What We Do

Programs that open doors

Culturally responsive support that helps people find work, learn with confidence, and build stronger futures.

Employment Brokers participants, students and staff gathered for a group photo in front of SWDA banners
Women attending an Employment Brokers information session
Young jobseekers listening to an Employment Brokers workshop presenter
SWDA Employment Brokers team beside program banners
Participants at a monthly Employment Brokers workshop

Employment & Careers

VACAP Employment Brokers Program

Empowering African Australian jobseekers through employment pathways, skills development, and personalised support.

SWDA’s VACAP Employment Brokers Program provides culturally responsive employment support to help African Australian jobseekers overcome barriers, build confidence, develop skills, and connect with meaningful career opportunities.

  • Individual employment planning and one-to-one coaching
  • Resume writing, applications and interview preparation
  • Training and accredited pathway referrals
  • Employer connections and job placement support
  • Ongoing mentoring for sustainable employment outcomes

Supporting refugees, migrants, young people, women, skilled professionals and jobseekers to navigate the Australian employment system and achieve their career goals.

Explore Employment Brokers

Women attending an SWDA Employment Brokers workshop, sharing a meal beside SWDA banners
Young jobseekers taking part in an Employment Brokers workshop discussion
Young men in conversation during an Employment Brokers workshop session
Participants at a monthly Employment Brokers workshop
Employment Brokers workshop presenter with participants

Skills & Training

Employment Brokers Workshops

Building skills, confidence, and employment opportunities through practical, culturally responsive workshops.

SWDA’s Employment Brokers Workshops equip African Australian jobseekers with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to succeed in the Australian workforce.

  • Career planning and goal setting
  • Resume writing and job applications
  • Interview preparation and workplace readiness
  • Digital job search skills
  • Connections to training and employment opportunities

See workshop details

Enrol in the next workshop

Fill in the form below and our team will confirm your place.

SWDA Homework Club students, tutors and staff together beside the Educational Support Homework Club tutoring banner
Homework Club students studying on laptops with a tutor at SWDA
SWDA Homework Club tutors and volunteers at an information session
Students receiving tutoring at the SWDA Homework Club
School supplies prepared for Homework Club students

Education & Youth

Educational Support — Homework Club

Supporting children and young people to succeed through learning, mentoring, and educational pathways since 2007.

SWDA’s Homework Club provides a safe and inclusive learning environment for primary and secondary students, offering homework assistance, literacy and numeracy support, study skills development, and encouragement to build confidence and achieve their educational goals.

  • Weekly homework and tutoring sessions
  • Literacy, numeracy and study skills development
  • Mentoring and university student placements
  • School supplies and family engagement support

See all programs

SWDA Social Work Unit supporting a community member and family

Practical & Family Support

SWDA Social Work Unit

Housing, Government, Document and Family Support

The SWDA Social Work Unit provides practical and supportive assistance to individuals and families to help them access essential services, understand government processes and navigate personal, family and community matters.

We support community members with housing, Centrelink, citizenship applications and practice tests, passport applications and renewals, forms and other important documents, as well as social work support, advocacy, information and referrals to appropriate services.

Our aim is to make these processes easier to understand and access, particularly for people who may experience language, cultural, digital or other barriers. We work alongside individuals and families in a respectful, confidential and supportive way.

Our Social Work Unit can assist with:

  • Housing enquiries, applications and advocacy
  • Centrelink and government services
  • Citizenship applications and practice tests
  • Passport applications and renewals
  • Forms, applications and other documents
  • Family and individual support
  • Social work information, advocacy and referrals
  • Connections to appropriate community and specialist services

Make a booking

Family & Education

SWDA Social Work Unit

Family Engagement and Student Support

The SWDA Social Work Unit works closely with students and their families to support learning, wellbeing and positive engagement in the school environment.

We liaise with parents, schools, teachers and other relevant services to understand students’ needs, identify barriers that may affect their learning or participation, and provide practical support.

