Australia

New migrants and refugees often have a hard time getting into the Australian workforce.

There are a number of well-documented reasons for this, but new research suggests a lack of social capital is emerging as an important factor.

Social capital might be described as who you know, not necessarily what you know.

Andrew Bolton reports.

Source: World News Australia

• Australia

The sex industry is pushing for changes to Australia's immigration system to give migrant sex workers the same visa rights as other professions and trades. And an independent UN expert on trafficking has arrived in Australia to look at the situation for victims and to discuss this country's anti-trafficking measures.

Nigerian human rights lawyer Joy Ezeilo has been meeting with Asian women employed in several brothels in Sydney she'll also consult government and NGOs.

• Trafficking / Smuggling
• Women Migrant Workers

• Australia

The White Australia policy was abolished in the early 1970s and today we would be horrified at the thought of reverting to a system which discriminated against migrants on the basis of skin colour. But what about disability? Australia's migration program still makes blanket judgements about people with a disability and rejects them out of hand, without any consideration of their potential contribution to the nation. The policy's logic is simple: disabilities will cost the Australian state through the provision of specialised services and health care.

• Australia

Since 1945 seven million people have migrated to Australia - so what has been the underlying immigration policy - then and now? How is it decided which migrants we take? Trevor Chappell discussed this with Professor Fethi Mansouri, Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University

• Migration Management / Policies

• Australia