School of Social Sciences
La Trobe Refugee Research Centre (LaRRC) - Overview
LaRRC’s research contributes to improving access to health and social services for refugee communities and informing strategies for promoting participation and social inclusion in Australian society.
Established in December 2003, LaRRC builds public awareness and contributes to community debate about issues relating to refugee health and settlement both in Australia and globally.
LaRRC began as a partnership with the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture. In January 2007, LaRRC broadened its partnerships, moving from the Faculty of Health Sciences to become part of the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University. This move, along with the more recent change in name from Refugee Health Research Centre (RHRC), are a reflection of our recognition of the need to take account of the broader socio-political and global contexts of forced migration. LaRRC is also a core affiliate of the recently established Institute for Human Security at La Trobe University. These new developments have enabled innovative research collaborations with social scientists from a range of disciplines including history, law, sociology, anthropology, politics, geography, and development studies. A key focus across all the research is actively including people with refugee backgrounds in the work of LaRRC both as academics, researchers, students and advisors.
LaRRC’s current research focuses on three key areas:
- Refugee diasporas – identity, belonging and citizenship
- Refugee protection – seeking asylum , government responses to asylum flows
- Social determinants of settlement and wellbeing – social inclusion, social participation and access to health and social services
LaRRC also contributes to teaching in the undergraduate and postgraduate programs at La Trobe, as well as professional development through seminars and conferences.
LaRRC staff are based at the School of Social Sciences at La Trobe University in Bundoora (Melbourne), and at the Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT) in Brisbane. See our Staff Directory for more information and contact details.
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