Refugee Health Flexible Fund

The Refugee Health Flexible Fund for 2021-22 to 2022-23 supports healthcare for people from refugee backgrounds across NSW.

NSW Health has funded 15 projects to support priorities set out in the NSW Refugee Health Plan 2022-2027. The projects share a common purpose, that is, to ensure access to timely, culturally responsive and trauma-informed healthcare services for people from refuge and asylum seeker backgrounds.

The projects address local and statewide needs, including in regional NSW, through targeted strategies to enhance:

• service access for oral health and mental health
• health communication
• care coordination/navigation
• cancer screening
• women's health
• paediatrics and child health
• coordination of referral pathways between mainstream and specialised services
• capacity building for health staff around cultural responsiveness and trauma-informed care
• as well as allied health supports for refugee health services.

A key feature of the fund and the projects is enhancing collaboration across NSW Health, as well as with partners and communities.

NSW Health engaged Dr Ilse Blignault to support four forums to foster collaboration, promote knowledge exchange and learning across the projects.

A Refugee Health Flexible Fund forums webpage was created as part of the Refugee Health Flexible Fund program. This page includes links to recordings and summaries of the forums. In addition, new resources can be found here, including tools, literature reviews, and evaluations, which have been supported through the fund and will be a lasting resource for refugee health.

Dr Blignault conducted a review of the fund and produced a Review Report with Project Summaries. The Review has found that the Fund has successfully addressed goals and priorities in the NSW Refugee Health Plan, and it has resulted in numerous benefits for people from refugee backgrounds and for NSW Health services and staff.