In this paper, we analyse national social policies that mediate the experiences of Iraqi refugees in Australia. Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with this population in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria in Australia, and a small town in country Victoria, we delineate how social policies can lead to visible (formal) and invisible (informal) exclusion of refugees. We use two Australian policies; temporary protection and regional resettlement of refugees, to demonstrate how official Australian government policies may negatively affect the integration experience of these new arrivals. Additionally, such policies have unintended consequences for support networks between refugees on different visa categories, and for social relationships between refugees and the broader Australian community.
Amore, K. (2002) `Temporary Protection Status: What Consequences for Kosovar-Albanian Refugees in Italy?', paper presented to WIDER Conference on Poverty, International Migration and Asylum , Helsinki, 27-8 September.
2.
Andersson, R. (2003) Settlement Dispersal of Immigrants and Refugees in Europe: Policy and Outcomes. Working paper series no. 03-08. Vancouver Centre of Excellence Research on Immigration and Integration in the Metropolis .
3.
Beer, A. and Foley, P. (2003) Housing Need and Provision for Recently Arrived Refugees in Australia: Final Report. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Southern Research Centre. [http://www.ahuri.edu.au/general/document/index.cfm], accessed 18 October 2005.
4.
Beiser, M. (2006) `Longitudinal Research to Promote Effective Refugee Resettlement', Transcultural Psychiatry43(1): 56-71.
5.
Birrell, B. and Rapson, V. (2002) `Two Australias: Migrant Settlement at the End of the 20th Century', People and Place10(1): 10-25.
6.
Bloch, A. (2000) `Refugee Settlement in Britain: The Impact of Policy on Participation', Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies26(1): 75-88.
7.
Bloch, A. (2001) `The Importance of Convention Status: A Case Study of the UK', Sociological Research Online6(1): [http://www.socresonline.org.uk/6/1/bloch.html], accessed 10 May 2008.
8.
Bloch, A. (2008) `Refugees in the UK Labour Market: The Conflict between Economic Integration and Policy-led Labour Market Restriction', Journal of Social Policy37: 21-36.
9.
Bloch, A. and Schuster, L. (2005) `At the Extremes of Exclusion: Deportation, Detention and Dispersal', Ethnic and Racial Studies28(3): 491-512.
10.
Boswell, C. (2001) Spreading the Cost of Asylum Seekers: A Critical Assessment of Dispersal Policies in Germany and the UK. London: Anglo-German Foundation.
11.
Castles, S. (2003) `The International Politics of Forced Migration' , Development46(3): 11-20.
12.
Castles, S., Korac, M., Vasta, E. and Vertovec, S. (2003) Integration: Mapping the Field. Oxford: Centre for Migration and Policy Research and Refugee Studies Centre for the Home Office.
13.
Cox, D.R. (1987) Migration and Welfare: An Australian Perspective . Sydney: Prentice Hall.
14.
Diac (2005) `Australia's Humanitarian Program: Research Note No. 9, 2005-2006'. Department of Immigration and Citizenship. [http://www.aph.gov.au/LIBRARY/pubs/RN/2005-06/06rn09.pdf ], accessed 1 May 2008.
15.
Diac (2007) `Fact Sheet 97 - Humanitarian Settlement in Regional Australia'. Department of Immigration and Citizenship. [http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/97humanitarian_settlement.htm], accessed 2 May 2008.
16.
Dimia (2003) Report of the Review of Settlement Services for Migrants and Humanitarian Entrants. Canberra: Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs.
17.
ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles) ( 1999) `Good Practice Guides on the Integration of Refugees in Europe', [http://www.ecre.org/policy/publications.shtml ], accessed 24 April 2008.
18.
Eocv (2002) Submission to the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention from the Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria - Submission No. 239. [http://www.hreoc.gov.au/HUMAN_RIGHTS/children_detention/submissions/subs_index.html], accessed 20 April 2006.
19.
Garland, J. and Chakraborti, N. (2006) `"Race", Space and Place: Examining Identity and Cultures of Exclusion in Rural England', Ethnicities6(2): 159-77.
20.
Gray, A. and Elliot, S. (2001) Refugee Resettlement Research Project - `Refugee Voices' Literature Review. Wellington: Department of Labour, New Zealand Immigration Service.
21.
Ho, S.Y. and Henderson, J. (1999) `Locality and the Variability of Ethnic Employment in Britain', Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies25(2): 323-33.
22.
Huysmans, J. (1995) `Migrants as a Security Problem: Dangers of "Securitizing" Societal Issues', pp. 53-72 in R. Miles and D. Thränhardt (eds) Migration and European Integration: The Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion. London: Pinter Publishers.
23.
Hyndman, J. and McLean, J. (2006) `Settling Like a State: Acehnese Refugees in Vancouver' , Journal of Refugee Studies19(3): 345-60.
24.
ICAR (2006) `What Happens When a Person Applies for Asylum?', Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK [http://www.icar.org.uk/?lid=2078], accessed 10 May 2008.
25.
IOM (2005) World Migration 2005: Costs and Benefits of International Migration. International Organization for Migration. [http://www.iom.int/# ].
26.
