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Royal Women’s Hospital and Monash Health
Category: Women’s Health
Asylum seekers and refugees are entitled to subsidised medical care except for a small co-payment for outpatient medications and medications on discharge. Patients will need to provide supporting documentation confirming migration status from the government or from a recognised asylum support agency such as Red Cross or IHMS before their first appointment. If the documentation is not produced, patients will be billed, however, the fees will be waived if the documents are shown to the hospital at a later date.Visit
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Family & Reproductive Rights Education Program
Category: Women’s Health
FARREP provides services for women from places where female circumcision is practised. The intent of the service is to make it easier for women to get appropriate health information and care. Women can refer themselves to the FARREP program. FARREP services are usually available immediately and women can usually be seen on day of referral.Visit
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Barwon Child Youth and Family — Geelong
Category: Rural and Regional Health
Barwon Child Youth and Family offer free torture and trauma counselling for people of refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds.Visit
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Catholic Care — Mildura
Category: Rural and Regional Health
Catholic Care Mildura provide counselling and support to people of Refugee and Asylum-seeking backgrounds and are free of charge.Visit
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Swan Hill District Health — Swan Hill
Category: Rural and Regional Health
Swan Hill District Health: The Refugee Health Program works to meet the healthcare needs of refugees and asylum seekers living in the Swan Hill District. It is a free service. The Refugee Health Nurse will use an interpreter (as needed) to help you with your health care needs, and will refer you to other members of our health team as needed. This is a confidential service.Visit
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Gateway Health has a Multicultural Clinic — Wodonga/ North East Victoria
Category: Rural and Regional Health
Gateway Health has a Multicultural Clinic, specialising in the care of Refugees, Migrants and Aboriginal people.Visit
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Switchboard
Category: LGBTIQ+
Provides peer-driven support services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender diverse, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) people, their families, allies and communities. Switchboard also offers the Rainbow Door service.Visit
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Queerspace
Category: LGBTIQ+
An organisation dedicated to upholding the wellbeing and mental health of Melbourne’s LGBTIQ+ community, who consist of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or gender diverse, intersex, queer, questioning and asexual people.Visit
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Queersisterhood Project
Category: LGBTIQ+
A peer-run support and advocacy group aimed to provide a space of community and belonging to queer refugee women.Visit
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Genderqueer Australia Bridge Meals
Category: LGBTIQ+
Bridge Meals welcomes new migrants who are same sex attracted and/or gender diverse to join us for a free social dinner in a supportive and safe environment. This fantastic HEY Project grant initiative is a social support opportunity for LGBTIQ+ refugees and asylum seekers run by a collective of young LGBT people of colour in Melbourne.Visit
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Cohealth
Category: LGBTIQ+
The cohealth Refugee Asylum Seeker Health Program (RASHP) supports the health and wellbeing of people of refugee and asylum seeker background with a particular focus on those accessing services in the cities of Maribyrnong, Brimbank, Hume, Moonee Valley and Yarra. Cohealth are currently working towards Rainbow Tick Accreditation.Visit
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The Australian Dental Health Foundation (ADHF)
Category: Dental Oral Health
Volunteer dentists and their support staff donate their time, skills and practice facilities to provide dental treatment at no cost to patients aged from 18-65 years who have been referred to the ADHF by registered charities and not for profit organisations.Visit
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Dental Health Services Victoria
Category: Dental Oral Health
There are over 80 public dental services located in community health centres throughout metropolitan Melbourne and rural Victoria. Search for the nearest dental service to you and/or your client on the website.Visit
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Smile Squad
Category: Dental Oral Health
Povides free dental care for all Victorian public school students (from 2022). Students do not need Medicare, healthcare card or be eligible for the CDBS (see below) to participate.Visit
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Victorian Eyecare Service (VES)
Category: Ear and Eye Health
The Victorian Department of Health, through the Victorian Eyecare Service, (VES) allows eligible Victorians to receive subsidised glasses, contact lenses and visual aids. During this time over two 2 million Victorians experiencing disadvantage have benefited from the service.Visit
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Australian College of Optometry (ACO)
Category: Ear and Eye Health
Australian College of Optometry (ACO).Visit
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Metro (VES)
Category: Ear and Eye Health
Please click here for clinical locations on the Australian College of Optometry website.Visit
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Rural and Regional (VES)
Category: Ear and Eye Health
For Victorian Eyecare Service (VES) participating optometry practices in regional Victoria call 1300 303 125 or (03) 9349 7434.Visit
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Family Care — Shepparton and Goulbourn Valley
Category: Rural and Regional Health
FamilyCare commenced in Shepparton in 1982. We offer a range of services to families and young people in Shepparton, Seymour, Cobram, Kinglake, Wallan, Alexandra, Kilmore and surrounding districts.Visit
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CAREinMIND Mental Health Services
Category: Mental Health
Refugees and asylum seekers, who may receive low/no income, are eligible for CAREinMIND’s free short-term psychological counselling services. Note that a Medicare card is not required. This makes the service useful for those asylum seekers who are ineligible for Medicare.Visit
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Centre for Migrant and Refugee Health
