The Refugee Health Flexible Fund (Fund) for 2021-22 to 2022-23 supports healthcare for people from refugee backgrounds across NSW.

NSW Health has funded 15 projects to support priorities set out in the NSW Refugee Health Plan 2022-2027. The projects share a common purpose, i.e. to ensure access to timely, culturally responsive and trauma-informed healthcare services for people from refuge and asylum seeker backgrounds.

The projects address local and statewide needs, including in regional NSW, through targeted strategies to enhance:

  • service access for oral health and mental health
  • health communication
  • care coordination/navigation
  • cancer screening
  • women's health
  • paediatrics and child health
  • coordination of referral pathways between mainstream and specialised services
  • capacity building for health staff around cultural responsiveness and trauma-informed care
  • as well as allied health supports for refugee health services.

A key feature of the Fund and the projects is enhancing collaboration across NSW Health, as well as with partners and communities.

NSW Health has engaged Dr Ilse Blignault to support four forums to foster collaboration, promote knowledge exchange and learning across the projects. Dr Blignault will also undertake a review of the overall project. The review of the Fund will be completed in the second half of 2023.

NSW Health will use this webpage as a hub for recordings of the forums, as well as new resources, literature reviews, and evaluations, which have been supported through the Fund and will be a lasting resource for refugee health.

Forum recordings and summaries

The first forum on 2nd November 2022 had three objectives:

  1. To bring together the 15 project teams to introduce their initiatives, build and strengthen connections and encourage networking
  2. To share process, outcomes and lessons to date from selected projects
  3. To showcase the range of work being undertaken to interested stakeholders

Video of Forum 1 - Refugee Health Flexible Fund Projects

 Online Forum #1 Summary Report.

One project, subject of the first extended presentation from the Agency for Clinical Innovation, has been completed. This project has produced an interactive website on the key elements required to establish a new refugee health service in regional local health districts. The guide for healthcare workers and their community partners is an excellent resource on how to establish trauma-informed and culturally-safe health services for refugee communities and will support future settlement in regional NSW.

The next two online forums will be held in April and August 2023. A final in-person forum to discuss promising practices and overall learnings for the Fund is scheduled for February 2024.

Literature reviews and other key documents

NSW Health would like to thank all the staff from local health districts and networks, partners and communities, for the important work you are doing to improve health services for people from refugee background.

Current as at: Friday 16 December 2022
Contact page owner: Community Care and Priority Populations