Johnston, V. (2007) `The Health Impact of Human Rights Violations in the Context of Australian Asylum Policies', PhD thesis, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne.
27.
Korac, M. (2003) `Integration and How We Facilitate It: A Comparative Study of the Settlement Experiences of Refugees in Italy and the Netherlands' , Sociological Review Monograph37: 51-68.
28.
Koser, K. and Black, R. (1999) `Limits to Harmonization: The "Temporary Protection" of Refugees in theEuropean Union', International Migration37(3): 521-43.
29.
Lie, B. (2002) `A 3-Year Follow-up Study of Psychosocial Functioning and General Symptoms in Settled Refugees', Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica106(6): 415-25.
30.
Luebben, S. (2003) `Testimony Work with Bosnian Refugees: Living in Legal Limbo', British Journal of Guidance and Counselling31(4): 393-402.
31.
McDonald, B., Gifford, S., Webster, K., Wiseman, J. and Casey, S. (2008) Refugee Resettlement in Regional and Rural Victoria: Impacts and Policy Issues. Report commissioned by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and prepared by the Refugee Health Research Centre, La Trobe University; the McCaughey Centre, VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, University of Melbourne; and the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture , Melbourne.
32.
Mahler, S. (1995) American Dreaming: Immigrant Life on the Margins . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
33.
Mansouri, F., Leach, M.P. and Traies, S. (2006) `Acculturation Experiences of Iraqi Refugees in Australia: The Impact of Visa Category', Journal of Inter-cultural Studies27(4): 393-412 [ http://www.Diversity-Journal.com/].
34.
Marston, G. (2003) Temporary Protection, Permanent Uncertainty: The Experience of Refugees Living on Temporary Protection Visas. Melbourne: Centre for Applied Social Research, RMIT University.
35.
Marston, G. (2004) `A Punitive Policy: Labour Force Participation of Refugees on Temporary Protection Visas', Labour and Industry15(1): 65-79.
36.
Menjivar, C. (2000) Fragmented Ties: Salvadoran Immigration Networks in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
37.
Menjivar, C. (1997) `Immigrant Kinship Networks and the Impact of the Receiving Context: Salvadorans in San Francisco in the early 1990s', Social Problems44: 104-23.
38.
Oxfam/AJA ( 2003) Between Iraq and a Hard Place: The Contradictions in Australian Government Refugee Policies. Oxfam Community Aid Abroad and A Just Australia. [http://www.oxfam.org.au/media/index.php ], accessed 1 June 2004.
39.
Phillimore, J. and Goodson, L. (2006) `Problem or Opportunity? Asylum Seekers, Refugees, Employment and Social Exclusion in Deprived Urban Areas', Urban Studies43(10): 1715-36.
40.
Robinson, V., Andersson, R. and Musterd, S. (2003) Spreading the `Burden'? A Review of Policies to Disperse Asylum Seekers and Refugees. Bristol: The Policy Press.
41.
Rousseau, C., Mekki-Berrada, A. and Moreau, S. (2001) `Trauma and Extended Separation from Family among Latin American and African Refugees in Montreal', Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes64(1): 40-59.
42.
Sales, R. (2002) `The Deserving and the Undeserving? Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Welfare in Britain', Critical Social Policy22(3): 456-78.
43.
Simich, L., Beiser, M., Stewart, M. and Mwakarimba, E. (2005) `Providing Social Support for Immigrants and Refugees in Canada: Challenges and Directions', Journal of Immigrant Health7(4): 259-68.
44.
Steel, Z., Silove, D., Brooks, R., Momartin, S., Alzuhairi, B. and Susljik, I. (2006) `Impact of Immigration Detention and Temporary Protection on the Mental Health of Refugees', British Journal of Psychiatry188: 58-64.
45.
Stilwell, F. (2003) `Refugees in a Region: Afghans in Young, NSW', Urban Policy and Research21(3): 235-48.
46.
Szreter, S. and Woolcock, M. (2004) `Health by Association? Social Capital, Social Theory, and the Political Economy of Public Health', International Journal of Epidemiology33(4): 650-67.
47.
Taylor, J. (2004) `Refugees and Social Exclusion: What the Literature Says', Migrant ActionXXVI(2): 16-31.
48.
Taylor, J. and Stanovic, D. (2004) `Services and Entitlements: Refugees, Migrants and Asylum Seekers', Migration ActionXXVI(2): 32-5.
49.
Taylor, J. and Stanovic, D. (2005) Refugee and Regional Settlement: Balancing Priorities . Melbourne: Brotherhood of St Laurence .
50.
Weiner, M. (1996) `Determinants of Immigrant Integration: An International Comparative Analysis', pp. 46-62 in N. Carmon (ed.) Immigration and Integration in Post-industrial Societies: Theoretical Analysis and Policy-related Research. London: Macmillan.
51.
Withers, G. and Powall, M. (2003) Immigration and the Regions: Taking Regional Australia Seriously. Prepared for the Chifley Research Centre by Applied Economics, Sydney.
52.
Wren, K. (2003) `Refugee Dispersal in Denmark: From Macro- to Micro-scale Analysis', International Journal of Population Geography9: 57-75.