Category: Mental Health
Centre for Migrant and Refugee Health services offer a wide range of therapeutic options and approaches, which are not time-limited to support individuals, families, parents and carers of migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum. The services are delivered by accredited psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, registered nurses, and occupational therapists using excellent carer choice in the treatment they desire with respect, integrity, and safety.Visit
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Disability Employment Services
Category: Disability Health
As permanent residents of Australia, people who arrived in Australia as refugees are eligible to receive a range of Disability Employment Services. Eligible Temporary Protection Visa holders in receipt of Special Benefit can access the Disability Employment Services-Employment Support Service (DES-ESS) programme, which is for people with a permanent disability and with an assessed need for longer term, regular, ongoing support in the workplace.Visit
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Disability Support Pension
Category: Disability Health
As permanent residents of Australia, people who arrived in Australia as refugees are eligible to receive the Disability Support Pension, and are also exempt from the 10-year waiting period that applies to other newly arrived residents. Centrelink has Multicultural Liaison Officers who can assist with completing forms (multilingual service phone 13 12 02). People who are seeking asylum in Australia are ineligible to receive this payment.Visit
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Carer Allowance
Category: Disability Health
Permanent residents, including refugee and humanitarian entrants, are eligible for the Carer Allowance if they meet the usual criteria. Centrelink has Multicultural Liaison Officers who can assist with completing forms (multilingual service phone 13 12 02). People who are asylum seekers are not eligible for the Carer Allowance.Visit
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Inclusion Melbourne
Category: Disability Health
A variety of services on offer such as Support Coordination, Specialist Support Coordination, Direct Support, Education/Training, NDIS understanding and Pre-planning, plus important Community Support options such as the Leisure Buddies and Community Visitation services from Volunteers.Visit
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Amaze
Category: Disability Health
Amaze builds autism understanding in the community, influences policy change for autistic people and their families/supporters, and provides independent, credible information and resources to individuals, families, professionals, government and the wider community.Visit
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Flexible Support Packages
Category: Disability Health
Flexible Support Packages (FSPs) provide short-term assistance (up to 10 weeks) that act as bridging, immediate support as longer-term inclusion is determined.Visit
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Inclusion Support Program
Category: Disability Health
The Inclusion Support Program (ISP) supports services to build their capacity and capability in providing quality inclusive practices for all children and address participation barriers to support the inclusion of children with additional needs alongside their typically developing peers. The ISP is available to give the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children a strong start, while supporting parents into work. Financial support may also be available (to the service) under the Inclusion Development Fund (IDF) to build service inclusion capacity/capability and to support the inclusion of a particular child or children.Visit
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Centre for Multicultural Youth
Category: Child Youth Health
The Centre for Multicultural Youth is a not-for-profit organisation based in Victoria, providing specialist knowledge and support to young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.Visit
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Orygen Youth Mental Health
Category: Child Youth Health
Based on evidence and best practice, Orygen programs address gaps in youth mental health services, embrace mental health, alcohol and other drugs, primary care and educational services.Visit
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Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
Category: Child Youth Health
Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) provide specialist mental health treatment and care to children and adolescents up to 18 years of age.Visit
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1800 RESPECT:
Category: Sexual Health
If you or someone you know is experiencing violence or abuse, you can contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or through the online chat (interpreters available)Visit
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The Water Well Project
Category: Health Literacy
The Water Well Project: Free, interactive and inclusive health education sessions facilitated by volunteer healthcare professionals.Visit
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Health in My Language program
Category: Health Literacy
Health in My Language program is a national health education program for migrant and refugee-background communities to address barriers to vaccine literacy and uptake, and increase vaccine confidence by delivering accurate, multilingual information from trusted professional health educators across Australia.Visit
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Fee-for-service interpreters for allied health
Interpreters are not generally funded for allied health services, however hospitals and community health centres receive funding to purchase language services.Find out more
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Your local Refugee Health Nurse
Speak with your local Refugee Health Program about how they can support you. Refugee health nurses and allied health staff are located in community health centres in areas of high refugee settlement. Refugee health nurses can provide advice on primary and specialist referral, as well as referral to relevant community groups and community services.Visit
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Comprehensive post-arrival health assessment
Recommendations for comprehensive post-arrival health assessment for people from refugee-like backgrounds. On behalf of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases and Refugee Health Network of Australia.View Document
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Health issues of refugees attending an infectious disease refugee health clinic in a regional Australian hospital
Category: Infectious Diseases
