Specialised and Intensive Services (SIS) 005-05010000

The Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP) provides SIS to humanitarian entrants and other eligible visa holders who have complex needs.

SIS offers clients short-term needs-based support to help them access appropriate mainstream services and develop the necessary skills to manage their needs independently.

SIS are delivered by HSP service providers on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs to people who demonstrate an inability to independently engage with appropriate supports and are impacted by multiple or complex barriers that may include:

• Disability
• Health needs that are severe, critical, long term and/or unmanaged
• Mental health issues
• Homelessness or housing instability
• Family and domestic violence
• Child and youth welfare concerns
• Family and/or relationship breakdown
• Social isolation
• Financial hardship
• Legal issues

Subject to the approval of the Department of Home Affairs, people holding one of the following visas may be eligible to receive SIS under the HSP:

• Refugee (subclass 200, 201, 203 and 204) visa
• Global Special Humanitarian (subclass 202) visa
• Protection (subclass 866) visa
• Temporary Protection (subclass 785), Temporary Humanitarian Concern (subclass 786), Temporary Humanitarian Stay (subclass 449), and Safe Haven Enterprise (subclass 790) visas

Holders of these visas may be eligible for SIS for up to 5 years after their arrival in Australia or up to 5 years after the grant of their onshore visa. In exceptional circumstances, flexibility may be shown to this timeframe and holders of other visa subclasses. Australian Citizens are not eligible for SIS.

Any organisation or individual can refer a person for SIS, including self-referral.

Services Australia staff interact with refugee and humanitarian customers daily, and are well-positioned to identify where a person may be encountering complex settlement needs and may benefit from referral to SIS.

After the referral is submitted, the Department of Home Affairs will assess the eligibility of the person/s referred and notify the referrer of the outcome. If the person/s meets eligibility criteria, the Department of Home Affairs will engage a HSP service provider to deliver SIS.