Welcome to MYAN’s Sector Hub!
Find information, events and resources to support your work with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
MYAN’s 2023 national consultations provide an essential foundation for the development of effective policies, services, and outcomes for these young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, particularly in the context of the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
This report highlights some of the key settlement challenges faced by the young people and settlement sector advocates we engaged with, as well as some of their ideas for solutions. We share the report to fuel the
ongoing development of relevant policy, service improvement and program design: to be effective and fit-for-purpose to meet the real experiences and needs of young people and to maximise their potential.
Who we consulted: 100 young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, including international students. 90 people working across the settlement, migrant and youth services sectors.
Please note: as this is a consultation report and not a national snapshot report, the data included in this report is location specific and representative of young people still living in that area as of 2023.
MYAN National Youth Conference 2023 is set to take place in Canberra, on 27-28th November 2023. It aims to bring together experienced advocates and leaders working across diverse sectors to share knowledge about youth migration, and identify the challenges and barriers to youth settlement in Australia.The conference prioritizes the inclusion of CALD youth, with a particular focus on youth from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
The National Youth Settlement Framework (NYSF) 2020 edition remains Australia’s first and only evidence-based national guide to benchmark good practice with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds – and is the only one of its kind globally. With practical tools, including Self-Assessment Guides, and a range of supplementary resources the NYSF is designed to equip policymakers and service providers with the skills and knowledge to best support young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds to thrive in Australia.
“We are using the NYSF to inform how we build the capacity of young people. As a good practice framework, the NYSF provides us with the foundation to look at whether our services are being responsive to the needs and aspirations of young people as they see them.”
– Jeremy Leonard, Australian Red Cross
MYAN continues to work to ensure that the safety, rights, and interests of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds are protected and upheld in the COVID-19 public health crisis.
Find resources, videos and more on our COVID-19 support page. Click here.
MYAN has released a COVID-19 Policy Platform identifying seven priority areas for young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
We are calling for targeted approaches in policy and service delivery in: Employment, Income Support, Education, Digital Access, Mental Health, Family Violence and Racism, Discrimination and Youth Justice. Read more
MYAN’s national data snapshot provides an overview of young people aged 12-24 who have arrived in Australia through family, skilled and humanitarian program streams from July 2022 to June 2023. The snapshot is based on data from the Department of Home Affairs.
Key points include:
In 2022-23, the number of young people who settled in Australia reverted to levels comparable to those seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, with 14,757 youth arrivals. In comparison, 13,759 arrived in 2018-19, over 9,000 arrived in both 2019-20 and 2021-22, and only 3,578 arrived in 2020-21.
25% of young people who arrived in Australia in 2022-23 were humanitarian entrants.. Over the past five years, the data indicates a consistent pattern of fewer young people being resettled through the humanitarian stream compared to the family and skilled streams. For instance, youth arrivals through the family stream consistently constitute the largest share (ranging from 40% to 80%) over the last five years.
The top three countries of birth for young people arriving Australia through the Humanitarian Program in 2022-23 were Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Syrian Arab Republic. This trend aligns with the past five years, with Congo being another significant country of birth over this period. Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam were the leading countries of birth for young people entering under the family stream in 2022-23, consistent with the trend observed over the last five years.
New South Wales and Victoria continue to settle the largest numbers of young people – 61% of young people from all the migration streams in 2022-23.
While the main countries of birth for young arrivals exhibit consistency at the national level over the past five years, the distribution of these young people across the country is highly location-specific. For instance, during MYAN’s national consultations with young people in 2023, each location had a unique composition of young individuals born overseas, with distinct proportions and mixes of countries of origin and visa streams.
MYAN recently developed a Youth Data Snapshot. This infographic captures data on young people based off information from the most recent Census along with some other resources. Find overview here.
MYAN has once again developed a national snapshot on the number of young people aged 12-24 who arrived in Australia via the Family, Skilled and Humanitarian program streams in the 2020/21 financial year. Using the latest data from the Department of Home Affairs, the snapshot includes information on a range of demographic data, including age, gender, religion, language and settlement location.
MYAN recently developed a Youth Data Snapshot. This infographic captures data on young people based off information from the most recent Census along with some other resources. Find overview here.
MYAN has once again developed a national snapshot on the number of young people aged 12-24 who arrived in Australia via the Family, Skilled and Humanitarian program streams in the 2020/21 financial year. Find overview here.
MYAN prepares these demographic data snapshots annually and this year’s version continues to be particularly important in the context of COVID-19 and the more disproportionate implications for newly arrived young people. Find summary notes here.
MYAN prepares these demographic data snapshots annually and this year’s version is particularly important in the context of COVID-19 and the more disproportionate implications for newly arrived young people.
MYAN Australia has released a Data Report on Youth Settlement Trends 2016-2017. This report provides a comprehensive overview of national trends in youth settlement in the Humanitarian and broader Migration Programme, looking at demographic data, state/territory trends, religion, English language and visa sub-classes.
Read the Report here. Download the Snapshot here.