Refugees in Australia present with conditions different to those of the general population. The aim of this study was to review the reasons for referral, prevalence of conditions and treatment outcomes for refugee patients attending a specialist referral clinic in regional Victoria.View Document
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Healthy Horizons
Category: Women’s Health
Healthy Horizons has been developed in consultation with women from migrant and refugee backgrounds. It covers the issues that matter to you, at any stage of your life. Your health and wellbeing is important: learn more and seek help when you need it.Visit
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Shifra
Category: Women’s Health
Shifra has been co-designed with refugee and migrant communities and organisations to help users access culturally-sensitive sexual and reproductive health information in local languages.Visit
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Sexual Health Victoria
Category: Sexual Health, Women’s Health
Sexual Health Victoria provides Multilingual Sexual Health Resources with a list of factsheets and video animations translated into languages other than English.Visit
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Jean Hailes for Women’s Health
Category: Women’s Health
Resources designed to help health professionals deliver health information to women and girls across Australia. Our resources (including multilingual resources) are intended for a broad, general audience with varying levels of health literacy, and their development is guided by plain language and health literacy principles, making them practical and easy to understand and use.Visit
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Breast Screen Victoria
Category: Women’s Health
Our introduction to breast screening, called 'Put your health first', can be read online and downloaded in a range of languages. There are also a number of other translated resources that you can download and print.Visit
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Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH)
Category: Women’s Health
Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH) is a community-based, not-for-profit organisation led by, for and with women from migrant and refugee backgrounds. We increase migrant and refugee women’s opportunities for health and wellbeing in Australia through bilingual health education, advocacy and leadership.Visit
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Multicultural Health and Support Service
Category: Women’s Health
Multicultural Health and Support Service: Goal is to prevent new incidences and transmission of blood borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections in refugee, asylum seeker and migrant communities. Also available on their website is the Health Translations hub with multilingual resources.Visit
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Harmony Alliance
Category: Women’s Health
Harmony Alliance works to enable an effective voice for migrant and refugee women in domestic and international policy.Visit
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Family Planning Victoria
Category: Sexual Health, Women’s Health
Here you will find a list of factsheets and video animations translated into languages other than English. These resources were produced in partnership with the Multicultural Centre for Women's Health.Visit
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Migrant and Refugee Health partnership
Category: Women’s Health
Migrant and Refugee Health partnership: Useful resources and publications on migrant and refugee women’s health.Visit
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Migration: An Opportunity for Rural and Regional Australia August 2015
Category: Rural and Regional Health
View Document
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Community Perspectives on Settlement Issues Affecting New and Emerging Communities in Rural and Regional Australia
Category: Rural and Regional Health
View Document
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Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in regional Victoria
Category: Rural and Regional Health
Research to Practice. Cathy Vaughan, Narelle White, Louise Keogh, John Tobin, Adele Murdolo, Regina Quiazon, Chris Bayly. Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, 2014.View Document
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Rural and Regional Health Services Survey Report
Category: Rural and Regional Health
October 2011.View Document
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Forcibly Displaced People Network (FDPN)
Category: LGBTIQ+
The first organisation in Australia to dedicate its work to the issues of LGBTIQ+ forced displacement and be driven by the lived experience of it. FDPN is established to promote human rights and inclusion of LGBTIQ+ persons in forced displacement through peer support and strengthening services and policy responses.Visit
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LGBTIQ+ Health Australia
Category: LGBTIQ+
Supporting healthy lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans/transgender, intersex, queer and other sexuality, gender, and bodily diverse people and communities throughout Australia and the world, free from stigma and discrimination.Visit
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Rainbow Health Victoria
Category: LGBTIQ+
Located within the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University, Rainbow Health Victoria supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) health and wellbeing through research and knowledge translation, training, resources, policy advice and service accreditation through the Rainbow Tick.Visit
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Translated oral health information
Category: Dental Oral Health
Oral health advice and guides about services at the hospital have been translated into the languages listed below. Chin (Hakha) | Chinese simplified | Chinese traditional | Dari | Dinka | English | Farsi | Greek | Hazaragi | Italian | Karen | Khmer | Macedonian | Nuer | Persian | Punjabi | Somali | Spanish | Swahili | Tamil | Tigrinya | Turkish | Urdu |Vietnamese.Visit
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Final Report Refugee Oral Health Sector Capacity Building Project
Category: Dental Oral Health
January 2012 – January 2013View Document
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Oral Health Tip Cards
Category: Dental Oral Health
Translated oral health information by Dental Health Services Victoria.Visit
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Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities Resource Kit
Category: Dental Oral Health
This Kit has been developed to help dental staff deliver a culturally sensitive service that meets the needs of diverse communities and clients, identifying systemic barriers and suggesting strategies that can help overcome them.Visit
