Refugees in Melbourne’s inner west have every reason to celebrate this holiday season. More than 320 asylum seeker households are receiving end-of-year food hampers, thanks to the generosity of local residents. For the past year, not-for-profit organisation West Welcome Wagon…

A new wave of migration from Italy to Australia is underway in numbers not seen in more than 50 years, as thousands flee the economic downturn in Europe. This ‘second wave’ of migration from Italy saw more than 20,000 Italians…

Asylum seekers living in Australia are staying indoors for fear of breaching the Federal Government’s new “code of behaviour”, which they say is vague and confusing. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-29/refugee-code-of-conduct-stressful-asylum-seekers-say/5923700

The United Nations this month called on Western countries to open their borders and make good on donation pledges as the Syrian refugee crises worsened with almost 14 million people now displaced. With winter approaching, millions of Syrians and Iraqis…

A teenage refugee from Afghanistan who left his family in search of a better life and is now supporting other trauma survivors is a finalist in this year’s WA Youth Awards. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-10/refugee-acknowledged-in-wa-youth-awards/5880602

We once used behaviour around the hotel pool as a gauge of national temperament and characteristics. But now, it seems, mobile phone use and etiquette has become the ultimate indicator of international idiosyncrasy. A World Bank study has found the…

When newly arrived Sudanese refugee, Nyanchiew Lul, 35, pregnant with her first child, attended the Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne in 2001 the first person she met was Brighton resident, Maggie Lynch, 65. Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/good-weekend/two-of-us/two-of-us-nyanchiew-lul-and-maggie-lynch-20141010-10i5ha.html

WHAT AMES volunteer teacher Belinda Lassig loves about her work is the opportunity to learn about different cultures without even leaving Australia. The mother of two has been teaching English to recent migrants and volunteers for six months. Read more: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/west/ames-looking-for-volunteer-english-tutors/story-fngnvmj7-1227079062903?nk=05bf2e30065df24e8268ce90e2f254e3

Fears of a public backlash against certain migrant and refugee communities have prompted the Victoria Police Multi-faith Council to issue a public letter urging cultural sensivity, respect and understanding at a time of heightened security awareness in Australia. Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/362394/Victoria-Police-Multi-faith-Council-urges-cultural-sensitivity-respect

Primary school children from Middle-Eastern and Asian backgrounds are significantly more overweight than kids from English-speaking backgrounds and take part in less sport and physical activity, a new study has found. The findings, by University of Sydney researchers, are published…

The Federal Government has flagged its intention to relax English language requirements for Australia’s skilled migration programs. In a speech delivered at National Press Club this week, the Minister for Immigration Scott Morrison suggested the English language requirement was used…

Among refugees and migrants to Australia there are many who don’t even know domestic abuse is illegal — or how they can escape this cycle of violence.  Read more: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/09/03/video-tell-migrants-about-help-domestic-violence