We also assist families to communicate with schools, understand available support and stay actively involved in their children’s education. Where appropriate, we provide information, advocacy and referrals to relevant services.

Through this work, SWDA aims to strengthen the relationship between students, families and schools, helping students feel supported, included and confident in their learning and personal development.

Make a booking

Make a Booking — Enrolment Form

Complete this form and our Social Work Unit will contact you about your booking. Your information will be treated respectfully and confidentially.

Phone: 03 8596 7651
Email: admin@swdai.org.au

Safety & Wellbeing

Family Violence Support

Supporting individuals and families affected by family violence through safe, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed services.

SWDA provides confidential support, information, advocacy, safety planning, referrals, and practical assistance to help people experiencing family violence access support, understand their rights, and move towards safety, healing, and wellbeing.

  • Confidential support and safety planning
  • Advocacy, information and specialist referrals
  • One-on-one and group support sessions
  • Community education and awareness
  • Cultural understanding and trauma-informed care

We work alongside individuals and families with compassion, respect, and cultural understanding to create safer pathways and stronger futures.

Get support

A support worker comforting a woman experiencing distress
A confidential one-on-one family violence support session with an SWDA case worker
SWDA social work team meeting with a client in the Kensington office
Have you checked in on your health? A health check banner with a doctor and patient
SWDA Family Violence Awareness poster — Safe families, strong communities, brighter futures, with support service phone numbers

Information & Awareness

Family Violence Information & Awareness

Raising awareness and promoting safe, respectful, and healthy relationships in our communities.

Family violence affects individuals, families, and communities across all cultures and backgrounds. Raising awareness is essential to promoting safety, respect, and healthy relationships. Everyone has the right to live free from violence, fear, and abuse.

  • Community awareness and education
  • Understanding rights and support options
  • Promoting safety, respect, and healthy relationships
  • Early intervention and prevention
  • Connecting people with specialist services

Need support? Call 03 8596 7651 — Somali Women's Development Association Inc.

Learn more

Health & Wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing Support

Supporting young people and families through culturally responsive mental health services, wellbeing support, and connection to care.

SWDA provides person-centred support to help youth and families strengthen their emotional wellbeing, build resilience, manage life challenges, and access appropriate services. Through a culturally safe and trauma-informed approach, we support individuals and families to feel heard, connected, and empowered on their wellbeing journey.

  • Free, confidential counselling and emotional support
  • One-on-one and group-based wellbeing sessions
  • Culturally safe and trauma-informed care
  • Connection to specialist mental health services
  • Community awareness and mental health promotion

Explore mental health support

SWDA Mental Health and Wellbeing poster — Take care of your mental health, you matter. Free counselling services, one-on-one counselling and weekly group sessions. Ph 0385967651, admin@swdai.org.au, 15 Stubbs St Kensington
A culturally safe one-on-one mental health counselling session at the SWDA office

How We Help

Culturally responsive, person-centred support for every stage of life.

SWDA supports individuals, young people, families, older adults, and communities through culturally responsive, person-centred, and trauma-informed programs that promote wellbeing, inclusion, empowerment, and social connection.

We work alongside people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, including children, young people, women, families, older people, and people with disability, by providing practical support, advocacy, information, and pathways to opportunities.

Make a difference

SWDA staff and volunteers in high-visibility vests beside COVID-19 health promotion and Homework Club tutoring banners

Our Core Services

Practical support, advocacy, and pathways to opportunity.

  • Settlement and Community Support — information, essential services and community connections that build stability and belonging.
  • Educational Support – Homework Club — learning assistance, mentoring and positive educational pathways.
  • Employment Support and Pathways — career planning, skills development, training and job connections.
  • Mental Health and Wellbeing Support — culturally safe support, information and referrals.
  • Family Violence Support — confidential support, advocacy, safety planning and referrals.
  • Emergency Food Security — food relief and practical support during hardship.
  • Housing Advocacy and Support — help to navigate housing challenges and connect with services.
  • Community Engagement and Events — connection, participation, leadership and social inclusion.

