The asylum seeker assistance scheme offers financial support, accommodation, healthcare and education to people living in Australia on temporary visas.

Dandenong community members will have access to additional local services to improve access and equality following the local office opening of non-profit organisation SSI, which provides life-changing human services to 50,000 people around the country every year.

Settlement Services International (SSI) welcomes the passage of vital JobKeeper legislation that will help six million workers and their families to put food on the table, pay bills and self-isolate safely.

Four years ago this month, our government made the historic decision to add an additional 12,000 places to Australia’s refugee intake for refugees affected by the war in Syria and Iraq.

Samira Maksoud is a Syrian refugee who has been in Australia less than six months. But that hasn’t stopped her from finding a part-time job and enrolling to study in two tertiary qualifications.

An inspiring group of volunteer teachers are offering free English language tuition to people from CALD backgrounds who are supported by SSI.

Lentils are a staple ingredient in diets all over the world — something SSI’s diverse SRSS team picked up on during a discussion about the best way to cook this high protein legume. The only way to settle the debate was to take the dishes to Community Kitchen for a lentil cook-off.

Coming to Australia in search of safety means leaving behind friends, family and everything you know. For people like social worker Sarah, it also means starting again after years of studying at university and building up professional experience in her field.

A talented artist who is seeking asylum in Australia has found his place in the local arts community after getting involved with SSI Arts and Culture initiatives such as the annual New Beginnings: Refugee Arts and Culture Festival.

Two SSI staff members introduced refugees and people seeking asylum to the versatile cashew nut at a recent SSI Community Kitchen.

A talented restaurateur seeking asylum in Australia has brought a taste of Iran to Sydney’s north west with the recent opening of his own business, Shahrood Restaurant.

The work of eight talented artists who are seeking asylum in Australia was recognised by hundreds of new people in February as the Home: Between Here and There exhibition travelled to Canberra for the first time.

Michelle Naike is a seasoned globetrotter, having lived in Afghanistan, London and Australia for decades at a time. But when it came to wearing the chef’s hat at Community Kitchen, Michelle said cooking delicious Afghani fare was just too good to pass up.

Language is an important element of any culture, and being able to speak the local language can make the difference between participating in a new community, or isolation. With this is mind, SSI has offered regular English classes for people seeking asylum.  All participants in the English classes were people who received case management support from SSI’s Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) program.

Life in Australia began just over two years ago for Mohsen, who came to Sydney 26 months ago as an asylum seeker from Iran. Sydney is a far cry from life in Iran but one of the most remarkable differences for Mohsen is the Australian wildlife, which has captured his curiosity ever since he arrived.

Australia’s history is inherently linked to the ocean, with migrants arriving on the country’s shores for hundreds of years. It’s a colourful history that was introduced to a group of people who are seeking asylum in Australia earlier this month, courtesy of a group of SSI volunteers.

Settlement Services International (SSI) has joined forces with the Women Empowering Refugee Women (WERW) volunteer group to organise a social event at Sydney’s Opera House for a number of SSI clients and their families.

SSI hosted a morning tea on February 3, to bring together the four NSW service providers delivering the Federal Government’s Status Resolution Support Service (SRSS) program, which supports people seeking asylum in Australia. The four providers were selected by the government following a tender process in 2014.

After months of hard work since its inception in July 2014, the start of 2015 saw almost 20 launches of the Ability Links NSW program, culminating in the major Parramatta and Wollongong events. SSI is proud to be funded by the NSW Government to implement this program in partnership with UnitingCare and St Vincent de Paul throughout NSW; a program that will help change the lives of people with disability, their families and carers.