New migrants arriving in Australia should undergo cultural awareness training about issues such as family violence, child abuse, sexual harassment and drink driving, a migrant advocacy group says.
The call follows a survey of Melbourne migrants that identified large gaps in their knowledge of laws relating to such issues.
A group of 212 migrants received training from the Australasian Centre for Human Rights and Health on legal requirements and cultural expectations related to respectful behaviour towards women and gender equity. Some other legal issues, such as drink and drug-related driving offences, were also addressed.
Tanzanian Joy Khamis, 28, who currently lives in Geelong on a student visa, said the training provided a lot of information about “things that could get a person into trouble in Australia, things they might not know otherwise”. She has been in Australia since 2013, and said it would have been more useful to receive the training when she first arrived.
Of the students and permanent residents who took part in the training session, called Mutual Cultural Respect, 79 per cent said it improved their knowledge of Australian laws. Some had already lived here for several years. Of the participants, 83 three per cent said it improved their understanding of community standards.
The centre for human rights and health was founded by Manjula O’Connor, a psychiatrist and Melbourne University associate professor who treats migrant women facing family violence. Dr O’Connor said people from other cultures needed education.
“Of course their values will be different. They need support to learn about the social and cultural values of mainstream Australia,” she said. Dr O’Connor wants the pilot training scheme, funded under previous federal Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews, rolled out more widely.
Controversy about Australia’s capacity to integrate new arrivals has reignited in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis and the Paris terror attacks. A Department of Social Services spokesman said refugees resettled by the humanitarian program underwent a cultural orientation program. There are no such requirements for people coming to Australia on student, family or skilled migration visas.
Australia received 190,000 migrants on skilled visas and family visas in 2014-15. On June 30 this year, there were also 375,500 student visa holders in Australia. In addition, the country accepted 13,750 refugees in 2014-15.
Kevin Andrews will launch the Mutual Cultural Respect evaluation report in Melbourne on December 9.