SSI - Settlement Services International

SSI - Settlement Services International SSI is a national not-for-profit organisation providing life-changing human and social services.

Our purpose is to empower individuals, children, families and communities from diverse backgrounds and identities to fully participate in the economic, social, civic and diverse cultural life of Australia, creating a more equitable, resilient, enriched and inclusive society.

An SSI delegation is on the ground at Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee camp, joining Amnesty International Austr...
19/06/2026

An SSI delegation is on the ground at Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee camp, joining Amnesty International Australia and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) to call for urgent action on a global displacement crisis that no single country or organisation can solve alone.

After 10 years of partnership with APRRN, we have seen firsthand how refugee networks have become the backbone of refugee protection, filling gaps left by retreating institutions and enabling the kind of collective advocacy no single organisation can achieve alone.

More than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees now live in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. Since early 2024 alone, 150,000 more have arrived, stretching already depleted resources to their limits with no clear path home.

On the eve of UNHCR's annual Global Trends report, our delegation is calling for:
- Regional collaboration and collective action
- Refugee-led solutions across the Asia-Pacific
- Australia to increase its humanitarian intake and expand alternative pathways to safety

Read our full statement: https://www.ssi.org.au/media-centre/media-releases/australian-advocates-call-for-urgent-action/

Photo credit: Ro Yassin Abdumonab

At SSI, expertise comes from lived experience. One in five staff arrived as refugees. This Refugee Week, we're celebrati...
18/06/2026

At SSI, expertise comes from lived experience. One in five staff arrived as refugees. This Refugee Week, we're celebrating the people, like Maha, who understand because they've been there.

Maha left Baghdad in her mid-twenties, carrying full responsibility for the family she was leaving behind, and the family waiting for her in New Zealand. Her siblings had already arrived in New Zealand, where they struggled to navigate their new home and the complex migration system.

With no guide and no precedent, Maha taught herself how the system worked — working double shifts, visiting immigration offices, calling agents, absorbing every process.

That necessity became expertise. Maha has devoted her career to helping others find their way through complex systems. She became the first Iraqi immigration officer in New Zealand history and spent 13 years building expertise from lived experience. Today, she works at SSI helping newly arrived families navigate the Community Sponsorship Program.

"Migration work is personal for me because I've lived the uncertainty, the separation, and the hope that families carry," she says.

Meet Maha and other SSI staff reshaping settlement support in our Welcomed to Welcomer campaign: https://www.ssi.org.au/causes-and-campaigns/welcomed-to-welcomer/

For children who know what it means to build a life in a new country, hearing from someone who did the same is special. ...
17/06/2026

For children who know what it means to build a life in a new country, hearing from someone who did the same is special. Yesterday, students at Sacred Heart Primary School in Fitzroy were joined by cricketer Fawad Ahmed for a celebration of cricket and community.

Fawad, who sought asylum in Australia himself, joined students for a special Refugee Week assembly and scholarship presentations, using cricket to connect, inspire and build confidence among young people.

For many families at Sacred Heart, that milestone is personal, reflecting their own experiences of displacement and resettlement. And in Fawad, they saw proof of what becomes possible when a country opens its doors.

Multicultural Affairs Minister the Hon. Dr Anne Aly MP reflected on the day: “Fawad’s story shows that where you start in life does not define where you can go. Sport has a special way of bringing communities together, and today was a beautiful example of multicultural Australia in action.”

The day offered a powerful reminder of what welcome looks like in practice, and a celebration of the one million refugees who’ve arrived since WW2 whose resilience and contribution continue to shape the Australia we are today.

Thank you to Minister Anne Aly and Sarah Witty MP MP, Member for Melbourne, for joining us, and to our partners at the Usman Khawaja Foundation for making this day possible.