This report is intended to provide insights into how women and young people arriving through the Women at Risk (WaR) program are faring in their settlement journey, including good practice and gaps in support. It provides a summary of key findings from a national sector consultation and individual interviews with service providers in relation to the settlement experiences of women and youth under the 204 visa category.
WaR visa holders arriving in Australia share common pre-arrival vulnerabilities, including exposure to physical and sexual violence, and post-traumatic stress disorder, but to date, no national work has been undertaken to understand the particular settlement challenges experienced by young people arriving on this visa.
This resource describes the skills and knowledge required to communicate effectively with young people (aged 12 to 25 years) in work roles with a specific focus on young people. It applies to work undertaken in work roles where the young person is the primary client.
These resources were developed by a consortium made up of Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network , Navitas English, AMES Australia, MDA Ltd (formerly known as the Multicultural Development Association) and Margaret Piper and Associates (MPA) written by Margaret Piper AM; reviewed by Grace Langton, Education Manager, Youth Work Discipline Group, College of Education, Victoria University; and proofed by Rosemary Baxter.
This resource has been designed to facilitate the development of the competencies required for people working or intending to work with young people from refugee backgrounds. It aims to provide participants with the skills and knowledge to address the specific needs of this client group and to develop constructive attitudes to this work. This resource reflects the opinion that working with young people from refugee backgrounds requires knowledge, skills and attitudes additional to and distinct from those required to work with other young people or other newly arrived groups.
These resources were developed by a consortium made up of Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network, Navitas English, AMES Australia, MDA Ltd (formerly known as the Multicultural Development Association) and Margaret Piper and Associates (MPA) written by Margaret Piper AM; reviewed by Grace Langton, Education Manager, Youth Work Discipline Group, College of Education, Victoria University; and proofed by Rosemary Baxter.
This paper has been prepared by MYAN with Youth Transitions Support (YTS)1 service providers through the YTS Community of Practice (COP). The YTS COP was established to support an independent evaluation of the YTS pilot, facilitate collaboration and reflection on good practice and document YTS practice. It was coordinated by MYAN.
This paper highlights the perspectives of YTS providers and draws on MYAN’s policy work to provide an overview of recent research, policy and programming into the acquisition of English language skills in Australia by recently arrived young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. It provides an overview of gaps/barriers and strategies for strengthening young people’s English language acquisition identified by YTS providers.
The Multicultural Youth Australia Census Status Report 2017/2018 is the first ever status report and national study of young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.
The Report presents rich insights into how young people from diverse cultural backgrounds and faring socially, economically and culturally, highlighting the complex and sometimes conflicting values, opportunities, challenges and aspirations of these cohorts.
Among key insights, the report found that young people from diverse backgrounds feel a strong sense of belonging in Australia, despite experiencing concerning rates of racial discrimination. They were also found to have significant family connections and responsibilities, while facing barriers to employment, with a rate of almost 50% of underemployment among survey respondents. Overall, the report illustrates young multicultural people in Australia as optimistic, highly engaged and possessing unique intercultural skills and resilience that positions them to thrive in Australian society.
Not Just “Ticking a Box”: Youth participation with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds is a new publication which serves as a comprehensive guide for good practice in engaging and enhancing the participation of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. This resource aims to help organisations consider ways they can support and enable young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds to participate in decisions that affect them. Converging theory and practice, the resource includes a participation model outlining barriers, opportunities and ways to address barriers to the participation of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, examples of good practice through national and local case studies and a practical top tips and checklist section.
MYAN and VicHealth recently commissioned The Bright Futures: Spotlight on the wellbeing of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds report by CSIRO’s Data 61. The report looks at how emerging global trends impact young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.
Read the report here and its key points here
Bright Futures in the media:
Migrant and Refugee Students Struggle to Find Work in Australia
New report identifies trends impacting young refugees and migrants’ wellbeing
A collaboration between MYAN Australia, the RET International, INEE and NRC to strengthen a focus on youth and adolescents in programming. This desk review demonstrates need to put adolescents & youth at the centre of programmatic guidelines.
MYAN and the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) are pleased the launch an exciting resource, Young People Creating Change: a toolkit for developing advocacy skills with young people.
The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) partnered with MYAN to adapt AYAC’s original toolkit, to ensure that it is inclusive of young people from CaLD backgrounds.
The new Toolkit is designed as a resource for young people and those who work with young people, to deliver a 2-day introductory training program. This program includes an introduction to advocacy activities and skills; the opportunity to explore how young people might apply these skills and promote their own ideas; and practical strategies for creating change in their community. It encourages young people to build on their existing experience, knowledge and stories.
After the success of FUSE 2014, Australia’s second ever national multicultural youth summit, FUSE 2016 was held in Melbourne from December 6-9, 2016. Working with the themes ‘Connect’, ‘Ignite’ and ‘Trailblaze’, FUSE bought together 35 young people from across Australia to network with peers, share perspectives and ideas, and engage with experienced advocates, MPs and other decision-makers. Read more about FUSE in the summit report.
MYAN Australia recognises that across the country, we all live and work on the unceded lands and waters of First Nations people, and pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Everyone is welcome at MYAN Australia.
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