Thursday, 2 May 2024

Migrant Information Centre

Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:46): (864) My adjournment is to the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. I recently visited the Migrant Information Centre in Box Hill. MIC provides a wide range of services, such as employment support, youth programs, housing assistance for families, migration advice, family violence counselling and much more to Australia’s migrants. Amazing organisations like MIC help newcomers to this country settle and integrate into their communities. Just like any other not-for-profit, MIC rely on government grants, donations and volunteers to provide their services. MIC have not yet received confirmation that the state government’s strategic partnerships program will continue to support them beyond 30 June this year. The funds employ program workers to serve migrant communities in my electorate, and these workers are now unsure if their jobs will continue beyond 30 June. Program workers are from migrant backgrounds and are involved members of their ethnic communities. They work to strengthen community engagement, social inclusion, economic participation and settlement outcomes for the people of their communities.

If the strategic partnerships program is not renewed, MIC will have to let go of three staff, losing connection with these communities and the trust they have worked so hard to build. It would be a loss to see the strategic partnership program discontinued, similar to what happened to the Jobs for Victoria program. MIC received funding from this program from 2021 to 2023 and provided employment mentoring services. During this time MIC helped over 300 migrants acquire meaningful employment with significant career progression opportunities. Some entrepreneurial participants ended up founding small businesses and play an important part in my electorate’s local economy. However, in October 2023 this government decided to cut funding for the Jobs Victoria program, restricting it to a select handful of councils and forcing MIC to shut down their employment mentoring services.

Migrants in my electorate are doing it tough and deserve access to employment mentoring just as much as any Victorian regardless of the council they reside in. The action I seek from the minister is to ensure proper funding and provide clarity on the future of MIC’s strategic partnerships program and the Jobs Victoria program, including potentially reinstating funding where it has been discontinued.