The Community Connector Program, which has helped more than 500 people settle in the Goulburn Valley, will run out of funding at the end of June and has an uncertain future.
With regional areas across the country struggling to meet workforce needs, proponents say the program has given Greater Shepparton an edge over other regions, helping make the transition for people moving into the area as seamless as possible.
It has linked families with sporting clubs and community groups, as well as vital services, such as schools and health clinics, to help them feel at home as quickly as possible.
“Every story is different. Every relocation is different,” outgoing program co-ordinator Bim Rutherford said.
“As time has gone on in the last 12 months, we’re relocating more from overseas, and those stories are quite amazing and the people are spectacular to deal with.
“You’re dealing with people coming from countries that have had government collapse and we’re educating them on how to apply for a house and take them through that process of the rentals, which is an issue that is in crisis really in Shepparton.
“We’re getting to know them on a personal level. We’re dealing with them months before they’ve arrived and for six to 12 months after they arrive.”
The program was established through a collaboration between the Committee for Greater Shepparton and Greater Shepparton City Council.
Committee for Greater Shepparton chief executive Lindy Nieuwenhuizen said she hoped the program would not only attract enough funding to continue, but to grow.
“I think it has been our our X-factor in some of our attraction and retention,” she said.
Ms Nieuwenhuizen wants the Greater Shepparton community, including business, to have a discussion on how the program can ensure its long-term future.
“We’d encourage them to be involved,” she said.
“Continuing the service and its support to the region is our first priority, and then sitting behind that is really having a look at how we can shore up the funding of this because it’s not something you can turn the tap on and off.”
Fiona Blick will replace Ms Rutherford in the co-ordinator’s role, bringing with her a background in media communications and engagement, and the experience of moving towns.
“I'm originally from Broken Hill, so I absolutely know the challenge of moving to a new town,” she said.
“The stress, and it is a stress, of making sure the children are in the right school, they’ve got the right supports — where do we go for their sport, where do they get their arts and the after-school, all of those type of things — and also a job for me because I moved with my husband. So yes, very much aware of that.”
Ms Blick said helping people feel settled in the area also brought cost savings for local businesses, particularly given the expense of the recruitment process.
“It’s a massive cost in terms of time, but also actual investment, to get that right person in, and to be able to assist that person to come, to feel comfortable, to have their family feel comfortable — you’re starting off on the right foot to having them stay and keeping them in this in this area,” she said.