New or old migration profiles? The experiences of visible migrants and refugees in rural and regional Australia

This paper will explore the diverse experiences of recently arrived visible migrants and refugees who have resettled in regional and rural Australia as part of a wider critical comparative policy framework. We argue that the dynamic and diverse nature of migration in the 21st century has not been fully reflected in existing research nor in the design and delivery of migration policies and as a result, certain individuals, groups and communities tend to be further marginalised, essentialized and/or misunderstood. This is especially evident when looking at the arrival of more recent visible entrants within the Australian context - a continent that remains deeply complicated by the racial legacy of an Indigenous invasion and an explicit discriminatory policy of migration - the 'White Australia' policy. This paper draws specifically on in-depth interviews with recently arrived migrants and refugees within rural and regional Australia, to outline how their settlement experiences are shaped by multiple and often simultaneously competing structural and individual factors. In order to fully appreciate these factors, we argue for a shift to a more context-sensitive conceptualization of migration and settlement.

*(This research forms part of an Australian Research Council-funded Linkage Project on the regional and rural settlement of visible refugees and migrants in Australia, which will be completed in 2012/3).