Indian sub-continent (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) migration to Australia started in the late sixties with professionals such as doctors, teachers and engineers being the first skilled migrants to arrive in Australia. Over the last couple of decades, the number of Indian sub-continent Australians has increased manifold, and it is estimated that about 5,00,000 people of Indian sub-continent origin now call Australia their home.
It is estimated that two-thirds or about 300,000 Indian sub-continent people live in New South Wales, with a sizable presence in Western Sydney and its surrounding suburbs. Consequently, with the growing numbers, the community issues have become more complex. Efforts have been made by several Indian subcontinent organisations in NSW for over five decades to create institutions to address such issues. While several organisations provided the community with a lot of support, the outcome was far from satisfactory. Therefore, a strong need was felt to create a physical office that would act as a focal point of contact, and the proposed services could be delivered from such a location.
A formal decision was made to make the Center an independent organisation and create a separate identity.
Thanks to the NSW Government, a funding proposal was approved, and a formal launch of the Center took place on 13th March 2015 through a brief launch function at the Allan Ezzy Centre in Pemulwuy, NSW.
Minister Victor Dominello, the then Minister for Citizenship and Communities, launched the Center, and the grant cheque was presented by Mr Andrew Rohan, the then Member of the NSW Parliament from Smithfield.
The Indian sub-continent community is grateful to the NSW Government for supporting the community in this strategic project that is expected to have a long-lasting impact on the Indian sub-continent community of NSW.
It was perceived that such an organisation would be ideal for providing services to all people of Indian subcontinent origin. Keeping these above issues in mind, the Indian Support Center was conceptualised and was born in March 2015.
The Mission of the Indian Support Center is to ensure that every single issue, with a primary focus on Harm Prevention in day-to-day life, facing the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan) migrants settling/settled in Australia is addressed in the best possible manner and results in a positive transformation in their lives.
The VISION of the Indian Support Center is to transform the lives of people from the Indian sub-continent (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) setting in Australia by making a valuable contribution to their adopted country and live a happy life.