As a small statewide organisation, STARTTS has faced an ongoing challenge in providing services to refugees across New South Wales. We have experimented with a variety of ways to address this issue, and have that the most effective way of reaching refugees in areas outside south-western Sydney involves a combination of approaches. One is having STARTTS counsellors working on a sessional basis from community health centres. The other involves training and supporting health and welfare professionals in other area health services to work with refugees. This has been facilitated by establishing partnerships with area health services in the form of service provision agreements.

STARTTS’ outreach strategy has acquired further impetus with the development of STARTTS’ Early Intervention Program. Their services are offered to all newly arrived humanitarian entrants in NSW and it is important for them to be able to access the services in the areas where they reside.

At present, direct services are being provided from 11 different locations in Sydney and two more in Wollongong and Newcastle. The place of residence of our clients has changed since STARTTS’ early days in 1988. A considerable proportion of our clients now live outside south-western Sydney.

The ultimate aim of STARTTS’ outreach strategy is to ensure that people who need specialised torture and trauma services are able to access these services regardless of where they live. We are getting closer to that goal but the greatest obstacle is to find effective ways to address the needs of small populations of refugees living in rural areas. We are currently considering various ways to meet the needs of these groups.