A remarkable student placement program is supporting social work and community services students take up vital roles in the settlement sector.

Over the past few years, settlement agency AMES’ teams in South Australia and Victoria have welcomed dozens of social work and community services students undertaking their work placements.

Over 2025-2026, the teams supported 25 student placements. These placements have become an important part of the team’s culture, creating valuable learning opportunities for students while also enriching the work of our staff and broader program delivery. They have also led to employment pathways at AMES for some of the students with five actively employed in the HSP Teams across South Australia and Victoria.

In South Australia, dedicated senior case managers and team leaders, including Adrian Bok, Raheleh Dara, Jason Han, Sonal Kaur Panesar, Tavga Siyani and Nicholas Goh, have invested significant time and expertise in mentoring students throughout their placement journey.

In Victoria, senior case managers and team leaders Leslie Ruiz, Ruby Partland, Chittesha Sharma, Lee Antic, Brittany Cunningham and Lachie Rigg, Jawad Naqvi, Nirma Gooljar-Pusram, Rahwa Samson, Hanan Shammas, Bibek Bhattarai, Myolie Trang Nguyen and Parkeet Kaur have mentored the students.

AMES Manager Operations and Practice Tavga Siyani said that “through hands-on learning experiences, students gain practical skills in case management, stakeholder engagement, client advocacy, service coordination, and capacity building, while also developing a deeper understanding of humanitarian settlement services”.

One of the most inspiring examples of a successful placement journey is Nani Baharum. Nani first joined AMES as a social work student completing her final-year placement. Her commitment to learning, strong work ethic, and dedication to supporting clients quickly stood out.

Following her placement, she successfully joined AMES as a Case Manager, progressed to Senior Case Manager, and later became a Team Leader. Her journey demonstrates how placements can provide a pathway into meaningful careers while strengthening the organisation with talented and passionate professionals.

One student Anastasiia, who had previously been supported by HSP SA team as a client before returning to AMES to complete her community services placement, spoke of her  journey.

“My internship at AMES was incredibly rewarding. The team feels like a family, diverse, open, and caring. As a former client of AMES, I already had a basic understanding of how the organisation works, but during my placement, Nicholas guided me through every stage and showed me how everything operates from the inside. I learned to conduct client assessments, formal reviews, and collaborate with service providers. He taught me how to stay calm and organised while managing multiple tasks, setting clear and focused priorities,” Anastasiia said.

“I’ve had short but meaningful conversations with different colleagues about their experiences, religion, food, and cultural differences. These moments were very interesting and taught me a lot about understanding others,” she said.

Student Kate who did her placement with the Dandenong HSP Team, thanked her mentor Chittesh.

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible support, guidance, and encouragement you provided throughout my 500-hour placement at AMES. This placement was a very meaningful experience for me and having you as my supervisor made a significant difference to my learning journey,” Kate said.

“Your patience, kindness, and willingness to share your knowledge helped me grow both professionally and personally. You created a supportive and welcoming environment where I felt comfortable asking questions, reflecting on my practice, and building my confidence as I continue my journey towards becoming a social worker,” she said.

Leslie said of the placement program, “it’s about seeing support come full circle. AMES helping people settle into a new life, then supporting them to develop the skills and confidence to help others in their community.”

Ruby Partland from Footscray HSP Team reported a great experience hosting a Victoria University Diploma of Community Services Student earlier this year.

“She was a motivated young woman eager to learn and grow, and to shadow many external and internal client meetings and learn about the complexity of Tier 3 work,” Ruby said.

“She also had come to Australia as a refugee in the 2000s with her mother and siblings and so had a lot of lived experience and understanding of AMES clients, and found it very enlightening to hear about the “worker perspective” of humanitarian settlement and more insight into the settlement journey her mother took when she came here.”

Senior Case Manager Raheleh Dara, who currently supervises student Winnie, shared how meaningful she finds the opportunity to mentor and support a future social worker.

Winnie spoke enthusiastically about her placement experience, saying: “I have found my placement to be an exceptionally rewarding and enriching experience. Working within an inclusive, supportive, and collaborative team has provided me with invaluable insight into the migration and settlement sector. Through my involvement in supporting refugees and newly arrived migrants, I have continued to develop and strengthen my intercultural communication and client advocacy skills. Each day presents new opportunities for professional growth and learning, allowing me to deepen my understanding of the challenges and opportunities experienced by individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. I am sincerely grateful for the guidance, support, and knowledge shared by my colleagues, and I look forward to continuing my professional development throughout the remainder of my placement.”

AMES staff say that supervising students is one of the most rewarding aspects of their role. It provides an opportunity to contribute to the development of future social workers and community service professionals. Staff often describe the experience as meaningful and energising, knowing they are helping shape the next generation of practitioners.

Stories like these highlight the important role placements play in building the future workforce of the community services sector. They create opportunities for students to learn, grow, and develop confidence while also allowing AMES staff to share their knowledge, passion, and experience. Most importantly, they reinforce AMES Australia’s commitment to strengthening communities, supporting professional development, and investing in the next generation of practitioners who will continue making a positive

Werribee Senior Case Manager Lee Antic supervised two placement students Tenzin and Mohsen. Lee completed meetings with Victoria University co-ordinators and the placement students and provided regular feedback.

Supervising the placement students provided Lee with an opportunity to create a learning plan and regularly communicate with the students and AMES team. It supported SCM’s growth by providing an opportunity to learn more about student placement requirements and the difference in assessments for both students.

It also allowed Lee to understand different learning styles for each student and cater learning plans based on this preference. It also enabled SCM to develop her confidence in practising her leadership skills and providing feedback to the placement students. 

“When students, Mohsen and Tenzin finished, they said that the placement allowed them to see firsthand the experience of a case manager. Both students were refugees and stated that it was good to see the role in reverse and were both keen to secure employment in the industry in the future. They were able to practise case management which was covered in their diploma. Both were waiting to apply for a job at AMES when one becomes available,” Lee said.

Former student and current AMESW Case Manager Behnam M Fomeshi told of a journey at AMES.

“While completing my Diploma of Community Services, I received placement offers from other organisations but chose to wait for the outcome of my application with AMES because I was passionate about working with refugees and migrants. Completing my placement at AMES confirmed that I had made the right decision. I developed valuable skills in empathy, active listening, and person-centred practice, while also witnessing the genuine care, respect, and support that staff showed both clients and colleagues,” Behnam said.

Another former student and current employee is Hamida Samar.

“My Journey in community service started when I studied a Diploma of Community Service at Victoria University. As part of my studies, I completed my placement with AMES Australia Footscray Office, which become much more than just a requirement for my course.” Hamida said.

“It was the beginning of a journey that helped m discover what kind of work I genuinely wanted to do and the kind of person I wanted to become professionally.

“During my placement at AMES Australia Footscray Office, I learned much more than I had expected. It was the first opportunity for me to take what I had learned during my Diploma of Community Services at Victoria University and apply it in a real professional environment.

“I learned how the settlement process works for newly arrived refugees and migrants and began to understand that every client arrives with a different story, different needs and different challenges. I gained practical experience in food and welfare screening, identifying client needs, communicating with clients, writing case notes, making referrals, arranging appointments, following up with services and supporting clients to navigate Australian systems.

“After completing my placement, I was fortunate to continue my journey with AMES when I started working professionally at the Dallas office as a Client Support Worker

When I look back at the person who first walked into AMES as a placement student and compare her with the person I am today, I can see a huge difference. I have grown not only professionally, but personally as well. I have become more confident, responsible, patient and resilient,” Hamida said.