Partnerships

M.A.T.C.H has significant expertise in the area of intensive tenancy management. The organisation has established strong partnerships with a large number of community based organisations and government bodies who regularly refer and seek assistance from M.A.T.C.H for their client base. Due to the ever increasing demand for service M.A.T.C.H has long recognised the need to formalise some of these partnerships in order to ensure tenants are given the greatest opportunity for success in their tenancy, breaking the cycle of homeless and downward pressure on limited Community Housing resources.

M.A.T.C.H has established Memorandums of Understanding with a number of locally based support services including crisis accommodation services, community centres, mental health services, and youth and family services. The aim of these agreements are to ensure appropriate referral, ongoing communication around specific tenancies, ongoing commitment for provision of support, and establishing protocols surrounding tenancies at risk. The services engaged in the consortium have long been partners in the provision of support to many tenants housed by M.A.T.C.H.

Partnership/Consortia arrangements on the IHSS contract with QPASTT & MDA. MDA are the lead agency on this contract providing the settlement services to recently arrived refugees, M.A.T.C.H provides long term housing assistance and QPASTT provides complex health and Torture & Trauma services. This is a new partnership for M.A.T.C.H not having worked officially with either organisation before.

The Consortium represents a group of highly skilled and experienced practitioners in the field of refugee settlement. The service model proposed by the Consortium has been developed taking into account the years of experience of Consortium members, the IHSS Principles and the outcomes of the Settlement Services Review 2002-2003, the Evaluation of the IHSS 2002-2003 and consultations undertaken by DIMA in 2004.

In doing so, the proposed new service model will better meet the needs of Entrants by:

1. Strengthening the coordination of IHSS service delivery to Entrants in the Brisbane region through the use of one Consortium of service providers.
2. Minimising the segmentation of services and reducing disruption to the smooth settlement process for Entrants.
3. Clearly articulating and monitoring the individual needs of Entrant families through the implementation of Case Coordination Plans.
4. Supporting service practice by using skilled, experienced and professional staff.
5. Strengthening the processes for identifying and responding to the needs of Proposers and their Entrants.
6. Integrating volunteer contribution to the settlement of Entrants at a local level, and providing support and development of volunteers through a comprehensive volunteer management framework.
7. Developing the capacity of Entrants and refugee communities to rebuild their lives and fostering understanding of refugee needs in the Australian community.