Almost half of refugees suffering from 'occupational downgrade' 10 years after settling
Engineer Sam Matti worked at a power plant in Baghdad, helping maintain electricity to the war-torn capital of Iraq.
But he fled after the Islamic State group threatened him, putting his life and career on hold.
He spent two years in a refugee camp in Turkey before finally resettling in Australia in 2015.
"As an automation engineer, I was really hopeful to find something in my field in Australia," he said.
But his engineering bachelor's degree from Iraq was not recognised in Australia, and instead he spent the next two years working in casual jobs, cleaning construction sites and catering at aged care homes.
"You feel disheartened," he said.
Sam's story has been echoed in a new report from the Department of Social Services' Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS).
The report found that after arriving in Australia, most refugees struggled to have their skills and qualifications recognised.
Before arriving in Australia, 30 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men worked in managerial or professional roles.
But after a decade of residency in Australia, those figures dropped to 17 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
Lead author Dr John van Kooy said the study aimed to uncover how long it took for refugees to make the transition into employment and what kinds of jobs they eventually found.
"What we observed in the study is 'occupational downgrading'," he said.
"This means people had managerial or professional roles, white-collar jobs in business, human resources, marketing or IT — in their home countries, but they have been unable to reach that same occupational status or even a similar occupational status even after 10 years of permanent residency in Australia."
For refugee women, the downgrade was even more pronounced.
Among those who had been managers or professionals in their home countries, more than two-thirds (67 per cent) were not in paid work after 10 years of living in Australia.
The remainder were mostly working as carers, cleaners, education aides or sales assistants.
About 2,400 humanitarian migrants were surveyed over a 10-year period — starting when their first visas were granted in 2013 — as part of the study.
A 2024 report by national not-for-profit service provider Settlement Services International found there was potential for a "billion-dollar benefit" in the employment of refugees and other migrants whose skills were thought to be chronically under-utilised.
"There are around 37,000 refugees in Australia right now … working below their level of skill and qualification," said Dane Moores, SSI's head of strategic relations.
The daughter of Vietnamese refugees, Nhi Tran moved to Australia in 2017 after studying business and customer service.
She worked for eight years in operations and sales roles in both France and Vietnam.
Despite her experience, finding work here became challenging and her university qualifications were not recognised.
Ms Tran, now 36, worked for two years in hospitality for less than the minimum wage, shattering her confidence.
"Especially when in your home country you already have manager work experience and you move to a new country trying to give you a different perspective and more opportunities," she said.
"I don't complain about it because I understand if you face [a] language barrier, it's very hard for employers, but it deeply affects your confidence."
According to Mr van Kooy, a surprising outcome from the AIFS report was the impact of social connection.
"We found that participants who had friends from a mix of ethnic backgrounds — diverse friendship groups — were more likely to be employed than those who only had friends from their own ethnic background, or no friends," he said.
The report recommended more coordinated recognition of skills and qualifications gained overseas, as well as inclusive recruitment practices and language support.
Mr Matti, whose skills have become better utilised in his current job as an infrastructure project manager with Australia Post, said simplifying the path for refugees could make things easier.
"Some of the skills and the experience locally is so meaningful and so important, but people with overseas qualifications also have experience," he said.
