FAQs

Refugee participants in the CRISP are identified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as being in urgent need of resettlement, and referred to the CRISP program by the Australian government. You will need to be registered with the UNHCR in order to be referred into the CRISP program (see UNCHR contact details).

If you know someone in Australia who would like to sponsor you, you may be eligible to seek a visa through the ‘Community Support Program’ (CSP) or other visa pathways. You can find more information on the Department of Home Affairs website.

You may also wish to consider exploring the Talent Beyond Boundaries – Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Pilot  or consult a migration agent about other visa pathways.

Thank you! CRSA is a registered Australian charity with tax deductible gift recipient (DGR) status, so all gifts over $2 are tax deductible. Please head to our donations page – thank you so much for your support.

If you would like to make a donation to a specific Community Supporter Group who is currently fundraising via Shout for Good you can view a list of groups with open fundraisers on the ANHCA Shout for Good page. ANHCA is CRSA’s fundraising partner for the CRISP program.

If you would like to provide seed funding to newly forming community groups please reach out to info@refugeesponsorship.org.au.

If you’re interested in being involved in community sponsorship or finding out more we recommend attending a CRISP Information Session. You can also find out more by visiting the CRISP page on our website. 

If there’s another way you or your organisation would like to be involved please reach out to community@refugeesponsorship.org.au.

The CRISP program allows regional communities to welcome refugee newcomers into their community from day one.

Each group applying to join the program will need to demonstrate through a Settlement Plan that they and their community are ready and able to welcome a refugee household. CRSA provides training and resources to support this process.

The CRISP operates in both regional and metropolitan contexts. 

Initiated in June 2020 and concluded in December 2022, the Group Mentorship Program (GMP) connected refugees who had already arrived in Australia, but needed additional support, with a trained group of local volunteers.

Mentor groups provided support, connection and friendship to mentees building the foundations for their new life in Australia.

The GMP was developed as a proof of concept to show government and policy makers that a full Canadian-style ‘community sponsorship’ program could succeed in Australia. With the introduction of the new federal government Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) in 2022, the GMP had achieved its initial purpose and CRSA ceased accepting new applications, with new groups instead encouraged to participate in the CRISP.

CRISP Program:
The Community Refugee Integration & Settlement Pilot (CRISP) program enables community members to support the practical settlement of UNHCR-referred refugees who are not known to them. This program enables groups of everyday Australians (including those in regional communities) to welcome refugees into their local area from ‘day one’ of their Australian journey and provide them with practical resettlement and integration support, in line with other community sponsorship programs operating successfully around the world. The program, launched in the first half of 2022, will support 1,500 refugees over an initial four year period (2022 to 2025).
Find out more about the CRISP program.

CSP Program:
The Community Support Program (CSP) can be used for people in Australia to propose and secure a visa for a refugee who is known to them (e.g. a friend or family member). Please refer to the Department of Home Affairs website for more information on this program. CRSA will be closely following the implementation of reforms to this program and considering how we might provide training and other forms of support in the future to Australian community groups wishing to engage with this program.

No. At present, CRSA is unable to assist people who wish to sponsor a particular refugee/family known to them.  The CRISP program supports the resettlement of refugees referred to the Australian government by the UNHCR – individuals identified by the UNHCR as being in most urgent need of resettlement. CRSA is advocating for the introduction of a new and affordable community sponsorship program that would enable groups of everyday Australians to sponsor the resettlement of refugees who are known to them or nominated by them, building on the CRISP program.

Currently, the Community Support Program (CSP) can be used by people in Australia to propose and secure a visa for a refugee who is known to them already (e.g. a friend or family member) but it has some restrictive criteria and significant costs. Please refer to the Department of Home Affairs website for more information on this program.

You may also wish to consider exploring the Talent Beyond Boundaries – Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Pilot  or consult a migration agent about other visa pathways.

