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Refugees in Australia: changing faces, changing needs

Mitchell M Smith
Med J Aust 2006; 185 (11): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00718.x
Published online: 4 December 2006

A national strategy for meeting the particular health needs of refugees would provide a more comprehensive approach

The profile of refugees being resettled in Australia depends on global geopolitical conflicts, representations from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the Australian Government, and Australia’s response. Recent years have seen an enormous shift within Australia’s annual refugee intake, with 70% originating from countries in sub-Saharan Africa.1


  • NSW Refugee Health Service, Sydney, NSW.



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  • 2. Australian Government Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Health requirement for permanent entry to Australia. Form 1071i. Canberra: DIMA, 2006. http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1071i.pdf (accessed Oct 2006).
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  • 9. Cunningham M, Silove D. Principles of treatment and service development for torture and trauma survivors. In: Wilson JP, Raphael B, editors. International handbook of traumatic stress syndromes. New York: Plenum Press, 1993: 751-762.

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