FAQs

Unfortunately, CRSA is not currently able to respond to requests for sponsorship from refugees living overseas looking to migrate to Australia. 

For refugees seeking more information on the CRISP:  

The Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Program (CRISP) is implemented by CRSA in partnership with the Australian government. To participate in the CRISP, refugee participants must be registered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, see UNHCR contact details) and referred to Australia for resettlement by the UNHCR. The Australian government then selects refugees into the CRISP.   

CRSA is not involved in and cannot assist with selecting or referring refugees into the CRISP.    

For refugees seeking more information on other visa pathways:  

Please note that if you know someone in Australia who would like to sponsor you, the current pathway for this is through the ‘Special Humanitarian Program’ (SHP) or the ‘Community Support Program’ (CSP). CRSA is not involved in the administration of the SHP or CSP programs. Both programs are oversubscribed with long wait times.  

You may also wish to consider exploring the Talent Beyond Boundaries – Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Pilot  or the Refugee Student Settlement Pathway (noting that intakes have closed for 2026).   

You may also wish to consult a migration agent about other visa pathways (eg skilled, family etc), but please ensure you only pay for advice from a Registered Migration Agent.  

Be careful not to engage individuals or organisations who are not registered with the Australian authorities.  

Further details of these programs and the different pathways for refugees and other displaced persons to come to Australia can be found on the Refugee Council of Australia’s website. 

CRSA is a registered Australian charity with public benevolent institution (PBI) status.

Yes. CRSA is a tax-deductible gift recipient. All donations to CRSA over $2 are tax deductible. 

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 donate to a specific Community Supporter Group who is currently fundraising, you can view a list of groups with open fundraisers pages on the GiveNow platform at https://donate.refugeesponsorship.org.au/groups-preparing-to-welcome/fundraisers. 

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 is an avenue for any community in any part of Australia to welcome refugees, whether they are in a regional or metropolitan area. 

This means that refugee newcomers can arrive to a warm welcome in your local community from their very first day in Australia. 

Like all community supporter groups, local groups in regional areas 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 concept of community sponsorship is most commonly associated with Canada but is now practised in many different parts of the world, including in Australia. It involves everyday people forming a local group and taking the lead role in welcoming and supporting the integration of a refugee newcomer into their town or city. The group engages in fundraising to cover some of the initial needs of the refugee household and is trained to provide practical support to the newcomer(s) to help them settle into their community, typically for a 12-month period. The group may be an existing or newly formed group and could be independent or attached to a local club, school, faith organisation or business.  

CRISP Program: 
The Community Refugee Integration & Settlement Program (CRISP) program enables community members to support the integration and 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 as a pilot in the first half of 2022, become a permanent feature of Australia’s humanitarian migration program from 1 July 2026. 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).  We understand that the CSP not accepting new applications due to a large backlog of existing applications. Please refer to the Department of Home Affairs website for more information on this program. 

CRSA has long been advocating for this program to be reformed to overcome some of its current limitations (cost, eligibility requirements and lack of ‘additionality’) as well as 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, the CRISP cannot be used to sponsor a particular refugee/family known to someone in Australia.  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. 

See CSP Program mentioned above for more information about sponsoring a refugee known to you. 

If you know a refugee with a good level of English and you know an Australian employer willing to sponsor them for a skilled visa in Australia, you may be able to sponsor them through the Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Pilot. Please check out the details of the program here and get in touch with a member of our team if you would like to explore this further at: workandwelcome@refugeesponsorship.org.au 

If you know a refugee with a high level of English (appropriate for tertiary education in Australia), you could suggest that they contact Skill Path Australia about the Refugee Student Settlement Pathway (RSSP). 

Finally, you should consider consulting a migration agent about other visa pathways but make sure they are a Registered Migration Agent. 

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 sustaining this 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 future. 

If you’re an adult Australian citizen or permanent resident, competently managing your own life, you can get involved! No formal experience or qualifications are required to participate in community sponsorship. Any Australian citizen or permanent resident can join or form a local ‘Community Supporter Group’ to provide practical, meaningful support to refugee newcomers.

We do, however, require people to provide:

• 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 engage in fundraising to cover some of the startup expenses faced by a newcomer refugee household, and
• be willing and able to commit time to the activities of the sponsorship program over a 12-month period.

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.

Of course, think about what you can bring to the table for a refugee newcomer. 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. 

Community Supporter Groups (CSGs) are made up of five or more adult volunteers, who can be based in a community anywhere in Australia, provided they can demonstrate capacity to provide appropriate support to a refugee household settling within or near to that community. 
At the core of community refugee sponsorship models around the world is an understanding of CSGs as independent, self-directed, self-governed and trusted local knowledge holders. 

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. 

We encourage you to speak with your friends, family, neighbours, and colleagues in order to form a group. We’ve found that once people hear about the program, they’re often interested and want to get involved.

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.

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. 

The group of five model provides a rich, robust and flexible support network for a refugee newcomer household. It means that the newcomers can be confident of ongoing support should any individual move away from their current community or become unable to continue the program (e.g. illness/caring commitments etc).  

For this reason, CRSA also requires that groups comprise individuals from more than one household. Ideally each group should have members from 3 or more households. 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. 

Community Supporter Groups are able to stipulate an ‘earliest arrival’ date so that they are not asked to support a newcomer household before they are ready. 

The time it takes for travel to be arranged for a refugee newcomer varies from case to case depending on where they are currently living.  At a minimum, community supporter groups receive several weeks’ notice at least between their match with a refugee household being confirmed, and that household arriving in Australia. 

