LGBTQIA+ Refugee Community Sponsorship in Australia
Community Sponsorship is a proven method to enable safe settlement through arrangement of a humanitarian visa in a transition country, safe passage to the host country, and local community support for at least the first year. This bypasses the hugely traumatic and insecure asylum-seeking process. Ideally, it also enables more refugees to come here outside of Government imposed quotas.
This scheme can also draw attention to the need for Australia to increase its humanitarian intake and to specifically include people fleeing because of diverse sexuality, sex characteristics and gender identity.
This clip, aired on an episode of SBS, features a Sydney-based CRISP community sponsorship group run by Dean Johnstone.
Improving the settlement experience through community support
Pride Foundation Australia is working to financially support sponsorship efforts of groups involved in CRSA’s Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP), specifically groups supporting LGBTQIA+ refugees and people seeking asylum.
The CRISP program allows groups of everyday Australians to welcome refugees into their local community and help them from ‘day one’ of their Australian journey.
PFA took part in the very first CRISP pilot program in 2021, sponsoring a gay man from Bangladesh to support his ongoing settlement in Australia, which continues today. In the latest CRISP Pilot program, PFA sponsored a trans woman seeking asylum from El Salvador, who arrived in Australia in July 2023.
Refugee community support with an inclusive queer lense
Last year, Forcibly Displaced People Network (FDPN) announced their partnership with CRISP to provide queer-specific training to sponsorship groups through their Thrive Together program. In partnership with the CRISP program, Forcibly Displaced People Network is offering additional LGBTIQ+ sensitivity training and further support to sponsorship groups who are keen to sponsor queer refugees seeking safety in Australia.
Watch our video interview with FDPN founder Renee Dixson and former co-founder Tina Dixson on the importance of inclusive settlement practice.
Join our sub-fund
PFA have established a specific purpose sub-fund to enable individual donors to actively participate by donating. This sub-fund was established in 2021 by Dennis Altman and Ruth McNair as part of PFA, ABN 85 116 997 427.
All donations to the sub-fund are tax deductible. This is a ‘flow through’ sub-fund, established so that granting out the donated funds will happen during at least the next 5 years.
