Policies

Community Visitor Guidelines

Community Visitor Guidelines

Blue Mountain Refugee Support Group Inc (BMRSG)

Part 1 – Introductory Summary

Visitors can find themselves doing a number of things: delivering food; problem-solving; helping with form filling / bureaucracy: advocacy and organising furniture or appointments.

Visitor’s role

Together with existing providers, to assist and empower asylum seekers and refugees to settle in the community.

Qualities Needed

  • Able to work independently and sensitively, in a cross-cultural context
  • Have an understanding of the issues asylum seekers encounter
  • Be friendly, supportive and caring, but fostering independence
  • Display a positive, non-discriminatory and non-judgmental attitude
  • Be responsible, flexible and reliable

To become a visitor you need to:

  • Be a financial member of BMRSG
  • Complete a Working with Children Check and lodge this with BMRSG
  • Be prepared to drive or travel regularly to Western Sydney
  • Have an initial meeting with an experienced community visitor to discuss expectations of the role. This would include consultation on the cultural differences, manners and expectations of various households and groups, as well as what is considered acceptable conduct and dress.
  • Make an initial visit /assessment alongside an experienced community visitor. A checklist is available for this purpose. Collect information slowly and sensitively.

Full guidelines for the role are available in a separate document to be given to the intending visitor on making contact.

 

Authorized by the BMRSG Management Committee  September 2015

Villawood Visits

  • All BMRSG Villawood visitors must be financial members of the BMRSG.
  • Complete the a Working with Children Check” by going to the New Working With Children Check website if you do not already have a Working With Children Check number.

New Members seeking to visit refugees or asylum seekers in Villawood Detention Centre for the first time should first spend time with an experienced visitor to acquaint themselves with:

    • The rules and regulations associated with visiting asylum seekers and refugees in the various sections of Villawood Detention Centre.
    • Identification requirements need to gain entry such as a driver’s licence.
    • Completion of the Visitor Application Form.
    • What foods or other items they may be take into the Centre.
    • What is considered acceptable conduct and dress.
    • Cultural differences, manners and expectations of the various asylum seekers and refugees.

New visitors should be accompanied by an experienced visitor on their first visits.

Adopted by Management Committee 11 November, 2013.

Privacy Policy

BMRSG Confidentiality and Privacy Policy

 

DOWNLOAD: BMRSG Confidentiality and Privacy Policy 2019

Your Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find, we make it available on our homepage and at every point where personally identifiable information may be requested.

Collection of Personal Information

When visiting Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group, the IP address used to access the site will be logged along with the dates and times of access. This information is purely used to analyze trends, administer the site, track users movement and gather broad demographic information for internal use. Most importantly, any recorded IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Links to third party Websites

We have included links on this site for your use and reference. We are not responsible for the privacy policies on these websites. You should be aware that the privacy policies of these sites may differ from our own.

Changes to this Privacy Statement

The contents of this statement may be altered at any time, at our discretion.

If you have any questions regarding the privacy policy of Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group then you may contact us at secretary@bmrsg.org.au