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A total of 1,968 people arrived in the fourth quarter of 2025 as a refugee or humanitarian entrant (visa subclass 200, 201, 202, 204) and were recorded as residing in Victoria. Approximately 71.5% of these humanitarian entrants were under 35 years of age. There were over 45 unique languages spoken by recent humanitarian arrivals in the last quarter, with the top five languages spoken being Dari, Pashto, Arabic, Hazaragi and Farsi.

The Victorian Refugee Health Network will be holding the next online Statewide meeting on Thursday 23rd April from 2pm to 4pm. Hear recent policy, settlement and data updates from agencies such as Refugee Council of Australia, AMES Australia, and the Victorian Refugee Health Network. Guest speakers will be announced closer to the date.

Witness to War is a national multilingual telephone hotline by NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors, for people affected by overseas conflicts. The helpline is for individuals, families and communities who are distressed about overseas events, have friends and family abroad, need someone to talk to, or need help finding information about useful services and support. Anyone across Australia can call, free of charge.

The Interpreter Scholarship Program works to improve the supply, quality and use of language services in Victoria by offering scholarships to eligible students seeking to undertake a range of Interpreting courses at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), commencing in 2026.

With recent heatwaves and the likelihood of more extreme heat in the coming weeks, the Victorian Government has developed a range of resources to support communities and service providers to raise awareness about the impacts of extreme heat on health. Translated resources are available to help everyone stay safe during hot weather.

Did you know that between July and September 2025, more than 2,360 refugee and humanitarian entrants to Australia settled in Victoria, and that 70% of those were under 35 years old? In the last 12 months our community has gained over 7,000 people arriving under refugee and humanitarian programs, most commonly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, with Arabic, Dari and Pashto among the most spoken languages.

Each has launched Victoria’s first-ever virtual women’s health clinic, providing free, specialist reproductive and sexual
healthcare to women, girls, and gender-diverse people across the state. The clinic is funded by the Victorian government.

The Victorian Refugee Health Network will be holding the next Statewide meeting via Zoom on Thursday 7 August 2025 from 2pm to 4pm.

Submit an Expression of Interest to join the Network’s Executive Group, providing strategic oversight and key policy advice related to health services and systems for people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds in Victoria.