Executive summary

Economic participation is vitally important to refugee settlement and integration. It is through work that refugees are able to build social networks, gain independence and establish a sense of belonging in Australia.
(Alison Larkins, former Commonwealth Coordinator-General for Migrant Services, cited in Department of Home Affairs [Home Affairs], n.d., p. 3) 

Australia has permanently resettled almost 1 million refugees since World War II and today maintains one of the largest per capita resettlement programs in the world. Australia’s humanitarian settlement services provide support to refugees and humanitarian entrants to reach their full potential and fulfil their unique aspirations as they make new lives in Australia (Home Affairs, 2023b, p. 1). 

However, past studies have argued that ‘if there is a weak link in Australia’s settlement record,’ it remains ‘getting refugees into jobs soon after they arrive’ (Centre for Policy Development [CPD], 2017, p. 6). Indeed, an independent review commissioned by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC; the ‘Shergold Review’) noted that refugees and humanitarian entrants experience greater socio-economic disadvantage and higher levels of unemployment than other migrants. While ‘refugees want to work and are keen to roll up their sleeves,’ the review panel argued, they ‘find it relatively difficult to gain a foothold in the labour market’ (DPMC, 2019, p. 34). 

To inform solutions to this social policy challenge, this report provides evidence of economic participation trends among resettled refugees, the potential or ‘latent’ labour force capacity in this group and the timing of ‘transitions’ into the labour force. The report also points to possible barriers that could be reduced or eliminated through policy interventions. Data are sourced from Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA), a longitudinal study that has followed humanitarian migrants who settled in Australia around 2013 over a 10-year period. 

Employment and underutilisation 

There is considerable economic diversity in the humanitarian migrant cohort. By the tenth year of our study, 39% of women and nearly two-thirds (63%) of men1 had made the transition to paid work or were actively looking for paid work. Men’s individual labour force participation rates, in particular, had almost reached parity with that of the Australian-born male population (see also van Kooy et al., 2024). Just over 1 in 5 (21%) women and nearly half (46%) of all men who were working by the tenth year of settlement had done so for most of the 12 months prior to the survey. 

However, among the economically active participants in BNLA, several challenges were identified from our analysis. The post-arrival occupational downgrading of former managers, professionals and other ‘white collar’ workers, for instance, is cause for concern. This is particularly the case for female refugees who were in skilled employment before migrating to Australia. Community and personal services work accounted for over one-third (36%) of all female employment by the tenth year of settlement – jobs that are generally characterised by poor job quality and underemployment (Charlesworth & Isherwood, 2021; Goel & Penman, 2015; Palmer & Eveline, 2012). By contrast, male employment in the tenth year of BNLA was concentrated in machinery operating, technician and trades work (71% of all those employed). 

Occupational downgrading of migrant workers – along with (mis)recognition of skills, qualifications and experience – has long been discussed as an economic integration problem in Australia (see e.g. Colic-Peisker & Tilbury, 2006; Ressia et al., 2017). Most recently, the ‘Parkinson Review’ of the migration system, commissioned by the Department of Home Affairs, argued that interventions were needed to ‘unlock’ the ‘unrealised potential’ among humanitarian migrants (Home Affairs, 2022). This echoes recent sector reporting that has argued that there is potential for a ‘billion-dollar benefit’ in the employment of refugees and other migrants thought to have ‘chronically underutilised skills’ (Settlement Services International [SSI], 2023). 

For underutilised refugee workers, there are several policy investments that would be beneficial, including: effective skills and qualification recognition processes (Wagner & Childs, 2006); more inclusive employer recruitment, retention and training practices (Hirst et al., 2023); gender-sensitive approaches to accommodating the diverse backgrounds of refugees (Due et al., 2025); and training to improve language proficiency and understandings of workplace safety (Kosny et al., 2020). Available research data in Australia do not yet provide sufficient detail on the costs and returns of investing in such programs. 1 Aged 15–59 in Year 1. 6 Economic participation of humanitarian migrants in Australia 

Self-employment and ‘necessity entrepreneurs’

Our analysis also showed that just over 1 in 5 (21%) humanitarian migrants in the sample were self-employed by the tenth year of settlement – higher than the rate of self-employment for Australians overall (16%). The prevalence of sole traders and small business operators in this cohort is sometimes considered a reflection of refugees’ ‘remarkable business contribution and potential’ (Legrain & Burridge, 2019). However, this trend may also be understood as an emergence of ‘necessity entrepreneurs’ due to the difficulties they face entering the labour market (Newman et al., 2024). Those who are entrepreneurs by choice may need greater access to startup capital, business advice and mentorship (van Kooy, 2016). 