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Dental Health Services Victoria Strategic Direction
Category: Dental Oral Health
Links to Dental Health Services Annual Reports.Visit
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The Vision Initiative
Category: Ear and Eye Health
An integrated eye health promotion program which aims to prevent avoidable blindness and address the impact of vision loss in Victoria. Managed by Vision 2020 Australia (which is the National peak body for eye health) and funded by the Victorian Government, the Vision Initiative aims to raise awareness of the importance of eye health and getting regular eye examinations, particularly to those at most risk in Victoria.Visit
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Health Translations Directory
Category: Ear and Eye Health
Health Translations Directory has a range of translated resources available on ear, nose and throat health.Visit
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Eye Health, Vision and subsidised glasses for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Category: Ear and Eye Health
Victoria – 2014View Document
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NDIS Explore Data tool
Category: Disability Health
The NDIS Explore Data tool Explore Data is an interactive tool to help you find information you need. The data can be filtered or sorted by participant type, reporting period, location or support class and category. You can view the data online in your preferred format as a graph or table or download the customised dataset.Visit
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Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV) Multicultural Disability Hub
Category: Disability Health
Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV) Multicultural Disability Hub promotes the rights and needs of people with disability from CALD backgrounds, and their families and carers, through policy and advocacy work in the disability sector. We support and participate in a range of programs, networks and deliver self-advocacy training to empower people with disability from migrant and refugee communities.Visit
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National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA)
Category: Disability Health
National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA) is the national peak organisation for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) who have a disability. NEDA conducts systemic advocacy, offers policy advice to government, and publishes research and reports on the needs of CALD and NESB people with disabilities.Visit
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Better Start for Children with Disability
Category: Disability Health
The Better Start for Children with Disability initiative provides funding for early intervention services. Their information brochure is available in a range of languages.Visit
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National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline
Category: Disability Health
The National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline is an Australia-wide telephone hotline for reporting abuse and neglect of people with disabilities using government funded services.Visit
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Complaints Resolution and Referral Service
Category: Disability Health
The Complaints Resolution and Referral Service assists to resolve complaints about disability employment and advocacy services that are funded under the Commonwealth Disability Services Act.Visit
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NDIS – translated information
Category: Disability Health
NDIS - translated information - available in: Auslan, Arabic, Chinese (simplified and traditional) Filipino (Tagalog) French, Greek, Hindi , Italian, Macedonian, Samoan, Spanish, Vietnamese.Visit
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Strength in My Roots
Category: Mental Health
Mental Health Information and resources for multicultural young people. Hear from multicultural young people about their experiences and explore helpful resources to support your mental health.Visit
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Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IHMA)
Category: Mental Health
Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IHMA) supports people who are receiving, or at risk of receiving, compulsory mental health treatment to make decisions and have as much say as possible about their assessment, treatment and recovery.Visit
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Embrace Multicultural Mental Health
Category: Mental Health
Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (the Embrace Project) is run by Mental Health Australia and provides a national focus on mental health and suicide prevention for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.Visit
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Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH)
Category: Mental Health
A directory of bilingual health providers (This has links to search directories that have capacity to search for professionals by language)Visit
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The Transcultural Mental Health Centre (TMHC)
Category: Mental Health
TMHC works with health professionals and communities across New South Wales to support positive mental health for people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.Visit
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NDIS CALD Strategy
Category: Disability Health
The NDIS is co-designing a new Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CALD) Strategy in 2022. The CALD Strategy will be a three phased approach which will be released in mid 2023.Visit
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Disability Inclusion Package in Schools
Category: Disability Health
Increased support for students with disabilities. Disability Inclusion involves an investment of almost $1.6 billion to ensure every student at every ability thrives at school and in life. Disability Inclusion will roll out to Victoria's government schools between 2021 – 2025.Visit
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Building partnerships with families from refugee backgrounds—Foundation House
Category: Child Youth Health
Visit
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Working effectively with interpreters to support families from refugee backgrounds —Foundation House
Category: Child Youth Health
Visit
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Foundation House Webinar: Supporting Early Years to School transition for children and families from refugee backgrounds during COVID-19
Category: Child Youth Health
