MIGRATION COMMUNITY NARRATIVE: ORANGE

BACKGROUND Located three and a half hours north-west of Sydney, the Local Government Area (LGA) of Orange has a population of over 40,000. The key industries for the region include healthcare, mining, retail, public administration, manufacturing, education and training. Well known for its great food and wine festivals, Orange is also home to a Charles Sturt University campus and a large TAFE campus.

ORANGE’S MIGRATION STORY The community of Orange is diverse and multicultural, trains volunteers who, in turn, support newly arrived with upwards of 55 language groups. New arrivals to the migrants and refugees. area are helped to settle into the local community with the Migrants have been attracted to the region for a number assistance of staff from the Orange City Council. of reasons. The opening of the Orange Health Service Anni Gallagher, a Migrant Support Officer for Council, and the Newcrest mining boom have both provided said attracting new residents is of great importance to the great employment opportunities. Anni Gallagher said Orange community, and hailing from the United Kingdom most migrants coming to Orange are secondary migrants herself, she understands some of the challenges of settling relocating from larger cities. in regional Australia. “The first families to move to the region spread the word of “Multicultural community members add great value to their positive experience in Orange and others followed. the fabric of regional lifestyle both socially, through the Some new arrivals moved here for work, others had a sharing of culture, food and customs, and economically, desire to live in a smaller area – similar to where they through their skills and experience,” Anni Gallagher said. came from originally,” Anni said. Anni Gallagher has been involved in settlement work in Since the migration program started in 2004, Orange has the community for the last 12 years as part of the Council’s seen regional migration as a way to fill important gaps in Migrant Support Services and Settlement Grants Program, their workforce. which also includes outreach to the nearby areas of According to 2016 Census data, 3,784 (or 10 percent) Parkes, Forbes and Cabonne Shire. Orange residents were born overseas. The top five The Program was started in 2004 in response to the countries of birth for Orange residents born overseas changing diversity of the region. It focuses on three were: United Kingdom, India, New Zealand, Philippines, primary areas – client and case work, working with and South Africa. service providers, and creating links and networks. One The top five non-English speaking language groups for the aspect of this work is the Program’s ‘Mentor Connections’, Orange area were: Malayalam (0.6%), Mandarin (0.3%), an award-winning volunteer program that engages and Italian (0.3%), Nepali (0.3%), and Cantonese (0.2%).

QUESTIONS FROM ORANGE 1. What more can be done to encourage businesses to 2. How can needs for skills training and accreditation be come to regional areas to attract migrant and refugee met in regional areas? workers and invigorate communities? LESSONS LEARNED Anni Gallagher has emphasised the importance of topics include contemporary technology usage, legal leveraging the support of partners and networks. services, and food handling. It is a massive job to settle families successfully and one The Orange Multicultural Network is another group that that requires an ‘all hands on deck’ approach. In Orange, brings leaders and service providers together to look at this approach includes partnering with multicultural the needs of the migrant community and address them. services, human services, health services, emergency Like other groups, the Multicultural Network runs activities services including police and firefighters, education to help develop cultural awareness in a fun and engaging institutions, and domestic and family violence workers. way. These include International Women’s Day, Harmony The local TAFE’s ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Day, Refugee Week, and Mosque Welcoming Day, as Languages) classes play a big role in not only teaching well as information sessions and social dinners, which are English language skills but also providing useful all occasions celebrated in the community. information on important topics that arise. These extra Regional centres have the ability, social capital, and the heart it takes to support and grow people. It is what country people do. — Anni Gallagher

Another important aspect of the settlement process is listening to the needs of the migrant and local population. Regular community consultation is carried out with partner service providers and multicultural group leaders for this purpose, and to identify solutions.

CHALLENGES AHEAD The strong Orange economy attracts skilled workers Many migrants who relocate outside the skilled visa from overseas. However, lesser-skilled dependent family scheme have skill sets that are not recognised in Australia. members of these skilled workers can find it challenging to The cost of them retraining or achieving accreditation is secure employment locally. When the Orange Electrolux also a significant obstacle, meaning workplace potential (whitegoods) factory closed two years ago, there was can be lost. a dearth of unskilled or semi-skilled work. Since then, the economy has continued to recover and the Orange unemployment rate of 3.9 now percent compares well with national averages. To help address this issue of unskilled and unaccredited workers finding employment, affordable training opportunities for migrants are needed. Unfortunately, a prolonged period of restructuring in the vocational education and training sector has resulted in much higher costs for students accessing courses.

COMMUNITY CONTACT MEDIA CONTACT Allan Reeder – Communications Officer, Orange City Council Shannon Rennie – Regional Australia Institute p. 02 6393 8217 p. 0431 309 694