In 2023, the Minister for Immigration, Andrew Giles, MP announced the Australian government’s commitment to create 10,000 new complementary places over time. These places would be additional to the existing humanitarian quota, which currently sits at 20,000.
A handful of small, but dedicated organisations are assisting the government to achieve this objective by taking a specific focus on assessing the potential for community sponsorship to support refugee students to study in Australia. This includes the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (RESIG), the Australian Refugee Welcome University Sponsorship Consortium (ARWUSC), and Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA).
Working with the Australian Department of Home Affairs, RESIG, ARWUSC and CRSA (along with several key stakeholder groups) have participated in the co-design of a blueprint for an educational complementary pathway — the Refugee Student Settlement Pathway (RSSP). This blueprint captures a set of minimum requirements for participation, including:
- committing to a minimum of two students per intake;
- providing ‘soft landing’ supports to facilitate positive resettlement experiences, including accommodation support, foundation programming and orientation activities, as well as funding supplementary academic activities, such as individual tutoring hours if required;
- appointing staff to liaise with pathway students, university campus support groups (UCSGs), and the coordinating organisation; and
- contributing funds to the cost-sharing agreement for an Australian Coordinating Organisation.
The Australian government is considering a proposal for the RSSP blueprint. Concurrently, several initiatives are underway to extend Australia’s capacity for supporting refugee education pathways and demonstrate the sector’s ongoing commitment to leadership and innovation in this space. For example:
- Work continues with an operational/ implementation-focused phase of co-design for the RSSP, shifting attention to the detailed mechanics of the pathway, including: negotiating processes for recruitment and matching of students and institutions; defining requirements for academic admissions and matching; as well as designing a model for robust and multi-focus program evaluation.
- Central representatives from Australia attended the Asia-Pacific Region Complementary Education Pathways Community of Practice Meeting in Manila (Feb 24) where they collaborated with key stakeholder groups to profile educational pathway pledges in the region and signal the commitment within the Asia-Pacific to create new, and expand existing, educational pathways.
- Australia co-chaired the 2023-2024 global Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways (CRCP) meeting, supporting States, NGOs, private sector representatives, academics, and refugees to come together to discuss and advance resettlement issues of common interest.
- The Australian Refugee Welcome University Sponsorship Consortium is joining the Global Task Force on Third Country Education Pathways, increasing the representation of the Asia-Pacific on refugee education.
With strong momentum and a genuine commitment from the private sector to support complementary pathways, Australia is well-positioned to assist refugee students in pursuing their education objectives and empower them to thrive in new resettlement contexts.
The RSSP is an important step for Australia to demonstrate its support for the UNHCR’s 15/30 campaign to see 15% of refugees enrolled in higher education by 2030. It will also ensure Australia remains aligned with Sustainable Development Goal #4, which aims to achieve inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
We hope to hear a positive announcement about the RSSP in the near future.
The Koala thanks Associate Professor Sally Baker from the Australian National University for her hard work in this space and contributions to this story.
