Pilbara Community Migrant Service

Western Australia

Migrant Community workers are based at three locations: Karratha, Port Hedland and Newman.

The program was originally a project of the former "Good Neighbour Council" of Western Australia based in Port Hedland. Frontier Services has sponsored the program since 1979 and extended it to Karratha in 1991.

The service assists migrants who have arrived within the last five years. A major focus of the work is on women who generally do not have the benefits of socialisation offered in the work place.

In addition to accessing language courses where and when they are available, the workers assist newly arrived migrants to access a full range of services provided in the community. These include health, education, family support, driver education, employment and support groups. On occasions, our workers are required to advocate on behalf of migrants to ensure services respond appropriately.

Celebration of traditional culture is an important feature of the work. Multicultural celebrations often include traditional costumes, dance, singing and food.

Many migrants require information about migration for themselves and family members. All of the workers are able to assist with the provision of information, which is normally in the form of explanatory booklets and forms.

In recent years, an increasing number of migrants in the Pilbara are arriving in Australia on employee sponsored temporary work visas which may be converted to permanent visas after two years. While the expectation is that the sponsoring companies will provide support to the workers and their families, this is often not the case, and the Migrant Workers are increasingly involved in supporting these clients.