Read the full statement: https://www.ssi.org.au/media-centre/media-releases/sacred-heart-students-celebrate-refugee-week-with-cricket-legend/

Refugee Week kicked off the best way we know how. 🧡 Locals and new arrivals, families and neighbours, old friends and n...
15/06/2026

Refugee Week kicked off the best way we know how. 🧡

Locals and new arrivals, families and neighbours, old friends and new ones all came together with open hearts at our Spirit of Welcome Festival. Live performances, a smoking ceremony, art by refugee artists, and food from around the world made for a day full of moments that needed no translation.

Our clients and communities were at the centre of it all. Refugee artists shared their work, performers lit up the stage, and former clients brought their delights to our market stalls. We also celebrated 10 years of the SSI Allianz Refugee Education Scholarship Program with the newest cohort and their families.

A special thank you to Inner West Council and Community Refugee Welcome Centre for co-hosting. This event and showing what welcome looks like.

Meet some of our people who live and breathe the true spirit of welcome everyday: https://www.ssi.org.au/causes-and-campaigns/welcomed-to-welcomer/

One in four SSI staff members arrived in Australia as refugees. Today, they are case managers, youth workers, and settle...
14/06/2026

One in four SSI staff members arrived in Australia as refugees. Today, they are case managers, youth workers, and settlement professionals — using their own experience of being welcomed to welcome others.

Among Australia's one million stories are SSI team members like Razia, Joseph, Zaid, Maral, Tamara, Miwa and Abuoi. Their journeys from newcomer to nation-builder reflect the most powerful truth in Australia's humanitarian story: welcome doesn't end with arrival. It multiplies.

As Refugee Week 2026 begins, we celebrate every person who crossed an ocean, rebuilt a life, and found it in themselves to hold the door open for the next arrival. This week is yours.

SSI is a proud partner and sponsor of Refugee Week 2026, coordinated by Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA)

When you’re new to a country, it means a lot to recognise parts of your own culture in the world around you. It can make...
11/06/2026

When you’re new to a country, it means a lot to recognise parts of your own culture in the world around you. It can make a new place feel a little more familiar.

During Reconciliation Week, our Coffs Harbour team brought a group of newly arrived refugees from our Humanitarian Settlement Program to the Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance for a day of connection across cultures.

They spent the afternoon learning about First Nations culture, weaving bracelets and printing local Aboriginal artwork onto calico bags. Along the way, they discovered something wonderful: weaving is a tradition that connects many of their own cultures too.

The same tradition, carried across different continents, different languages, different lives, meeting here on the NSW Mid North Coast. Those shared threads, quite literally, sparked some of the most meaningful conversations of the day.

Settlement is so much more than logistics. It's moments like this, where the distance between where you were and where you are suddenly feels a little smaller.

Thank you to the Saltwater Freshwater Gallery for welcoming our clients so warmly and introducing them to Worimi, Biripi, Dunghutti and Gumbaynggirr nations.

SSI is contracted by the Australian Department of Home Affairs to deliver the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP).

Tamara arrived in Australia, like countless other refugee families, afraid. But one moment at the airport made her story...
04/06/2026

Tamara arrived in Australia, like countless other refugee families, afraid. But one moment at the airport made her story her own.

Her family had fled Iraq, endured persecution in Jordan, and arrived in Australia carrying fear and uncertainty. While working as an artist and illustrator, her father was interrogated in Jordan over a political caricature he had drawn, leaving the family living in constant fear of what might happen next.

When SSI welcomed them at the airport in Arabic, everything shifted.

"I still remember the warmth. It felt like being welcomed by family."

That moment of cultural understanding became the foundation of her life's work.

In those early days, Tamara watched SSI staff support families in their own language and made a quiet promise to herself: one day, she would extend that same welcome.

Today, she’s a Tier 3 Case Manager at SSI, providing culturally responsive care to families navigating complex trauma.

Having witnessed the mental health struggles experienced by loved ones and clients, Tamara is also pursuing clinical psychology to help make mental health care more culturally responsive and accessible for refugee communities.

The warmth of that airport greeting guides her work every day. Now, she's extending it into mental health, a field where refugee communities desperately need it.

