Australia - IOM has won a three-year AUD 6.5 million contract from Australia’s Department of Social Services to deliver Australian Cultural Orientation (AUSCO) courses to refugees and other immigrants admitted to Australia on humanitarian grounds.

IOM will deliver courses in Africa, Asia, South East Asia and the Middle East, providing vital information about life in Australia, covering topics such as cultural adjustment, Australian law, values and lifestyle, housing, health care, education, employment and language training.

The courses will also provide practical advice about the journey to Australia, including quarantine laws and what to expect on arrival.

“We see the delivery of this pre-departure information as a crucial first stage of the settlement journey.  This information is presented in their native languages and equips humanitarian entrants with the tools to help integrate effectively in the social and economic life of Australia,” said Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Services Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.

IOM has provided AUSCO training to some 55,000 humanitarian migrants since 2003 and currently trains some 6,500 migrants a year at centres in Africa, the Middle East South and Southeast Asia. Training has taken place in Kenya, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Zambia, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“AUSCO courses reinforce the importance of English language, education and employment as the building blocks for successful settlement in Australia. Adjusting to life in a new country is a journey that begins before a humanitarian entrant leaves for Australia,” said Senator Fierravanti-Wells.

For more information please contact

Michael Fitzgerald
IOM Bangkok
Email: mfitzgerald@iom.int

or

Mark Getchell
IOM Canberra
Email: mgetchell@iom.int