The CRISP provides a pathway for refugees who are identified overseas by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as being in most urgent need of resettlement. Those households are then referred to the Australian government for resettlement and, if accepted by Australia, issued humanitarian visas, which gives them the status of permanent residents. 

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. 

Groups are required to complete three self-paced online modules and attend one virtual workshop as a group.  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;

After a group has submitted an Intention to Apply, they will be invited to register for training. Upcoming training dates are listed on our website. 

CRSA provides the training at no cost. 

CSGs are responsible for securing short term accommodation for refugee households arriving in Australia. This accommodation is to be funded by the group and needs to be in place until a long-term rental can be secured. Refugee households will be responsible for paying the cost of their long-term housing, drawing on their own income (e.g. employment income or Centrelink support). 

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

Stable, appropriate housing is key to effective settlement. If you wish to provide accommodation, consider whether you intend to do so on an ongoing or a temporary basis. 

If you are offering a room in your private home as temporary accommodation, consider whether there are suitable living spaces, separate entries/exits, bathrooms etc. 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 you are offering appropriate long-term accommodation, you might want to add a listing to The Isla Network. The Isla Network is CRSA’s online directory where anyone in Australia can share offers of support for refugee newcomers and local groups participating in CRSA’s programs. 

There is no defined distance; rather, this depends on how far the members of the CSG are willing to travel to provide support to their matched refugee household. 

Typically, CSGs seek to help the newcomer household settle in a location within a 30 min drive of at least some members of the group. 

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. 

The CRISP Settlement Guidebook contains a range of information that may assist you in providing settlement support to your matched refugee household. However, the list below constitutes the minimum requirements of CSGs within the CRISP: 

• 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 ‘Section 6: Risk Management and Insurance Information‘ of the Group Preparation Guidebook.

No, it is not necessary for your group to be a legal entity. If your group is incorporated or is connected to an existing incorporated community organisation, it can be easier to open a group bank account, and some groups may like to have that administrative structure. However, incorporation is not essential. 

The below incorporation toolkits 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 by phone or email at any stage of the program via the details listed in the CRISP Settlement Guidebook. You can also access an online library of resources and correspond with other CSGs around Australia via our online Community Hub

A Supporting Community Organisation can support groups in a range of ways such as: 

• 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 groups
• Evaluation support as required

If your organisation has a volunteer base, you can share this program with them as a new way of engaging with your work. 

Get in touch with us at community@refugeesponsorship.org.au if you’d like to access materials to host an information session in your community. 

Rest assured, there are supports and systems in place to help CSGs manage any unexpected events.  

These include: 

• A Telephone Hotline to reach a CRSA staff member 
• Regular check-ins by a CRSA staff member 
• Safety net settlement services for those whose needs become too complex for the CSG to manage 

The Commonwealth Government provides support in a number of different ways including: 

• Funding for CRSA to deliver the program nationally including mobilising, training and supporting CSGs 
• Funding for free translation and interpreting services 
• Funding for specialist services professional ‘safety net’ support for households where needed  
• Free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program  
• Income support and medical care through Services Australia (i.e. Centrelink and Medicare) 

To participate in CRSA’s programs, your group will need to assemble some funds which you can draw upon to support the newcomer household in their initial stages in Australia. These funds will be held and administered by your group in a bank account established by you. 

The budget that you will need to meet your financial commitment under the program will depend on a range of factors, including: 

• Which program your group is involved in (CRISP, RSSP, Work + Welcome)
• The size and composition of the refugee household they’re matched with 
• Whether transit accommodation is required between arrival at an international airport in Australia and onward transport to the household’s destination (mostly relevant for groups in regional areas) 
• Whether the group can provide ‘free’ initial temporary accommodation 
• The extent to which the group can source quality ‘in-kind’ donations of basic household goods

For an overview of the likely financial commitment of groups please read CRSA’s Group Preparation Guidebook. 

As a guide, we estimate the quantum of the financial commitment via fundraising efforts to be between $5,000 and $25,000. 

You can use Annexure F: Budget Templates and Examples in the Group Preparation Guidebook for more information about creating your group’s budget and examples from other groups. 

Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (‘CRSA’) is a registered Australian charity with tax deductible gift recipient (DGR1) status. 

CRSA enables groups to fundraise in its name to enable donors to receive tax-deductible receipts for their donations to support groups involved in CRSA’s programs. 

For more information on how this works please see Section 5: CRSA Grants & Fundraising Support in CRSA’s Group Preparation Guidebook. 

• Online fundraising platforms – Platforms such as GoFundMe or Chuffed.org are convenient and allow individuals or unincorporated groups to fundraise. Groups can also fundraise in the name of CRSA through the ‘GiveEasy’ platform. This platform allows those donating to your group’s fundraiser to receive an automated tax-deductible receipt. More information on this is available in Section 5 of CRSA’s Group Preparation Guidebook. 
• Local fundraising events and activities – Consider fundraising at local community events such as farmers markets, festivals, fetes or carnivals or ask whether you can post flyers on a community noticeboard or in the windows of local shops. Hosting a fundraising event can also help to get your community involved and broaden the welcome the newcomers receive when they arrive. 
• Noncash donations – Noncash or ‘in-kind’ donations from your local community are a great way to reduce costs when sourcing accommodation, furnishings, and other material needs for the household you will be supporting. 
• Local Donors and Grants – Local businesses, organisations, clubs, associations, faith groups, schools, universities, and individuals may be interested in supporting newly arrived refugees in their area – you can give them the opportunity by asking them to support your work by providing financial or in-kind donations. Your group may also consider raising funds by applying for community grants in your local area.