Read Tamara’s story and more: https://www.ssi.org.au/causes-and-campaigns/welcomed-to-welcomer/

As we approach Refugee Week, we're celebrating SSI team members like Tamara who were welcomed as refugees and now extend that welcome through their work.

We are marking six months of Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) by celebrating the team making it all possible. In jus...
02/06/2026

We are marking six months of Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) by celebrating the team making it all possible.

In just six months, our IEA team has grown from less than 10 to over 70 people strong, representing more than 20 countries and delivering employment support to refugees in over 30 languages. Many of our team members bring lived experience of rebuilding their own careers in a new country, which is exactly why 90% of participants say they feel genuinely heard and supported.

People from refugee backgrounds bring extraordinary skills, resilience and determination to Australian workplaces. It is a privilege to work alongside this cohort and ensure those skills are put to work. Sometimes all it takes is the right team in your corner.

In six months, we have supported thousands of participants, many of whom have gone on to land roles that match their skills and ambitions across aged care, hospitality, construction, administration and manufacturing. Australian employers are better for it — and we are only getting started!

Settling in a new country is about so much more than finding a place to live. It's about feeling safe, connected, capabl...
28/05/2026

Settling in a new country is about so much more than finding a place to live. It's about feeling safe, connected, capable, and at home.

From Sydney to Coffs Harbour, across our Humanitarian Settlement Program, our teams have been busy doing the quiet, meaningful work of helping newcomers find their footing in Australia.

🤝 In Fairfield, a Community Services Hub brought together 13+ local providers under one roof, connecting nearly 100 clients with support spanning health, employment, licensing, energy assistance, and community connections.

🏦 Rohingya families in Liverpool built confidence navigating the Australian banking system at a financial literacy session delivered in language with Commonwealth Bank.

🚉 Karenni clients in Coffs Harbour were guided through the practicalities of public transport, from buying a ticket to boarding safely, at a hands-on train station orientation with Transport NSW.

🚀 And a business development workshop in collaboration with Service NSW gave 31 clients practical guidance on starting and growing their own businesses.

Different places, different communities, different needs. But the same underlying commitment to wraparound support that helps people not just settle, but truly belong.

Thank you to the teams and partners who make this possible.

Commonwealth Bank, Transport for NSW, Hearing Australia, Anglicare Sydney, Service NSW, MTC FutureReady, Sydney Water, Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON), Western Sydney Community Forum, Dandelion Support Network

SSI is contracted by the Australian Department of Home Affairs to deliver the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP).

SSI welcomes people who are building new lives in this country. We do that with a clear understanding that this is Abori...
27/05/2026

SSI welcomes people who are building new lives in this country. We do that with a clear understanding that this is Aboriginal land, cared for by First Nations peoples for over 65,000 years.

We cannot separate inclusion for multicultural communities from justice for First Nations peoples. Reconciliation is not separate from our work — it is core to it.

Yesterday in Parramatta, we launched our second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan.

It marks our next step in listening, learning and acting alongside First Nations communities. It sets out how SSI will continue to strengthen understanding of Australia's history, and ensure that shapes our services, advocacy and partnerships — including through a renewed focus on truth-telling in the wake of the Voice referendum.

The launch brought together staff, partners and community leaders, with support from Reconciliation Australia. We are grateful to Professor Nareen Young, Maria Dimopoulos AM, Uncle Colin Locke and the Giralang Guwal performers for their contributions, and to our First Nations colleagues and partners who have shaped this journey.

Thank you to our MC Cass Best (Kamilaroi Mari), SSI's Cultural Safety, Engagement and Partnerships Lead, and to Yenmalibyila — SSI's First Nations staff group, whose name means "walking together" in Wiradjuri.

Read our full statement: https://www.ssi.org.au/ssi-launches-new-reconciliation-action-plan-grounded-in-truth-telling-and-action/

Read our second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan:https://www.ssi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/SSI-Reconciliation-Action-Plan-2.pdf

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