For more than 20 years, SWDA has been committed to creating safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces where individuals and families can access support, build confidence, strengthen connections, and achieve their goals.

Emergency Food Security Relief

Food relief and practical support for families experiencing hardship.

Providing emergency food relief and practical support to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity and financial hardship.

SWDA's Emergency Food Security Program provides culturally responsive food relief, essential groceries, and referrals to support services, helping people meet their immediate needs while connecting them with pathways to long-term wellbeing, stability, and community support.

Partnerships

Partner with SWDA to create pathways in employment, education and community wellbeing.

SWDA builds practical, long-term partnerships with employers, government, philanthropy, corporate organisations and community services to deliver outcomes that are trusted, measurable and community-led.

Employer Partnerships

SWDA prepares African Australian jobseekers to enter the workforce with the right certifications, skills and confidence — and we match them to employers who are ready to hire. Our candidates come to you job-ready, pre-screened and supported.

Whether you are recruiting in security, disability support, aged care, logistics, hospitality, administration or community services, SWDA’s Employment Brokers can find, prepare and place the right candidate for your role.

Become an Employer Partner

Government & Philanthropic Partnerships

Supporting impactful programs that create real pathways in education, employment and community participation.

For over 21 years, SWDA has delivered on the ground what policy promises on paper — employment pathways, education support, housing advocacy, family violence response and community wellbeing for African Victorian families who face the greatest barriers to participation.

A partnership with SWDA is an investment in outcomes that are measurable, sustainable and community-owned. Whether through program co-funding, grant support or strategic collaboration, your investment reaches the families and individuals who need it most — and stays in the community long after the funding period ends.

Discuss a Partnership

Corporate Partnerships

SWDA offers corporate partners a genuine and meaningful way to embed social impact into their business — not through a donation form but through a real relationship.

Sponsor the Homework Club. Fund a cohort of jobseekers through the Employment Brokers Program. Provide in-kind professional services in legal, financial, IT or health. Send your team to volunteer at our Kensington or Flemington offices.

SWDA will work with you to design a partnership that aligns with your corporate social responsibility commitments and delivers outcomes you can report on with pride.

Partner with SWDA

Community Organisation Partnerships

SWDA actively builds referral and collaboration partnerships with neighbourhood houses, community health services, legal aid providers, settlement agencies, schools, early childhood services and other community organisations across Melbourne’s inner north-west and broader Victoria.

If your organisation serves Somali, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Djiboutian, Kenyan, Sudanese or South Sudanese community members — or any African Australian family — we want to know you. Warm referrals flow both ways, and together we achieve outcomes neither of us can achieve alone.

Connect with SWDA

Why Partner with SWDA?

For more than two decades, SWDA has delivered culturally responsive programs grounded in trust, lived experience and practical results for families across Victoria.

21 yearsof continuous trusted service in Kensington and Flemington
10,000+individuals and families supported across SWDA programs
6,000+housing relocations assisted, including North Melbourne and Flemington high rise residents
9 languagesincluding English, Somali, Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo, Swahili, Dinka and Nuer
20+ programscovering employment, education, housing, family violence, food relief, counselling and more
Government backedincluding Victorian Government supported initiatives and Neighbourhood Houses Victoria connections

Employment Brokers Workshops

Jobseeker workshops that build confidence and readiness.

The Employment Brokers Workshops were highly successful, with positive feedback from jobseekers who attended. Participants highlighted that the workshops provided valuable information, practical support and increased confidence in their employment journey.

Employment Brokers Workshops — Jobseeker Feedback

Overall, the workshops created a supportive environment where jobseekers gained practical skills, increased confidence and received guidance to improve their readiness for employment opportunities.

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