Regional Development Australia Orana hosts skilled migration information session

Dubbo's Multicultural Advisory Committee, chaired by councillor Shibli Chowdhury, has been pushing for more inclusion in the region after a range of issues were brought to his attention.

Recently the Regional Development Australia (RDA) Orana not-for-profit association hosted a Regional Skilled Migration Information session.

The session featured presentations from the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade (DEIT), the Department of Home Affairs and the Migration Institute of Australia.

RDA Orana is an incorporated not for profit association, lead by a regional committee of industry and government representatives supporting economic development across the Orana region.

A DEIT spokesperson said there were two events, one focussed on businesses and one for prospective migrants.

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"They provided important and comprehensive information on different visa programs available at a national level, along with information on the skilled and business migration programs where the NSW Government plays a nominating and assessing role," they said.

The spokesperson said presenting directly to businesses and prospective migrants ensured they were providing accurate information.

"It also allows us to provide up-to-date information on the pathways for migration and gives the community an opportunity to ask questions directly," they said.

A departmental spokesperson said Australia's skilled migration programs aim to meet Australia's economic, demographic and labour market needs, as well as boost regional areas.

"There are a number of visa options for Australian businesses, to find appropriate workers where no suitable Australian workers exist," they said.

"The Government is considering a number of legislative, policy and processing adjustments to support business access overseas skilled workers where no suitable Australian exists."

To further support Australian industry, the Department of Home Affairs (the department) engages with business and industry in Australia to support post COVID-19 economic recovery, through the Business, Industry and Regional Outreach (BIRO) officer network.

"BIROs engage directly with stakeholders across the country to help fill skills gaps where Australian workers are not available," they said.

The session came just days after a multicultural gap analysis on the Dubbo region uncovered some holes in the services the community currently provides.

One gap that was found was the lack of multicultural officers at the police department and a lack of information from the police.

Education in English was another crucial need for all migrants, regardless of their visa status. Another service that is needed is a program to facilitate migrants learning to swim.

Cr Chowdhury said the gap analysis report did a really good job of outlining what services they have in Dubbo and those that are required.

"We would love to hire a multicultural liaison officer as we are a fast growing community and we have some incidents happening," he said.

"There are a couple of really good findings there."

Housing is another "big" issue for migrants, especially newcomers, as they are always asked from the real estate to provide tenancy history, which is impossible to provide as they have no renting history.

"Dubbo is a great city and a very welcoming city for migrants and we want to be proactive in this committee to get council to work together to bring the services and opportunities here," Cr Chowdhury said.

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