Valuable Insights Shared at the Women at Risk (VISA 204) National Meeting

Valuable Insights Shared at the Women at Risk (VISA 204) National Meeting

On Wednesday, 28 October MYAN hosted a national meeting to better understand the settlement context and needs of young people (12-24)  arriving in Australia under the 204 Visa (Women at Risk) program.

The discussion focused on the particular settlement challenges, gaps, and service responses/good practice with young people. The findings will inform a MYAN Briefing paper that highlights service gaps, good practice, and solutions to ensure that young people arriving under the 204 Visa receive the support they need for successful settlement.

We had three guest speakers to start the discussion:

Dr. Helen Merrick, Migrant Resource Centre Tasmania (MRCT)
Helen discussed her research through MRCT, investigating the social cohesion of Women at Risk families.
Amanda Lee, Migration Council of Australia (MCA)
Amanda shared work MCA is doing in examining the Women at Risk program (204 visa) through a lens of gender-responsive settlement in Australia.
Kate Lonergan, MYAN
MYAN’s student on placement from ACU, Kate provided a youth-lens to examine settlement experiences of those arriving in Australia via the Women at Risk program.

During the event we also shared a brief snapshot of some data sourced from the Department of Home Affairs, presenting a demographic profile of young people arriving in Australia on 204 visas during the last financial year.