The CRISP program currently draws on visas from within Australia’s overall humanitarian quota. However, in 2023 the Albanese government increased this quota to 20,000 places per annum (previously 13,750 places per annum plus the special Afghan intake of 4,000 places per year for 4 years), partly aided by the new CRISP model. The CRSA team is proud that the CRISP is contributing to an enlarged, government-backed Australian resettlement effort. We continue to advocate for the CRISP and other community sponsorship programs to become structurally additional to the humanitarian intake quota.

We note that the Albanese government has made international commitments to the principle of additionality which we hope to see realised in the near future.

• clear background checks and have no serious criminal record or active adverse immigration proceedings on record;
• be willing to abide by a national Code of Conduct containing minimum behavioural standards;
• be willing and able to raise funds to meet the anticipated financial commitment for a refugee household, and
• be willing and able to commit time to the activities of the sponsorship program.

Once you have established a group of five or more adults who are interested and meet the above criteria, please submit an Intention to Apply form.

Relevant experience may include any personal, professional, or community skills, experience or networks that could assist a refugee to settle and integrate into your community. These range from language ability, driving ability, IT skills or knowledge of community resources; to your lived (refugee or other), volunteer, or work experience; to your housing, education, employment, health care, faith group, sporting club or other community connections. You’ll be surprised at what you have to offer when you really think about it.

CSGs are made up of friends, family, neighbours and colleagues – basically any group of Australians who would like to welcome and support refugee newcomers. Some groups are attached to a local organisation such as a school, club or church, while others consist of individuals who have been connected for the purpose of this program.

You can also seek out group members in your area via our dedicated Facebook page, where we have also set up state-based groups to help narrow the search. We’ve also created a short form that you can complete if you would be happy for CRSA to connect you with other individuals or groups in your area.

For more tips, read this short resource containing 5 Tips for Forming a Group, which includes template letters that you may like to edit and send to your network or other local neighbourhood pages to help you find like-minded individuals to work with.

Why do I need to form a group?

We require a group of five or more adults to ensure that the group can keep supporting the refugee household should any one member move away or become unable to continue the program. For this reason, CRSA also recommends that groups should consist of a few different households, rather than coming from one family. Having a varied membership will bring a breadth of knowledge, experience and personality types to your support. It also works to extend the benefits that come with being able to access a broader network of support.

When CSGs are notified of a potential match, they’ll receive a brief, de-identified profile including the family size and composition, genders, ages and, if this is made available by the Department of Home Affairs, the adults’ employment backgrounds.

When a match is confirmed the CSG will receive the full refugee household profile including full names, photographs, dates of birth and overseas contact details.

When and how will training take place? What will it cover?

Groups are required to complete two self-paced online modules, and attend one virtual workshop as a group. Upcoming training dates are listed on our website. Once you have submitted an Intention to Apply and it is confirmed that you will be progressing your application, you will be sent registration details. The training will include topics such as:

• Principles of community sponsorship
• Considering power, agency, privacy and confidentiality
• Managing expectations and considering culture
• Roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders
• Group dynamics and communication
• Working from a strengths-based and trauma-informed perspective

Is there a cost?

No. CRSA will provide the training free of charge, though we would expect your group to cover the cost of refreshments for your group and venue hire if you we deliver ‘in person’ training to your group in your local area.

For some suggestions, read through these Strategies for Securing Housing, which includes a list of basic household goods and furniture you will need to provide.

If you are offering a room in your private home as temporary accommodation, consider whether there are suitable living spaces, separate entries/exits, bathrooms that allow for privacy, autonomy, transparency and boundaries. For more information, see this hosting good practice guidebook. If what you are offering short-term accommodation to people in emergency situations, it might be better to make this offer through asylum or migrant resource centres or another emergency housing service.

If there is likely to be more than 30 minutes’ travel between the CSG members’ and the refugee participants’ residences, the group members will need to discuss how they can maintain the provision of adequate support for their matched refugee household.