"A bridge is a bridge … there are basic principles everywhere you go.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
36 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Consumer watchdog ACCC approves Australia Post stamp price hike
The price of Australia Post stamps will be hiked next month following approval from the country's consumer watchdog. A stamp for a basic small letter will increase from $1.50 to $1.70, which the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says is still less than in comparable countries. Across the board, prices are going up a little over 13 per cent. 'We are especially mindful of the impact price changes can have on vulnerable Australians and so our decision paper recommends that Australia Post increases the number of concession stamps per customer, which is currently capped at 50 per year,' ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said. 'We understand that these price increases will mean extra costs for consumers,' she said. However, Australia Post loses money running the national letter service, Ms Brakey said. Following the ACCC's approval, announced Monday, Communications Minister Anika Wells can still reject the price increase. NewsWire has contacted the Minister's office for comment. Fewer and fewer Australians send and receive letters. In submissions made to the ACCC, Australia Post says each household receives only two letters each week. But the ACCC wants Australia Post to work out ways to make letters cheaper for businesses that are required to send them. 'As there are many businesses in Australia that still rely on sending letters, it is crucial that Australia Post has a transparent dialogue with these customers so they are aware of potential pricing changes well ahead of time,' Ms Brakey said. 'While Australia Post has been working constructively with the ACCC on these recommendations, in most instances, we expect full implementation to be reached, so that we can conduct rigorous cost-based assessments going forward,' Ms Brakey said. The average price of a single postage stamp in OECD countries is $1.93. From next month, large letters up to 125g will increase from $3.00 to $3.40. Ordinary large letters between 125g and 250g are going up from $4.50 to $5.10. Concession stamps will remain $3 for five stamps, and seasonal greeting cards are staying at 65c.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Thousands rally in Taree to call for $75,000 government grants for flood recovery
Thousands of residents affected by record-breaking floods at Taree on the NSW Mid North Coast have rallied, calling for more financial support. Organisers of the rally say about 3,000 local farmers, business owners and affected families gathered outside the Manning River Rowing Club, on the banks of the Manning River, on Monday. At the height of the flooding in late May, the Manning River at Taree exceeded the 1929 flood level of 6 metres. In the wake of the floods, the MidCoast Council estimates there has been $100 million in damage to the region's public spaces and parks alone, with more than 600 homes and 100 businesses damaged. Currently, grants of up to $25,000 are available for small businesses, primary producers and not-for-profits to help them recover. Residents are calling for Category D funding to be made available, which would provide grants of up to $75,000 jointly funded by the state and federal governments. So far the state government hasn't applied for this additional funding. A petition to the NSW parliament was circulated at the rally, calling for the additional funding. Rally organiser Rob Chapman's home was inundated during the floods. Mr Chapman said Monday's rally was about bringing the entire community together to push for greater support. "We've been affected in different ways, shapes and forms right along the river," he said. "We just need to show a force through our local politicians and federal politicians to the halls of Canberra and halls of NSW parliament that we aren't going to be forgotten up here. "Category D funding isn't a silver bullet, none of us think that. "But it will just [go] … a long way to help businesses get back on their feet, to help farmers help buy their feed and starting their process off again." Taree dairy farmer Douglas Schlenert said more financial support was urgently needed. "We are on a dairy farm over on the river here and we have lost 90 per cent of our cattle down to the ocean," he said. Taree local Robyne Keogh wasn't affected by the flood but attended the rally to show her support for the local farmers. "We had a flood in 2021, and we got Category D funding really quickly," she said. On Monday, Mid Coast Mayor Claire Pontin met federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain to present new flood-damage figures and push for the Category D disaster funding. "The argument is if a one-in-500 year flood doesn't result in a Category D declaration then what does, because we've experienced a huge amount of damage," Councillor Pontin said. "So many people's lives have been disrupted."
