11 June 2008

HUMANITARIAN ENTRANTS LOST IN TRANSITION - AUDITOR GENERAL

In the last five years Western Australia has provided a place to settle for some 6 700 people displaced by humanitarian crises. The needs of recent humanitarian entrants are very complex in that prior to relocating many may have experienced or witnessed torture and trauma and cannot speak, read or write in English.

In a report tabled in Parliament today the Auditor General Mr Colin Murphy stated that if the needs of humanitarian entrants are not met there might be serious social and economic consequences ahead for them and for the State.

The report examined two key questions:

• Can humanitarian entrants access State services and are the services effectively delivered?
• Do agencies plan for humanitarian entrants and are services effectively coordinated?

Because health, housing and education are critical to the settlement of humanitarian entrants in the community, the study focused on the mainstream and targeted elements of these services.

The report noted that there are a range of factors that can infl uence how quickly and successfully humanitarian entrants settle, including English language skills, literacy and numeracy, health and the capacity to get healthcare. These factors have a flow on effect on a humanitarian entrant’s ability to secure a home and employment, to use legal, financial and social support systems and to engage with the broader Western Australian community.

In his examination Mr Murphy found that agencies have limited information on how humanitarian entrants use their services and whether or not the services are effective. Further he found that humanitarian entrants may not be identified as ‘vulnerable and at risk’ in mainstream services until significant problems have arisen.

In general Mr Murphy found that because agencies have not adequately addressed language and literacy obstacles or considered what the most effective service delivery approach is, humanitarian entrants are facing difficulties in getting the services they need.

Mr Murphy has recommended that State Agencies should:

• Improve their information on humanitarian entrants’ service needs, usage and service effectiveness to support planning and service delivery
• Review, in consultation, the most effective way of providing access to state government services for humanitarian entrants
• Increase learning between services and agencies on which approaches deliver services most effectively to humanitarian entrants
• Have an appropriate range of strategies to address the language and literacy obstacles faced by humanitarian entrants Identify services where accessibility and effectiveness may be improved through more flexible application of policies or program criteria
• Develop a more coordinated approach to the planning and delivery of state government services to humanitarian entrants including opportunities to relocate or collocate.

Mr Murphy concluded by saying that a number of the issues he raised in the report will have wider implications for other groups that face language, literacy and other obstacles to getting the services they need and he urged all agencies to consider the report in the broader context of planning their wider service delivery strategies.

Ends/

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