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Community Support Program

Decision Maker: Council

Decision status: Recommendations Determined

Decisions:

Moved by Councillor Chung, seconded by Councillor Forster -

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)          the City of Sydney has been an official Refugee Welcome Zone since 2005, when Council declared its commitment to welcoming refugees and asylum seekers into our community;

(ii)         the City funds many local projects, which benefit refugees and asylum seekers, and raise community awareness;

(iii)        the Federal Government’s positive decision to support refugees coming to Australia by announcing a Community Support Program (CSP), with an intake of 1000 per year from July 1 2017;

(iv)       refugees and migrants have made a positive contribution to our economy and our communities;

(v)         that there need to be more opportunities for safe and legal entry into Australia, and one way to do this is through community-led sponsorship;

(vi)       the cost for community sponsors of applicants under the Community Support Program are high (upwards of $19,000 per first individual) and therefore may be prohibitive to potential community sponsors, including small businesses;

(vii)      currently, Community Support Program sponsored places are not additional to the Federal Government’s existing humanitarian intake commitment, reducing the incentive for potential sponsors to support the program; and

(viii)     the Community Support Program is currently significantly under-subscribed, indicating that the abovementioned disincentives need to be addressed in order for the program to be successful; and

(B)        the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the Federal Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. David Coleman MP, to call on improving and expanding the current Community Support Program by:

(i)          adopting a more affordable visa structure for the Community Support Program to make it more accessible to sponsors, including community organisations, families and businesses;

(ii)         making the cap on the Community Support Program additional to our current humanitarian intake, in order to recognise the generosity of our communities and businesses, rather than shifting both the costs and the responsibility to them;

(iii)        providing adequate support and services to assist with re-settlement and community integration; and

(iv)       ensuring people in need of protection are prioritised to settle in Australia.

Carried unanimously.

S129259

Report author: Erin Cashman

Publication date: 17/09/2018

Date of decision: 17/09/2018

Decided at meeting: 17/09/2018 - Council

Accompanying Documents: