About Us
We accompany, serve and advocate for the rights, dignity and agency and of people on the move.
Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia.
At JRS Australia, each year we walk alongside over 3,400 people through some of the toughest times, as they find safety, rebuild their lives and find a permanent home in our community.
Based in Western Sydney, we provide practical support, create opportunities for connection and participation, and advocate for the rights of people who have been forcibly displaced.
We also work with schools, parishes, organisations and communities across Australia to build a more welcoming and inclusive Australia.
Inspired by the love and example of Jesus Christ, we are a part of a Catholic organisation of 57 JRS offices around the world, and we are a social ministry of the Australian Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). Read more about Our History here.
Our vision
A society in which the dignity and agency of refugees, people seeking asylum, and all forcibly displaced people are affirmed and promoted.
We want to see a welcoming Australia where people seeking safety can participate in community life, exercise their rights, contribute their skills and talents, and have a real say in decisions that affect them.
Our Strategy
Our work is guided by the JRS Australia Strategic Plan 2026–2029, which brings together our four priorities: policy, advocacy and communications; accompaniment and service; financial sustainability; and governance and management.
These priorities help us respond to the needs of the people we accompany while strengthening our capacity to advocate for change and build a more welcoming Australia.
Our Way: Accompaniment, Service and Advocacy.
Everyone deserves to live with dignity, feel safe and have the opportunity to shape their own future. Yet for many refugees and people seeking asylum, uncertainty, exclusion and barriers to basic support can make this journey incredibly difficult.
These three commitments guide how JRS tackles these challenges, all over the world. For over 40 years, they have shaped the way we work, the relationships we build and the way we create long-lasting change for people on the move.
Accompany
Accompaniment means being present, listening and building relationships that last. It means standing alongside people through uncertainty and difficult times, recognising their strengths, respecting their choices, and supporting their agency.
We work with, for, and alongside, people as they navigate the challenge of settling in a new country, guided by their experiences, needs and hopes for the future.
Accompaniment comes from knowing we are bound together by our shared humanity. Our lives and stories are intertwined, and through walking alongside one another, we build solidarity and pursue peace as one community.
Learn more about our story here.
Serve
Through our services and community programs, we walk alongside refugees and people seeking asylum as they navigate challenges, build on their strengths and shape their own futures.
Our work responds to immediate needs while creating opportunities for people to exercise agency, develop their skills and lead their participation in community life.
We provide practical support by helping families put food on the table, access help in a crisis, navigate complex systems, and connect with essential services. We also support people to build skills, find employment, connect with others and grow in confidence.
Learn more about our Programs and Services here.
Advocate
People with lived experience of displacement have knowledge, expertise and perspectives that must shape the decisions affecting their lives.
We work alongside refugee leaders and community partners to bring those voices into public conversations, support decisionmakers to make wise and just choices, and advocate for policies that uphold human rights and dignity.
We also encourage the wider Australian community to take action, challenge exclusion and help build a fairer, more welcoming society.
Learn more about our advocacy here.
Cura Personalis
At the heart of JRS is a commitment to each person: to their dignity, their story, their hopes and their place in the world.
In the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, which means care for the whole person, we believe that every person is worthy of care, respect and love.
In serving one another and recognising our shared humanity, we grow in solidarity, deepen our connection with God, and help build communities where everyone can find welcome, peace and belonging.
Our Impact: A Welcoming Community
JRS Australia is a home for people who believe in the dignity of every person and the power of walking alongside one another, especially those who may have nowhere else to go.
Together, we open our doors to those most in need of safety and support.
This is made possible by the people we accompany, refugee leaders, staff, volunteers, donors, schools, parishes and partners who put their faith into action and build shared future where everyone can belong. Every year, we make a real difference in the lives of people in our local community.
Read our latest Annual Report here to learn more.
150+ families each week
accessed essential groceries and household items through our Foodbank.
144 skilled individuals
joined our Employment Program, securing paid work to support their families, learning digital literacy, or engaging in training.
180 brave women
took a step closer to safety for themselves and their children at our Women’s Space.
9,487 community members
hosted school and community workshops, actions and events alongside Refugee Leaders advocating for change.
1,742 temporary migrants
provided with Opal Cards for discounted public transport and engagement in community programs.
522 people in crisis
supported through specialist casework, including homelessness relief, healthcare, mental health support, legal referrals and emergency assistance.
We are part of a Global Movement
JRS Australia is a member of the international Jesuit Refugee Service network, which accompanies, serves and advocates alongside refugees and other forcibly displaced people around the world.
Grounded in the Jesuit charism and inspired by the Gospel call to justice and compassion, we share a commitment to standing alongside people whose dignity has been overlooked or denied.
Here in Australia, we tailor our work to the needs of people seeking asylum and people on temporary visas, who navigate incredibly difficult circumstances, without any safety nets. We work in solidarity with communities and decisionmakers, calling our society towards greater hospitality, particularly for people facing homelessness, food insecurity, and prolonged uncertainty.
That’s why we need your help more than ever.
Join the JRS Family
A welcoming community is something we create together.
Whether you’re a person with lived experience, a student, teacher, parishioner, volunteer, organisation or individual supporter, there are many ways to stand alongside people seeking safety and help build a more inclusive Australia.
