Sponsorship or Community-Led Support in Practice

Fundraising & Banking

Mentor groups are responsible for ensuring compliance with any applicable laws or regulations with respect to fundraising and other group activities. Here are some resources that explain some of the applicable rules in Australia with respect to fundraising:

• Funding Centre – Fundraising legislation and regulations
• Not-for-profit Law – Fundraising and holding events
• Armidale Sanctuary Group has shared a helpful resource on ‘Setting up Administration for Fundraising’.
• Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative – Sponsorship School: Financing Sponsorship

We’ve also developed a helpful resource for setting up a bank account for your group

Remember to read and consider the terms and conditions of any fundraising platforms that you use (eg GoFundMe or Facebook Fundraising).

Insurance & Risk Management

CRSA’s Group Mentorship Program encourages agency and autonomy among mentors and mentees involved in the program. CRSA will not direct, regulate or control or be responsible for the day-to-day activities of mentor groups or their interactions with the mentee(s). It is up to each individual mentor group member and mentee (‘program participant’) to decide whether or not to participate in any activity proposed by any other program participant and those organising an activity should check this with all relevant individuals before proceeding with the activity.

Many mentor group members involved in the Group Mentorship Program will already have personal insurance policies that may offer a level of protection in the event that unfortunate incidents arise in the course of activities that they engage in as mentors for refugee newcomers, for example, home and contents insurance and/or comprehensive car insurance.

To add an additional layer of protection, CRSA has managed to secure umbrella insurance policies which will cover active GMP mentor groups for the duration of their 6-12 month mentorship period for:

• General and Products Liability ($20 million cover for any one claim, with a deductible of
  $1,000 per claim, to be borne by the mentor group).
• Professional Liability ($1 million cover for any one claim, $2 million in aggregate)

If your group has confirmed its involvement in the GMP, you don’t need to do anything further to be covered by these policies. Please let CRSA know as soon as possible of any incidents that might trigger a claim.

Please read CRSA’s ‘Risk Management & Insurance information for mentor groups’ for further information, policy schedules and wording.

Incorporation Toolkit (for groups based in Victoria)

One of CRSA’s Victorian Mentoring Groups has kindly put together a toolkit for other Victorian mentor groups looking to incorporate. If this is of interest to you and your group, you can download the Incorporation Toolkit (Vic) here.

CRSA is working towards developing similar toolkits for other Australian states and territories.

Suggested tasks / activities & self-care

Woollahra Welcome Group has shared a suggested list of tasks for group coordinators as a guide.

Learn about how to deal with compassion fatigue, burnout and vicarious trauma in this guidebook developed by QPASST – QPASST Guidebook on Compassion Fatigue, Burnout and Vicarious Trauma (2016)

Children and Young People

The Australian Institute for Family Studies has developed a Resource Sheet for reporting child abuse and neglect for all members of the community. Review this resource sheet to find out more about the processes behind reporting in your state or territory.

We have also developed a Working with Young People factsheet that provides advice for how to support adolescents from refugee backgrounds in their settlement process.

Australian Sponsorship Resources

• • Adelaide City Mentoring Group – Checklist 1: Your First Meeting with Mentees
  • Adelaide City Mentoring Group – Checklist 2: Personal Documentation
  • Adelaide City Mentoring Group – Checklist 3: Managing Gifting
  • Murray Valley Sanctuary Refugee Group – Policies and Procedures (includes privacy (pp 11-13), risk management and insurances (pp 14-20), settlement process (pp 33-53), settlement task list (pp 65-68), good practice guide (pp 61-64), driving (pp 70-75))
  • Armidale Sanctuary Humanitarian Settlement Inc – Settlement Procedures
  • Ballina Region for Refugees – Homestay Program (includes trauma (pp 10-14) and cultural awareness (pp 15-24)
  • Ballina Refugee Settlement Support Group – Resource Kit

Torture & Trauma Resources:

• NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) – Resource Page (includes information about Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Trauma and Supporting people from refugee backgrounds)
• Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery, 1992, available for purchase here.

From the GMP Peer Forum in December 2021, we have created a series of mini videos with STARTTS facilitator Nooria Mehraby. Watch them all on Youtube here.

Global Sponsorship Resources

• • Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative – refugeesponsorship.org/
    • Guidebook – Case Studies
    • Online Learning Resource (free registration required) – Preparing to welcome refugees
  • (Canada) Refugee Sponsorship Training Program
    • Training Guides (includes Supporting Settlement & Integration, Crosscultural Awareness and Conflict Management & Resolution)
    • Past Webinars (includes Supporting Settlement & Integration, Preserving & Improving the Mental Health of Refugees, their Sponsors & Supporters, Vicarious Trauma and Communicating across Cultures)
    • Best Practices
  • (NZ) Nick Regnault, Welcoming the Stranger: Signposts for Building Bridges and Making Peace, Wellington: Philip Garside Publishing Ltd, 2019 (extracts available here ‘Signpost’ Extracts-from-N-Regnault-Welcoming-the-Stranger
  • (UK) – Reset – resetuk.org
  • (UK) – Reset – Training communities to support refugees

General Settlement

• • Australian Government Department of Social Services – Beginning a Life in Australia (includes post-arrival, English, Education & Training, Employment, Housing, Transport, Health & Wellbeing, Family, Civic Participation)
  • Australian Government Department of Home Affairs – Key settlement topics (includes Employment, Education & Training, Health & Wellbeing, Money, Transport, Housing, Civic Participation, Language Services)
  • (NSW) – Multicultural NSW – New Arrivals to NSW (includes Community, Health, Transport & Driving, Housing, Education & Employment)
    • Humanitarian Entrants (includes General Support, Settlement Services, Service Providers, Language Services, Health Services)
  • Settlement Council of Australia – Settlement Best Practice
  • SBS Settlement Guide

Settlement Services

• • Australian Government Department of Home Affairs – Humanitarian Settlement Program
    • Specialised and Intensive Services (includes TPV/SHEV and permanent Protection visa holders)
    • Settlement Engagement and Transition Support – Client Services
    • List of Basic Household Goods required to be provided by HSP providers to refugees setting up their new homes
  • (NSW) – Multicultural NSW – New Arrivals to NSW – Humanitarian Entrants – Settlement Services
  • Refugee Council of Australia – Service directories for refugees and people seeking asylum

Strengths Based Approach

• • NSW Government Family & Community Services – Refugee Resettlement (pp 69-86)

Regional Settlement

• • Australian Government Department of Social Services – Guide to Supporting Settlement in Regional Australia
  • Regional Australia Institute – Steps to Settlement Success: A Toolkit for Rural and Regional Communities
  • Regional Australia Institute – Regional Development & Migration Network (Facebook group)
  • City to Country Project – The Right Fit: Attracting and retaining newcomers in regional towns