Based on the successful ‘Migration Update’ annual conference in Adelaide supported by the Dunstan Foundation, the Mobilities and Belonging research group at UWA will host the inaugural WA Migration and Mobilities Update focused on Western Australian issues around migration and internal mobility. The event will be dedicated to the late Professor Graeme Hugo, one of the leading figures in Australian migration studies. Linked to the In The Zone initiative, this conference applies academic expertise to policy questions through a unique dialogue approach involving policy makers, academics, service providers and community.

The conference will provide an update of current research in Western Australia and beyond. The conference will serve as a site where research-based knowledge, policy and service delivery capability and local experience are brought together to respond to migration-related social transformations.
The conference is an initiative of the Mobilities and Belonging research group at UWA, in collaboration with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (WA), and the Office of Multicultural Interests, and the Department of Social Services.

Topics covered will include:

• Labour migration (Temporary work migration; Fly in Fly Out; Regional movements)
• Contemporary social issues and migration (Aged Care; Education; Health; Integration; International students; the value of diversity for regional competitiveness; economic/cultural value of community languages)
• Refugee settlement
• Migration issues In The Zone (focus on India, China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia)
• (re)Creating the nation (Border protection; Visa issues; Citizenship; social cohesion/resilience; belonging and temporary migrants)