Austrian voters have backed the centre-right and far-right political parties, shifting the political future of the country — and potentially that of all Europe. At the centre of Austria’s political shift is Sebastian Kurz, a 31-year-old wunderkind who rode a…

Racism is growing on the internet with aboriginal groups and Muslims among the major victims, according to new research. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has reported that more than a third of racial complaints in 2009-10 were concerned with…

Australia has secured a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council despite criticism over its treatment asylum seekers including holding them in detention on Manus Island and Nauru. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says Australia will use its new standing…

Read about the latest news, research and initiatives from migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia…   Ambitious refugee students win Graham Sherry scholarships Two young refugees who escaped war and persecution and went on to tertiary study aimed at…

A new project is aiming to dig out documentation and archival records to build a picture of the lives of people who were victims of the notorious ‘White Australia Policy’. In place during the late 19th and early 20th centuries,…

Iraqi migrant Nasir Ajmaya is using his own life experiences to help newcomers to Australia begin their lives here. Nasir experienced war, the impoverishing impact of international sanctions against his country and health problems before coming to Australia in 2009.…

For the past decade or so Japan’s economic growth has hovered around zero, the result of an ageing population and severe labour shortages. And while the Japanese traditionally are wary of foreigners, the nation’s leadership knows it will have to…

A new film tells the story of a country football team struggling to find players that recruits asylum seekers to save itself from oblivion. Produced by Anne Robinson, directed by Mark Grentell, written and performed by Damian Callinan, ‘The Merger’…

A new Melbourne social enterprise is giving people from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to break into the hospitality industry. Scarf is a not- for- profit enterprise established to provide hospitality experience and mentorship to new migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and…

New research has found that Australians born overseas are more reliant on social media for local and international news than people born here. The research identified a “disconnect” between audience appetite for news, the sources they turn to and their…

The world’s most recent humanitarian crisis – the flight of the Rohingya people from Myanmar – has its roots in decades of sectarian mistrust fanned by a ruthless military dictatorship. Since the 1970s Muslim Rohingya have been have been targeted…

Australia has been urged to increase its refugee intake as global humanitarian crises ramp up and new threats to stability in Africa and Asia are identified. World Vision Australia has called for Australia to increase its regular refugee intake to…