Yarra Multicultural Services Network
We are a network of local agencies supporting recently arrived and established communities of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers backgrounds in the City of Yarra.
Our vision is that people of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers backgrounds are supported in the City of Yarra in a way that enables them to feel welcome and respected.
Background
The Yarra Multicultural Services Network (YMSN) is a network of agencies located in the City of Yarra which provides services for refugees, people seeking asylum and newly arrived migrants. YMSN delivers projects/forums in response to refugee and settlement issues in Yarra. YMSN is proactive in addressing settlement barriers for newly arrived and established communities which can limit participation in community life.
Historical context:
The Yarra Ethnic Communities’ Council was formed on 18 June 1997. The Yarra Settlement Forum (YSF) was established in or around 1999 as a sub-committee of the Yarra Ethnic Communities Council. YSF was initially auspiced by the Ecumenical Migration Centre and consisted of a network of settlement service providers and community members in the City of Yarra . With the folding of the Yarra Ethnic Communities Council in 2003, YSF has continued as a network providing a forum for those delivering settlement services in the CoY. Since 2001, through the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Project funded by the Yarra City Council, YSF has been under the shared leadership of cohealth (formerly North Yarra Community Health) and Yarra City Council.
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YMSN (formerly YSF) as a Local Settlement Planning Committee
Local Settlement Planning Committees form part of the National Settlement Planning Framework (formerly the National Integrated Settlement Strategy). Within this framework, which provides a coordinated approach to settlement planning in Australia, the Victorian Settlement Planning Committee focuses on state and regional issues, whilst the LSPCs focus on addressing local settlement issues. Broadly, the role of an LSPC is to coordinate the settlement of newly arrived migrants and refugees at the local level.
YMSN is regarded as a Local Settlement Planning Committee by the Department of Social Services It represents approximately 28 key services and is the peak body responsible for advocating on settlement issues in the City of Yarra, an inner-city area in Melbourne.
YMSN sees its role in Yarra as extending beyond helping newly arrived migrants and refugees with settlement; it assists all migrants and refugees, regardless of whether they are newly arrived or not, to attain the same rights as all other Australians. It identifies and documents gaps and issues in service delivery and works at enhancing regional cooperative arrangements which could be adopted locally or referred to state or national bodies for consideration.
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Name Change: In December 2019 the YSF decided to change its name to be more readily understandable and reflective of its current membership and activities. Since the absence of the federal government Settlement program in the YSF for a number of years, and less of a focus on Settlement Planning Committee activities, the YSF has evolved to have a broader focus. The new name was voted as Yarra Multicultural Services Network.
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