Among refugees currently working for themselves, many would prefer salaried employment – however, this group requires support to transition to, and succeed in, open recruitment processes. Our study found that the most common job-seeking method for BNLA participants in the tenth year of settlement was drawing on family or friendship networks – but research has not yet conclusively shown whether these ‘informal’ job seeking methods are effective for the occupational mobility of refugee populations. Career support and skill upgrading are also critical (Arthur et al., 2023). 

The ‘hidden unemployed’?

This report reveals a subgroup of ‘potential workers’ who wanted to find a job but, for reasons of life circumstances, family or household composition, were unable to fully participate in the economy at the time of the survey. Sometimes referred to as ‘marginally attached workers’ (Gray et al., 2002) or the ‘hidden unemployed’ (Pečinka, 2011), around one-third (33%) of women and 41% of men in our study who were out of the labour force in the tenth year of settlement indicated that they nevertheless wanted a job. Labour market (re)integration policies for humanitarian migrants need to mitigate spells of prolonged unemployment, which are well-known to lead to the depreciation of skills, knowledge and qualifications and potentially decrease future earnings potential and job quality (Bevelander, 2020; Brell et al., 2020; Hainmueller et al., 2016). 

For the ‘latent’ workforce, participation barriers are significant but not insurmountable. Family obligations, for example, could be addressed by improving childcare support options and strengthening family reunion pathways (Baak, 2015; Singh & Mutum, 2024). Volunteering opportunities could help to improve the long-term participation outcomes for refugees (Wood et al., 2019), while those who face health or mental health barriers would benefit from access to affordable, culturally responsive healthcare services and rehabilitation programs (Khan & Amatya, 2017). 

Unavailable for work

In contrast, our analysis also points to a substantial subpopulation of humanitarian migrants who are unlikely to be active in the Australian labour force in either the short or longer term. Some of the common characteristics of this group include people who arrived in later stages of life, women with long-term family and caring responsibilities, and people with ongoing disabilities, health conditions or mental health concerns such as PTSD. 

For instance, our analysis found that BNLA participants over the age of 60 in the first year of settlement were almost entirely out of the labour market throughout the 10-year period of study. Participants who lived in larger households with more dependent children were also consistently less likely to be in the labour force than refugees in smaller or single households – and those who transitioned into employment with dependent children typically did so at a later stage than their childless counterparts. Among men, almost half (49%) who were not in the labour force in the tenth year of settlement reported having a disability or long-term health condition. 

Tailored services are needed for refugees who are unable to work. At present, programs for refugees who are out of the labour force are largely limited to income support, torture and trauma counselling, case management services for those with ‘complex needs’ and emergency relief programs (Australian Red Cross, 2025; Olliff, 2010). Ideally, programs would include adequate income support to meet cost-of-living requirements,2 child and family services, fostering community connections and social participation opportunities. 2 For example, low levels of income support provided to people seeking asylum and those who hold Bridging visas has been found to lead to poverty and destitution (see van Kooy & Hirsch, 2022). Building a New Life in Australia 7 

Households and families

Economic participation choices are rarely made by refugees in isolation. For instance, our analysis suggests that choice of residential location for refugee families is important: women may fare better in regional labour markets. Men in the BNLA who moved either alone or with their families to a new residential location in the previous 12 months were 31% more likely to transition to a job in the following year, compared to those who did not move. 

The negotiation of roles within couples and the distribution of household and caring responsibilities are additional factors that shape refugees’ economic participation trajectories (Kikulwe et al., 2021; Minor & Cameo, 2018). The presence of young children and other adults in the household can have different impacts on the caregiving tasks and economic participation of women and men (Çarpar & Göktuna Yaylaci, 2022; Fendel & Kosyakova, 2023). In the BNLA study, women in couple relationships with children under 5 were 116% less likely to be employed compared to men in the same situation. While relationships between location, family structure, household composition, resources and opportunities are difficult to disentangle, they do highlight that family dynamics need to be understood when considering economic outcomes. 

Factors our research shows are likely to shape labour force outcomes include English language proficiency (including individual language skills and that of the partner), cultural and gender norms in the society of origin,3 the demands on couples when one or both members have significant health or mental health challenges related to their experiences of forced displacement, the variable language skills of multiple family members, and the family demands of having one or more dependent children (or other adults) transitioning to a new society. 

While the BNLA study enabled discussion of these important themes, several issues require deeper exploration. These include the need to analyse refugees’ earnings from paid work (and income adequacy), employee job satisfaction and relationships with employers, experiences with higher education and vocational education programs, the role of ‘word of mouth’ and social media for job seeking, and detailed analysis of the economic participation of different family and household types (such as single-parent families, group households of unpartnered individuals, grandparents as informal carers, etc.). Future research should leverage insights from cohort studies such as BNLA and the emerging opportunities of data linkage to examine these issues.