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
HESTA member couldn't access super for surgery due to fund outage, dozens report ongoing issues
Despite normal services resuming three weeks ago, dozens of HESTA superannuation members have contacted ABC News, distressed and frustrated they are still unable to access their own super funds. HESTA, one of Australia's largest super funds with more than 1 million members, went offline at the end of April for a seven-week planned outage, as the fund changed administration providers. Despite the outage ending at the start of June, members have reported that their applications to withdraw funds have still not been processed, while wait times on the phone can be up to three hours. Judy Flynn said she put in an application at the end of April to withdraw funds for a surgery. "I then sent an email saying, 'look, I have a medical appointment coming up, it's urgent, I've been waiting four months for this, can you please process this $2,000 for me?'" But she said she got no response from HESTA, and eventually needed to postpone her surgery, which was meant to be on the June 10. HESTA had told ABC News that members could "still receive urgent and critical payments" during the period of limited services. "I hadn't heard a thing, no response at all … and I tried to get through to them a couple of times on the phone and I couldn't get through without waiting for a long period. "It's very stressful … I'm really angry that they've done this to me," Ms Flynn said. Ms Flynn, who lives on the South Coast of New South Wales, said she recently separated from her husband and has had to borrow money from him to pay for things like utility bills and council rates. "He's been good about it, but he's in debt to loan me money. It's not like he has money stocked away, we're borrowing to get me out of this hot water." On Thursday last week, Ms Flynn was finally able to speak to someone at HESTA who processed her application, stating it should take three to five days to land in her account. On Sunday, she said HESTA notified her that the money had been transferred, about two months after her initial application was made. HESTA has apologised to Ms Flynn, stating its level of service was not acceptable. In a response to the ABC, a spokesperson for HESTA said: "While we resumed online services as scheduled and many members are transacting as normal, we recognise some members have experienced long call wait times and processing delays. Personal finance researcher at Griffith University Whitley Bejah said the extended period of time offline means HESTA has failed in its duty of care to customers. "Let's say someone's been waiting since the first week of the HESTA shutdown to be able to make this claim… now [it's] 10 weeks with no income. "I think that would be very, very stressful from a consumer's perspective." She doesn't think the super fund prepared properly for the influx of applications it would experience from members after the outage. "I understand that the process is really cumbersome and they want to make sure that they get everything right because there are obviously reporting issues … but given everything that people have been through, you think that they would be a little bit more prepared. Ms Bejah said the "additional delay" is causing unnecessary stress for many people right now. "Australians [are] dealing with a lot at the moment, especially with the cost of living, and I think when there's a barrier between people and accessing their own funds that they might need for medical considerations … or they might be dealing with severe financial hardship. "It's a compounding effect that's going to affect a whole range of things, not just finances." The spokesperson for HESTA said: "We have substantially increased the size of our contact centre team and operating hours have been extended to include temporary operation on Saturdays. Amanda Lewis recently went into a dementia ward at a nursing home in Victoria and has been relying on her superannuation to pay for it. Her husband Glynn has been acting as her carer because her short-term memory and some of her long-term memory have been affected by the disease. He said on May 22, he and his financial adviser put in an application to withdraw all of Ms Lewis's superannuation. But almost a month later, none of it has been processed into her account. "I'm sort of still in limbo … it is a little bit up in the air, hopefully HESTA come good with the finances," he told ABC News. "Hopefully we can get back to a better financial situation." While his financial advisor has lodged a complaint with HESTA, he has concerns that if he doesn't get access to the funds soon, he will have to use his own super to pay the deposit, or risk his wife losing her spot at the facility. The spokesperson for HESTA said: "We apologise to the member and her husband who have not received the service they should expect from us. HESTA isn't the first superannuation fund to have complaints raised against it this year. The spotlight was thrown on the sector in April, when AustralianSuper, Rest, Hostplus, Insignia and Australian Retirement Trust were impacted by a slew of cyber incidents. AustralianSuper was questioned by its own clients about a security weakness in its accounts, before cybercriminals stole hundreds of thousands of dollars of members' retirement savings. Customers told ABC News they had asked for multi-factor authentication (MFA) on their accounts but were rebuffed — one of them just weeks before the cyber attacks. Subsequently, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) wrote to all registrable superannuation entities earlier this month, reinforcing expectations around information security and the implementation of robust authentication controls. "This action follows recent credential stuffing attacks that exposed persistent weaknesses in authentication practices across the superannuation industry," the APRA statement read. The regulator has advised all super funds to ensure MFA or equivalent protections are in place for high-risk activities no later than August 31 this year. Separately, the corporate watchdog has called on super funds to overhaul the way they deal with death benefit claims, noting excessive delays, poor customer service and ineffective claims handling are leaving Australians worse off at some of the most vulnerable times of their lives, in a scathing report issued in March.
