Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration’s inquiry into migration in regional Australia.
In our submission, we argue that with the right policies, services and support in place, regional settlement initiatives have the potential to benefit both newly arrived people, including refugees, and the communities in which they live. In order to give people a genuine choice between living in a metropolitan or regional area, a suite of factors demand long-term government investment and planning in regional areas, including in relation to stable employment opportunities; affordable housing; education; English language support; transport and other infrastructure; settlement, health and related services.
As outlined in our submission, Jesuit Social Services recommends that, in developing regional settlement strategies, the Federal Government should give particular attention to the following:
Read our submission to the inquiry here.