• Meet the Refugee Household at the airport upon their arrival in Australia and provide transport from the airport to their temporary accommodation, including (if required) transit support from an international airport to a domestic/regional airport and transit accommodation.
• Provide safe and suitable temporary accommodation from date of arrival in Australia, until they secure appropriate long-term housing.
• Provide essential items upon arrival including at least one week’s worth of food and groceries, seasonal clothing and at least one smartphone with a sim card and adequate data.
• Provide weekly income support payments on a par with Commonwealth income support entitlements to enable the family to sustain themselves until they begin receiving income support via Services Australia.
• Assist with registration for income support payments and Medicare through Services Australia.
• Assist with opening an Australian bank account.
• Assist with securing appropriate long-term housing.
• Provide suitable and good quality furniture, appliances and other basic household goods for their long-term residence.
• Connect with a local GP and any other healthcare provider required.
• Assist with enrolment of children in school and adults in English classes, including the Adult Migrant English Program.
• Provide other forms settlement and integration support and guidance on an as-needs basis (including English language and employment support), to help the household achieve their goals, become full participants in the social and economic life of Australia and attain financial and general self-sufficiency for a period of 12 months from the household’s arrival in Australia.

CRSA has in place a number of mechanisms to support the integrity of the CRISP and to ensure that CSGs have access to resources to help them provide effective support to refugee participants. However, in planning and undertaking day-to-day activities, it is ultimately up to each individual program group member to consider the risks associated with program group activities and how best to mitigate or manage the risks associated with such activities (including the role of insurance). Refugee participants should also be informed about their own independence and agency in deciding what activities they and their dependents will participate in.

For more detail, read ‘Appendix A: Risk Management and Insurance information for CSGs’ in the CRISP Group Preparation Guidebook.

These Incorporation Toolkits were created have been written to assist groups of volunteers in NSW or Victoria involved in programs coordinated or supported by Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA) who would like to, or are required to, form a legal entity to pursue their work.

• Incorporation Toolkit for NSW Groups
• Incorporation Toolkit for Victorian Groups

You can contact CRSA via phone or email at any stage of your sponsorship, should you need. However, we also recommend engaging with our Peer Network: a monthly online forum where CSGs around Australia come together to share questions and learnings. 

The first step is to fill out our Contact Us form and leave us a message.Once submitted, our team will be in touch to discuss this role in more detail.

As an overview, a supporting community organisation can expect to support groups with the following:

• Recruitment, screening and application process
• Assist in setting standards of conduct for groups
• Provision of insurance and accounting needs for groups
• Ongoing support (first point of contact, conflict resolution)
• Regular ‘check ins’ with mentors and mentees
• Evaluation support as required

If your organisation has a volunteer base you can share this program with them as a new way of engaging in this program as part of the work that your organisation does. Get in touch with us if you’d like to access materials to host an information session in your community.

Incidents should be reported by contacting the CRSA Telephone Hotline or via email to Romy Vitalien, CRISP Program Manager, at romy.vitalien@refugeesponsorship.org.au. From there, we will provide advice and support about how your group should respond, or get in touch with the relevant authority.

Fundraising is a requirement of the CRISP program. The funds raised will be used to pay for ‘on arrival’ accommodation, income support while Centrelink access is arranged and to assist with setting up a household when long term housing is secured. The amount groups need will depend upon what they can source through donations and in-kind support, as well as the size of the household they will be supporting.

For example, a group may know someone who is able to provide ‘on arrival’ accommodation free of charge, or heavily discounted, thus making the amount required significantly lower than paying for a serviced apartment.

For an overview of the likely financial commitment of CSGs, please review the CRISP Group Preparation Guidebook.

CRSA’s primary fundraising partner for the CRISP is the Australian Neighbourhood Houses and Centres Association (ANHCA). Through CRSA’a partnership with the ANHCA, CSGs can gain access to tax deductible gift receipts for their donors by using the Shout for Good platform to fundraise. 

Please visit anhca.org/communityrefugeesponsorshipaustralia to access ANHCA’s Fundraising Guidelines and email jarrah@anhca.org to notify ANHCA of your intention to fundraise via Shout for Good before setting up your Shout for Good fundraising page.