Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide – Sixth Edition Update

Mar 19, 2026

An update of the Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide is underway, led by the Victorian Refugee Health Network.

Background

The Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide was first published by Foundation House in 1998 as a handbook for doctors and other health care providers caring for people from refugee backgrounds.

Five editions have since been produced in partnership with refugee health specialists across Australia and in collaboration with national peak bodies.

Foundation House and the Victorian Refugee Health Network recognises the significant initiative, time and expertise contributed by refugee health specialists over the history of the Guide. These contributions have ensured it has remained the foundational refugee health resource across Australia.

The most recent edition in 2018 was endorsed as a clinically approved resource by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).

Approach

The sixth edition update aims to ensure the Guide remains a foundational resource, supporting primary healthcare professionals across Australia to provide comprehensive, responsive and trauma-informed healthcare to people from refugee backgrounds, including people seeking asylum.

In delivering this project, the Network is guided by our Strategic Plan values – collaboration, responsiveness, accountability, transparency and advocacy – in partnership with both sector and communities. We look forward to collaborating with refugee health specialists, primary care clinicians and lived experience advisors.

This project is funded by the Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (PASTT) within the Commonwealth Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. The project is in consultation with national networks Refugee Health Network of Australia (RHeaNA) and the Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT).