The Housing Resettlement Experience of Refugee Immigrants to Australia

There is relatively little research into the housing experience of refugee immigrants to Australia as a category or into variations in their housing careers according to cultural backgrounds. To address this issue, data from the 1999/2000 Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia, the most recent available survey to include refugee immigrants, are used to examine the housing and related circumstances of the nine largest groups of refugees during their first 18 months of resettlement. Most resettled into the private rental market and were satisfied with their housing situation. Statistical analysis suggests that differences in individual characteristics rather than cultural backgrounds are for most groups the major cause of variations in housing experience.