Multi-level Migration and Multiculturalism Governance Meets Migrant and Refugee Agency in Regional Australian Towns

A range of federal, state, and local policies in Australia have encouraged migration to, and settlement in, regional towns and cities over the past decades, with local initiatives such as multi- and intercultural policies developed to better accommodate increasingly diverse populations. Despite these initiatives and increasing research, important questions related to non-metropolitan migration often remain overlooked in the context of competing policy agendas. What are the risks of reducing (regional) migration policies to labour market instruments? What can migrants’ experiences of regional settlement tell us about the limitations of current regional refugee settlement as population policies? And finally, what if ‘successful settlement’ is not understood as staying in one place but as a realisation of migrants’ and refugees’ settlement needs and aspirations? The chapter will discuss these questions, drawing on policy analysis and qualitative interviews with migrants, former refugees, and various local stakeholders in regional Victoria.