Investigating the Role of Perceived Discrimination on Humanitarian Migrants’ Economic Settlement in Australia: A Longitudinal Study

Santosh Jatrana, James Cook University

This study uses multiple rounds of the Building a New Life in Australia panel and the Ecosystems Model of Refugee Resettlement to investigate how discrimination impacts the economic integration of humanitarian migrants in Australia. The outcomes measured were labour force participation and employment status, with perceived discrimination serving as the main exposure variable. Discrimination was assessed using the question: “In the last 12 months, have you been discriminated against, stopped from doing something, or been made to feel inferior because of your ethnicity, religion, or skin colour?” and was categorized as ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The findings indicate that perceived discrimination significantly affects economic outcomes. Those who reported discrimination were 1.7 times more likely to be out of the labour force (95% CI 1.21, 2.4) and 1.6 times more likely to be unemployed (95% CI 1.08, 2.44) compared to those who did not experience discrimination, after adjusting for confounders. Additionally, gender and age were significant predictors of both labour force participation and employment status. This study underscores the critical role perceived discrimination plays in hindering the economic integration of humanitarian migrants, highlighting the need for policies that address discrimination to improve resettlement outcomes.

Keywords: Migrant Populations and Refugees, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Longitudinal studies

See extended abstract.