Refugee Services Aotoearoa New Zealand

We are New Zealand's leading refugee resettlement agency. Over the past three decades we have assisted in the successful resettlement of over 45,000 former refugees and their families.

We work with each arriving refugee family or individual, identifying their strengths and developing case-plans that will assist them to successfully overcome the many challenges they will face in adapting to life in a new country and different society.

Vision

Refugees achieving their full potential and contributing within an inclusive society.

Refugee Services is concerned with refugee resettlement on three levels:

- service provision;

- public education;

- refugee policy.

Service provision

Our services are delivered via a unique 3-strand system utilising the combined skills and experience of:

         Our professional social workers

         Our cross-cultural workers

         Trained community volunteers

Our services include:

- advice, information and advocacy; - crisis intervention and home-based family support programmes; - community orientation;

- community linkages and referrals services;

- volunteer training, deployment and support.

 

Trained community volunteers are key participants in sthe successful settlement of refugees. In liaison with the professional staff of Refugee Services, they help provide practical support and establish community linkages during the initial months of resettlement. It's challenging work, involving commitment and responsibility, but it can also bring great rewards.

Public education

- The Refugee Services volunteer training programme is unique among current resettlement countries. It provides a nationally-recognised NZQA certificate course that is designed to equip community volunteers with the knowledge and skills needed to assist newly-arrived refugees with the challenges of early integration.

- Refugee Services has become increasingly recognised for the quality of its public and community education programmes. There is frequent demand for our presentations and workshops from educational institutes, schools, government departments and community groups.

- Over recent years, Refugee Services staff members have been key contributors to conferences and symposiums both here in New Zealand and in Australia, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

Refugee policy

Throughout its history, Refugee Services has played an active role in both monitoring and contributing to the development of national and international policies relating to refugee resettlement. Its activities in this area include:

- policy monitoring and comment;

- contributions to national and international policy development

- ongoing liaison with members of ICVA (International Council of Voluntary Agencies) and its constituent member bodies;

- regular participation in national and global consultations on refugees and resettlement.

 

Refugee Services is an active contributor to global discussions on refugee issues and to the development of international 'models of good resettlement practice". Our work is widely respected and we are increasingly asked to share our experience and resources with new and emerging countries of resettlement.