• Team: Campaigns Team
• Location: Sydney Action Centre Level 1, 79 Myrtle St Chippendale, Sydney
• Manager: Casework Coordinator
• Classification: Internship or volunteer placement
• Hours: 3 days a week (9am to 5pm)
• Duration: Six and half months (including 2 week induction training)
• Dates: 31st July 2017 – 9th February 2018
• Induction: 2 weeks: 31st July 2017 – 9th August 2017 (compulsory attendance Monday – Wednesday for induction only)

Please note that internships can be offered if completed as part of a university program.

Otherwise volunteer placements will be offered to successful candidates. All casework positions are unpaid.

Primary Objective(s)

The Refugee Casework interns and volunteers play a critical role in assisting Amnesty International Australia to respond to requests for assistance and reports of human rights concerns in Australia.

Refugee Caseworker interns and volunteers assist asylum seekers in Australia and Offshore Processing Centre’s. This assistance can include undertaking research, making referrals to other organisations for legal, welfare or health related assistance, and monitoring clients on issues of concern.

Reporting relationship

This position reports to the Casework Coordinator.

The client group

The Refugee Casework Team assists asylum seekers in Australia who are living in the community or Immigration Detention Centres (IDCs). Clients are often highly vulnerable and distressed, with some having experienced torture, trauma and the adverse mental health impacts of long-term detention.

Key responsibilities

• Maintaining regular face-to-face, email and telephone communication with community-based and detained asylum seekers, their representatives and relevant government and non-government stakeholders.
• Providing appropriate referrals to appropriate legal, mental health, torture and trauma and general welfare services for vulnerable or distressed clients.
• Researching and writing reports on policy issues, human rights concerns related to clients cases and country information.
• Highlighting issues of concern to the Casework Coordinator
• Maintaining hard and soft-copy case files according to RCT policies and procedures and carrying out other administrative duties as required.

Key relationships

Internal

• Casework Coordinator
• Refugee Coordinator
• Refugee Casework interns and volunteers
• Human Rights Casework interns and volunteers
• AIA staff and volunteers from all teams

External

• Community-based and detained asylum seekers.
• Refugee advocates (Lawyers, Migration agents, community supporters).
• Key government and non-government stakeholders including the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP), the UNHCR, the Australian Red Cross, mental health and community welfare organisations.

Knowledge, skills and experience (selection criteria)

Please attach a statement of no more than 2 pages addressing the selection criteria.

Essential

• Current or completed a tertiary or post-graduate qualification in a relevant field (eg. International/Government Relations, Development Studies, Law, Human Rights, Political Science, Social Sciences, Social Work).
• Knowledge of Amnesty International and Australia’s refugee program
• Excellent cross-cultural communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively with people in distress.
• High-level administrative skills and the ability to manage competing demands and high volume workloads.
• Excellent formal report-writing skills.
• Fluent command of written and spoken English.
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team.

Desirable

• Experience working with refugees, asylum seekers or other vulnerable client groups
• Lived experience as a refugee or asylum seeker
• Proficiency in a relevant community language (eg. Tamil, Farsi, Arabic, Dari, Chinese, Spanish)

NB: Please note that this is not a legal or social work internship.

The internships or volunteer placements are six and half months in duration (including 2 weeks induction training), running from Monday 31st July 2017 – until Friday 9th February 2018 (inclusive).