December 30th, 2022Ballarat poised as leading regional settlement city: new report out

Considered buying real estate in Ballarat? You may want to with a new report indicating Ballarat is ready to be a leading regional settlement city.

New research finds Ballarat has strong capacity to be a leading regional settlement city for migrant and
refugee background communities.

The Destination Ballarat Report is the second in a research series commissioned by the EVOLVE partnership of Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council, City of Ballarat, Ballarat Community Health, the Centre for Multicultural Youth and Wimmera Development Association.

The research recommends that Ballarat is supported to increase its migration intake through skilled, humanitarian and community-based pathways.

CEO of BRMC Ann Foley said the research provides an evidence base to increase Ballarat’s settlement
sustainably.

CEO of BRMC Ann Foley: “We are benchmarking our settlement services and ‘ecosystem’ against best practice, and the evidence in this report informs us how to tailor our settlement approach to best meet the needs and potential of our new and emerging communities. It is crucial, now that we’re ready to increase our migration intake, that we also have commitment by of all levels of government.”

The latest Census showed that Ballarat is more diverse than ever, with overseas born residents increasing to 11% and fast growing Indian and Filipino communities.

The research shows that Ballarat demonstrates key success factors for ensuring successful settlement.
Particularly strong areas are the coordinated provision of education and training support, health and
wellbeing support, and employment support for new arrivals and migrants.
Challenges common to many regional areas are also highlighted, such as the lack of affordable housing and transport infrastructure, and employment opportunities that match the skill set of migrants.