AMES social enterprise fifty-six threads café has joined forces with Suspended Coffee Society to provide free coffee to Melbourne’s disadvantaged. Suspended coffee involves a customer paying for two coffees, one for themselves and one in advance for someone who otherwise…

Sheridan Mills walked away from a high-flying career in commercial design and project management because he wanted to “try to make a difference and give something back”. He is now Weekend Supervisor at AMES’ fifty-six threads café in Kensington. “I…

Pockets of under-immunisation in refugee and migrant communities are emerging around Australia, according to public health experts. Government funding for immunisation is available only for people younger than seven – meaning many refugees arrive in Australia after the cut off…

A program to settle Karen-Burmese refugees at Nhill, in western Victoria, is emerging as a model not only for refugee settlement but also for the revival of struggling rural towns. About 150 Karen refugees have been settled in Nhill, attracted by…

A series of extraordinary pictures of the shoes worn by some of the one million people fleeing the recent conflict in South Sudan have captured the essence of the refugee crisis and painted a poignant picture of what is a…

PAPUA New Guinean Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato has downplayed issues with asylum seeker arrangements and protests following a visit from Australian counterpart Julie Bishop. In a press conference following Bishop’s first official visit as Australian foreign minister,…

ASYLUM seekers awaiting passage to Australia are flooding back to Malaysia in the first independent confirmation that the Federal Government’s boats policy has closed our maritime borders. Read more: http://couriermail.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showarticle.aspx?&article=0ce64002-b413-469f-9a2b-b8d6f3942bed&viewmode=2&page=11

An elderly Afghan asylum seeker will be able to remain in Australia after the Federal Court placed an injunction on the government’s attempt to deport him. Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/04/afghan-asylum-seeker-given-reprieve

A series of events and celebrations around the nation this month marked the 65th year of Australian citizenship. More than 4.5 million people have now chosen to become Australian citizens since the first citizenship ceremony 65 years ago in 1949.…

Home Among the Gum Trees is a group that connects asylum seekers with people in rural communities. The idea is to give the asylum seekers a much-needed holiday and a chance to connect with everyday Australians and the land. This…

A Vietnamese-Australian food blogger has found herself embracing multiple festivals because of migration and marriage. Anh Nguyen, author ofanhsfoodblog.com, was born in Vietnam and moved to Australia to study in 2002. She later married a Chinese Muslim and converted to…

Australian doctors should be mindful about the needs of refugees, many of whom are likely to be confused by an unfamiliar health system, say the authors of a new study. Read more: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/national/a/20765138/refugees-fall-through-health-gaps-report/