Centre for Refugee Employment, Advocacy, Training and Education

CREATE is an award-winning research centre that helps people from a refugee background rebuild their careers through access to education and meaningful employment. We support over 300 highly skilled migrants through world-leading research programs.

We develop research-based practical solutions to support refugees, with an aim to:

• aid in the growth of economic and social capital
• create less reliance on social welfare
• increase consumption of goods
• decrease mental health issues
• promote feelings of inclusion and belonging.

Our programs are supported by likeminded philanthropic partners and collaborators.

We offer a range of initiatives to help young people from a refugee background in Australia. Some of the support we offer includes career clinics, and resources and factsheets.

We want to provide access to higher education for students from refugee backgrounds. To reduce the cost of study, we have scholarship opportunities for both undergraduate and postgraduate study.

Our world-leading researchers come from diverse scholarship backgrounds and are universally committed to improving access to education and meaningful employment for refugees in Australia.

Dr Karen Dunwoodie, director, researches career development and adaptability for people from refugee backgrounds as well as the impact access to tertiary education and training has re-establishment of livelihoods.

Professor Lucy Taksa, deputy director, researches labour force participation and employment of humanitarian migrants, and the demographic and social dimensions of migrant ageing and wellbeing in Australia.

Bismillah (Bis) Hakimi, research assistant, is currently working part-time at Deakin CREATE while studying a Master of Business Analytics at Deakin. He holds a Bachelor of Business with a specialisation in accounting and financial planning.

Professor Shiri Krebs (she/her), is a Professor of Law at Deakin University who has published on the impact of human rights discourse on support for displaced persons.

Professor Marilyn McMahon, is Acting Dean at Deakin Law School and a registered psychologist. Her scholarship and publications are primarily in the areas of criminal law and procedure. She is Chair of the Sentencing Advisory Council and serves on several independent statutory bodies.

Dr Tebeje Molla is a Discovery Early Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellow, leading a nationally funded project exploring higher education participation among African Australian youth from refugee backgrounds.

Dr Amy Nethery is a senior lecturer in politics and policy researching the development and impact of asylum policies in Australia and Asia, in particular, immigration detention, its history, diffusion, and human impact.

Associate Professor Tania Penovic served for a decade as a deputy director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law and has worked as a volunteer lawyer in the refugee sector in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Dr Kim Robinson is a social work researcher with three decades of expertise working with asylum seekers and refugees and advocating for ethical work with them in health and social work settings.