Migratory patterns and settlement experiences of African Australians of refugee background in Murray Bridge, South Australia

Abstract

In the past decade Australian immigration policy has emphasised settlement of refugees/humanitarian entrants in rural and regional locations, in preference to metropolitan areas. The settlement outcomes of a case study of African humanitarian entrants of South Sudanese background in Murray Bridge, a regional centre in South Australia, are examined. These participants were self-settled secondary movers from metropolitan Adelaide. The factors which attracted them were centred on employment. Settlement outcomes for Murray Bridge respondents were better than their urban counterparts, in terms of both housing and employment outcomes. However, some later left Murray Bridge because of a lack of opportunities for tertiary education. The results highlight issues of sustainability of settlement and retention, in regional centres in Australia, and of the fluidity of attraction and retention factors and therefore settlement in regional centres.