What we do

The Network brings together a wide range of representatives from the health, settlement and community sectors who actively participate in the projects and initiatives of the Network. This work builds on the many activities and programs around the state, past and current, to support refugee health and wellbeing.

Shaping and Influencing Policy

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Information Sharing

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Sector Coordination

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The networks activities are influenced by the current Strategic Plan.

Shaping and Influencing Policy

Victorian Refugee Health Network work to promote the broader health and wellbeing needs of the refugee communities through formal and informal engagement with government and service providers. We harness the expertise from the health sector and the community to identify and respond to systemic issues and provide credible, trusted advice towards policy and service development.

Our strategic priority is to keep the relevant governance and systemic structures informed of the needs of people of refugee backgrounds and advocate for the appropriate resourcing of services to meet the health needs of the refugee community.

Below is a summary of publications and submissions that the Network has produced or has produced in collaboration with others.

2023 Submissions

 

2022 Submissions

Previous Submissions/Papers

2019
2018
2017
  • Lauren Tyrrell, Toni Mansfield, & Sue Casey, Refugee and Asylum Seeker Oral Health Recall Tool – Development and Pilot: Final Report, Victorian Refugee Health Network, Melbourne (2017)
2016
2015

      Information Sharing

       Settlement Data Bulletin

      Every quarter, the Victorian Refugee Health Network compiles data on settlement trends for refugee communities across Victoria as well as information about people who are in Immigration Detention or have temporary protection visas e.g., Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEV). 

       For the full data set please contact our team at Victorian Refugee Health Network (refugeehealth@foundationhouse.org.au).

      e-Bulletin:

      The Network publishes a monthly e-Bulletin that shares current news and resources and showcases good practice from the refugee health sector in Victoria and Australia.

      The e-Bulletin helps us to achieve our aims to:

      • build the capacity of the Victorian health sector to respond to health concerns experienced by people of refugee backgrounds and address health inequality through health promotion
      • support services to be more accessible to people from refugee backgrounds particularly in regional and outer metropolitan areas
      • improve service coordination for recent arrivals and those with more complex needs.

      Sector Coordination

      The Victorian Refugee Health Network is responsive to emerging issues happening in the Sector and facilitates sector coordination calls for greater collaboration amongst health and community services on certain areas requiring a coordinated response. Some examples include:

      Sector Coordination call for Palestinian and Israeli arrivals into Victoria (November 2023 – Currently running)

      This sector coordination call was organised following the Commonwealth announcement that Palestinians and Israeli’s have been granted temporary visas to Australia. The Network has been facilitating a coordination call for health and settlement support services to share and clarify the information heard about people already arriving, coordinate services, identify and respond to health issues and any emerging trends of this cohort in Victoria.

      COVID-19 Sector Coordination Calls (March 2020 – June 2023)

      The COVID-19 Sector Coordination meetings were established in March 2020 to provide a forum for health and settlement service providers to share information and updates on changes to service availability and/or delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. These meetings also provided an important opportunity to streamline information from the COVID-19 Response team at the Department of Health to the refugee health service sector and vice versa.

      Afghanistan Arrivals Health Coordination Working Group (August 2021 – August 2022)

      The purpose of the group was to provide a coordinating forum for health and settlement support services involved in providing care to the Afghan Humanitarian intake to share information, coordinate services, identify and respond to health issues and any emerging trends of this cohort in Victoria. It also helped facilitate the sharing of ideas, resources, and development of strategic and operational approaches to problem-solving, including policy guidance.

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