otherwise inadequate circumstances.
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Even this definition requires amendment for the purposes of this research. There are two reasons why it is difficult to apply this definition to young people with refugee experiences. First, if all young people in temporary accommodation are deemed to be experiencing (second-degree) homelessness, the risk is that young refugees will be falsely over-represented in second-degree homelessness. New arrivals realistically require some time to find a relatively permanent accommodation option and must necessarily have temporary accommodation on arrival.
If, however, a young person (or family) remains in temporary accommodation after a significant period of time has elapsed then perhaps they should be considered homeless. In defining ‘a significant period of time’, it is worth reviewing the time period over which the settlement of refugees is assumed to occur, as this can provide guidance as to an appropriate time period for finding secure accommodation. Settlement accommodation services are provided on arrival and through the Community Refugee Settlement Scheme for six months. However, it can be argued that the government policy implicitly regards settlement as a process that requires about two years (and settlement services are thereafter required on a needs basis) (Cox 1996).
So, at what point can it be argued that permanent accommodation should have been secured? Taking the midway point between the six-month limit on the provision of accommodation services and the expectation that settlement will occur over a two-year period, it can be argued that young refugees should only be regarded as experiencing second-degree homelessness if they remain in temporary accommodation 15 months after their arrival. This proposal, although it may be sound, gives insufficient attention to the compounding effect that homelessness can have on young people’s refugee experiences. If young people become (independently) homeless after such time that their family/caregivers have secured more permanent accommodation, then such persons may be considered to be even more disadvantaged than other homeless young people because they have experienced homelessness ‘twice over’.
The second reason why it is difficult to apply the above definition of homelessness to young refugees pertains to the cultural experience of home. This is particularly important for understanding incipient homelessness. For example, Anglo-Australian traditions value and prioritise private space and, conversely, demonstrate a low tolerance for sharing, relative to some other cultures. Young people with refugee experiences, however, may be caught in a cultural bind. The following scenario illustrates this point: Family A is comfortable (indeed prefers) to accommodate all eight of the family members in a three-bedroom unit, and the young person (who has become more acculturated to the Western tradition of wanting personal space) rejects this. The question then arises: is the fact that the young person perceives this ‘overcrowding’ to constitute homelessness when the family does not, grounds for regarding that young person as homeless? Even if the answer is yes (as I believe it to be), how can this be operationalised for research purposes? In short, it cannot. However, raising these issues and documenting the cultural bias of mainstream definitions of such social constructs as homelessness may usefully spur more researchers into thought and action to ensure that the cultural bias inherent in such definitions is acknowledged and removed.
In conclusion, the following definition of homelessness for the purposes of this research into the needs of young people with refugee experiences is proposed:
- Young people with no accommodation at all who may live on the streets or in squats are homeless in the first degree.
- Young people who have temporary accommodation with friends or relatives and those who move around between various forms of shelter while their families have permanent accommodation are homeless in the second degree (a). New arrivals who have been in temporary accommodation of any form continuously for more than 15 months (with or without their families) are homeless in the second degree (b).
- Young people who are in long-term supported accommodation for homeless people such as youth housing programs or who are constrained to live permanently in single rooms in private boarding houses are homeless in the third degree.
Young people who are housed but are without the conditions of home, for example without security, safety or in unhygienic, overcrowded or otherwise inadequate circumstances are at risk of homelessness.
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Appendix 4:
Young refugees interview schedule
Preamble
Hello. My name is Louise Coventry and I am a researcher from RMIT University. The project I am working on is about the needs of young people who have refugee-like experiences. This project is important because it will mean that the needs of young refugees can be better understood, and better programs and policies can be set up to meet these needs. I am very interested in your experiences in Australia, and I would like to ask you some questions about this. The questions will take about one hour. I would also like to record what you say, so I can remember it for later on. No one else will know what you have said. And when I type up your words, no one will know that they came from you.
Is this OK? Do you have any questions?
Demographics
Circle: Gender........M/F
First of all, how old are you?
Where do you come from? Where did your parents come from?
What is your religion?
About the refugee experience
Could you tell me how you came to leave your home?
How long was it after you left your home before you arrived in Australia?
On-arrival services
What was the first thing that happened after you arrived in Australia? Then what?
How did that make you feel?
Housing
Where did you live when you first arrived here?
What about now?
Who do you live with?
Are they employed? Full time or part time?
Income
Do you get money here?
Do you know where it comes from?
Language and information
What is it like being at the language school?
Do you have all the information you need to live in Australia?
Who helps you when you need to know something about Australia?
What do you know most about Australia?
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Identity
Where do you feel you belong? Why?
Probe if several identities...Which is most important? Why?
Juvenile justice
Have you met any police officers in Australia?
What happened?
Transition to independence
What do you plan to do when you finish at the language school? Then what?
How long do you want to stay at school?
What sort of job would you like to get?
Will you move out of home? When?
What will your role be in your family?
How long do you want to stay in Australia?
General
Overall, what is it like living here?
What is the best thing about living in Australia?
What is the worst thing about living in Australia?
What advice would you give to someone else from your country who was going to come to Australia?
Is there anything else you would like to say about living in Australia?
Evaluation
Is there anything you would like to say about your experience of participating in this interview?
Concluding comments
What you have told me today has been very useful and I thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me. Your ideas will be used to contribute to a report about the needs of young refugees, and I will do my best to ensure that what you have told me today can be used to help make life better for all young people with refugee experiences in Australia.
Thanks again.
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Appendix 5:
Family interview schedule
I will start with some introductory questions about your background.
Section 1: Demographic information
- In which country were you born? Answer for each person.
- When did you arrive in Australia? Answer for each person.
- In your home country, how many people did you live with? or Who was part of your family?
- What are their ages? Are they male or female? Answer for each person.
- Which one of these are you?
- Are all of the people in your family (who you lived with in your home country) in Australia now? YES/NO
- Which ones are not?
- Who do you live with in Australia?
I would like to ask some questions now about how young people grow up in your country.
Section 2: Cultural understanding of independence
- In your country, when do you expect a young person to leave home and set up a separate household?
- In your country, what does a young person have to do to be ready to leave home and set up a separate household?
- Is independence different from leaving home? YES / NO
- What does independence mean in your country? For male children? For female children?
If there is no concept of independence in the home country, please note this and explain.
- At what age would a young person generally be seen as independent?
Now I would like to ask some questions about how your children might grow up in Australia.
Section 3: Independence in Australia
- What hopes do you have for your children now that you are in Australia?
- Prompts to use if needed:
- What sort of job do you hope they might get?
- How far do you hope they would go at school?
- What sort of relationship would they have?
- What would their role in family be?
- Are there differences in your hopes and expectations for male children as compared to female children?
- Now that you are in Australia, at what age do you think your children will leave home?
- Now that you are in Australia, how old do you think they will be when they become independent?
Section 4: Capacity to provide support
- What is your role in caring for your children?
- How long will your role last? What will happen then?
- What do you think you might be able to do to help your children fulfil the hopes that you talked about before?
- What support might come from other sources (e.g. your community, the government, schools, etc.) to help your children reach these goals?
- Is there something else you would like to say about these things we have been talking about?
Section 5: Evaluation
- Is there anything you would like to say about your experience of participating in this interview?
What you have told me today has been very useful and I thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me. Your ideas will be used to contribute to a report about the needs of young refugees, and the researchers will do their absolute best to ensure that what you have told me today can be used to help make life better for all young people with refugee experiences in Australia. Thanks again.
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Appendix 6
Key informants
- Paris Aristotle
- Terri Bednall
- Aileen Burgess
- John Byrne
- David Cox
- Carol Croce
- Jo Elvins
- Susan Ferguson
- Bill Frost
- Carmel Guerra
- Paul Hoban
- Peter Hosking
- Merle Mitchell
- Scott Phillips
- Margaret Piper
- Susan Ward
- Debbie Wong
Round 1/Workshop 1: Employment, education and training
Question: Imagine that Service A provides the best conceivable employment, education and training service to young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The features of Service A include all the generic indicators of good practice described in the Introduction.
Next door to Service A is Service B. Service B provides the same high quality, best practice service as Service A, but its target group is young refugees. What is the difference between Service A and Service B?
Round 1/Workshop 2: Housing
Question: Imagine that Service A provides the best conceivable housing service to young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The features of Service A include all the generic indicators of good practice described in the Introduction.
Next door to Service A is Service B. Service B provides the same high quality, best practice service as Service A, but its target group is young refugees. What is the difference between Service A and Service B?
Round 1/Workshop 3: Racism, identity and culture
Question: Imagine that Service A provides the best conceivable racism, identity and culture service to young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The features of Service A include all the generic indicators of good practice described in the Introduction.
Next door to Service A is Service B. Service B provides the same high quality, best practice service as Service A, but its target group is young refugees.
What is the difference between Service A and Service B?
Round 1/Workshop 4: Health
Question: Imagine that Service A provides the best conceivable health service to young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The features of Service A include all the generic indicators of good practice described in the Introduction.
Next door to Service A is Service B. Service B provides the same high quality, best practice service as Service A, but its target group is young refugees.
What is the difference between Service A and Service B?
Round 2/Workshop 1: Reception services
Question: What distinguishes holistic, best practice services delivered to young refugees upon arrival in Australia from holistic, best practice settlement and post-settlement services delivered to refugee young people?
Round 2/Workshop 2: Settlement services
Question: What distinguishes holistic, best practice settlement services delivered to young refugees from holistic, best practice on-arrival and post-settlement services delivered to refugee young people?
Round 2/Workshop 3: Post-settlement services
Question:What distinguishes holistic, best practice post-settlement services delivered to young refugees from holistic, best practice reception and settlement services delivered to refugee young people?