Settlement Support Programme

Settlement Support New Zealand

The New Zealand Settlement Strategy focuses on people who have come to live permanently in New Zealand aiming to help migrants, refugees and their families to settle happily and productively and be accepted into the wider community.

Nelson/Tasman Settlement Support Co-ordinator Sonny Alesana is working with a Settlement Support committee made up of local service providers and representatives from migrant and refugee groups to establish what on-going support they require.

Partnership with Department of Labour

The Department of Labour is responsible for leading the New Zealand Settlement Strategy and improving settlement by establishing Settlement Support New Zealand. The Nelson City Council holds the contract to deliver this service for the Nelson/Tasman area.

“Nelson is now the fourth most popular place in New Zealand for new migrants to settle, with the majority coming from the UK. This looks set to increase with a wide variety of people from very different ethnic backgrounds arriving as well. It is important to make this transition as smooth as possible, not just for the migrants but for the rest of the community. Settlement Support has a vital role to play in this process,” Community Liaison Adviser - Settlement Support, Sonny Alesana says. 

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Aims of Settlement Support

• Create a clear point of contact for migrants, refugees and their families
• Strengthen settlement outcomes for migrants and refugees
• Sustain an effective settlement support network
• Improved access to settlement advice and information
• More responsive mainstream services for migrant and refugees at the local level
• Reflect local needs in the local settlement planning
• Identify the gaps or eliminate duplication of services that support settlement
• Incorporate local settlement needs and issues into the national planning network for further development of the NZ settlement strategy

Programme objectives

There are six goals in the New Zealand National Settlement Strategy.

1. Obtain employment appropriate to their qualifications and skills
2. Become confident using English in a New Zealand setting or be able to access appropriate language support
3. Access appropriate information and responsive services that are available to the wider community (for example housing, education and services for families)
4. Form supportive social networks and establish a sustainable community identity.
5. Feel safe expressing their ethnic identity and be accepted by and become part of the wider host community
6. Participate in civic, community and social activities

The SSNZ initiative contributes to the third objective of the New Zealand National Settlement Strategy.

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SSNZ programme

The SSNZ initiative has a dual focus:

• Better coordinated provision of settlement advice and information, and
• More responsive mainstream services for migrants and refugees at the local level

Contact

Sonny Alesana, Communication Liaison Adviser, Settlement Support on +64 3 546 0305.