What strategies can be used to support children and families from refugee backgrounds to make a successful transition this year and into 2021? This webinar will look at what some early years services and schools have done to adapt their transition programs for the current COVID-19 situation.Find out more
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Story Book: Donkeys can’t fly on planes
Category: Child Youth Health
This is a collection of 25 true stories of survival written by young Sudanese refugees who have found a new home in Australia.Visit
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CEH’s Multicultural Health & Support Service
Category: Sexual Health
CEH’s Multicultural Health & Support Service works with communities and health professionals to promote the health and wellbeing of people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, asylum seekers and international students. Its goal is to prevent new incidences and transmission of STIs, HIV, blood borne viruses (BBVs) and viral hepatitis among these communities.Visit
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Free Hospital Access for people seeking asylum
Policy Document for Victorian Hospitals. This policy outlines hospital access arrangements for people seeking asylum living in Victoria. While many people seeking asylum will have access to a Medicare card, some do not. All Medicare ineligible people seeking asylum are to be provided full medical care in Victorian public hospitals as admitted, non-admitted or emergency patients. You can also find a guidance note on ‘Identifying a person seeking asylum’.Visit
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Free Ambulance services for people seeking asylum
Emergency ambulance services for community-based asylum seekers with no capacity to pay are free in Victoria. For more information see the Department website.Visit
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Information about People who are in Community Detention
Some asylum seekers are released from immigration detention facilities into the community under Residence Determination arrangements. Placement in the community allows people to move about without being accompanied.Find out more
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Refugee Council of Australia
Are you applying to be a refugee in Australia? RCOA Provides some helpful factsheets on how to apply for protection as a refugee in Australia.Visit
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Refugee Legal Factsheets
Click here for a list of Fact Sheets and Information Sheets produced by Refugee Legal.Visit
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Working with Patients when there are language barriers
A guide to accessing and using the Translating and Interpreting Service for primary care health professionals working in private practice.Visit
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Communicating via an interpreter
This information sheet is one of a series produced by the Centre for Culture Ethnicity & Health covering aspects of language services.Visit
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Ethnologue online encyclopaedia of world languages
Find, read about, and research the world's 7,000 known living languages.Visit
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2022 RACGP curriculum and syllabus for Australian general practice
The curriculum and syllabus describe the key competency and learning outcomes of GP education. It informs the development and delivery of training programs including CPD and guides learners by suggesting learning modalities and educational resources as they work towards Fellowship. It also serves as a guide to assist with remediation and GPs returning to work after absence.Visit
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Refugee Health Assessment
The Refugee Health Assessment Template 2018 (the Template) considers the primary care context including workflow and whole of practice approaches and will assist primary care providers to deliver high quality on arrival health care for people from refugee backgrounds.Find out more
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Competency Standards Framework for Clinicians
The Competency Standards Framework (the Framework) establishes recommended and optimal cultural responsiveness competency standards for clinicians in all healthcare settings. The Framework is aimed exclusively at clinicians and inform the development of clinical education, training, professional development curricula and competency standards for clinicians.Visit
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Is your practice refugee health ready?
This guide provides a quick-reference guide to General Practices considering or currently providing health care services to people from a refugee background. It is not an exhaustive list but aims to serve as a tool to support health care for this population group and the development of appropriate primary care services.Visit
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STAR-MH
The STAR-MH (Screening Tool for Asylum-seeker and Refugee Mental Health) is a simple mental health screening tool developed for non-mental health trained workers to identify likely post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder in their asylum-seeking and new refugee clients.Visit
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Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Item
Previously there was an MBS item that specifically provided the billable means for General Practitioners to conduct a ‘Health assessment for refugees and other humanitarian entrants’ (Items 714 and 716). Explanatory notes regarding this assessment provide detailed points of references and expected practice standards for general medical services set out according to the Medicare Benefits Schedule Book. These specific MBS items recognised that differing practice standards for health assessments are required for this cohort consistent with good clinical practice. More details on these MBS Items are available here on Page 50-53.Visit
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General Practice Engagement Project
In late 2014, the Network began work on a dedicated project to engage and support more general practices in Victoria to work with people from refugee backgrounds. This project builds on the work of many others in the sector, including Refugee Health Nurses, Refugee Health Fellows and the former Medicare Locals, who have done substantial capacity building with general practice to ensure accessible and appropriate health care in general practice for people from refugee backgrounds.View Document
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Easidose
Easidose is a prescribing aid addressing language and literacy barriers. Easidose uses colour coding for medications, and picture based instructions for dose, frequency, duration and special conditions.Visit
