New arrivals to Australia need more tailored and specialist support services that focus on early intervention and last for longer after they have settled in the country.
That is the message from groups that have made submissions to a federal parliamentary inquiry into migrant settlement outcomes.
Most say, while current programs are good, improvement is needed - for example, in understanding individual needs.
African-Australian Multicultural Employment and Youth Services chief executive Berhan Ahmed says Australia needs to consider the circumstances that lead people to a new country.
Dr Ahmed is calling for greater empathy and understanding, particularly when it comes to knowledge and education.
"Most people coming as refugees are expected on day one to be able to speak English, to get into the workforce overnight, and all that stuff comes as part of that equation. We need to see, in light of the crisis that the country is facing - the manufacturing economy has absorbed for decades many migrants that still don't speak English, but, for us now, from day one, we are judged. The challenge facing us is, now, we are in a knowledge and service economy, and this requires certain skills and qualifications. If someone arrives at Melbourne airport today, you cannot put Windows 2017 in their head and upgrade them. Or someone arrives in this country at the age of 13 or 14, we put them in Grade 8 or Grade 7. Imagine! Someone's who's never been to Grade 1 sitting in Grade 7! What would you expect? Definitely, a failure."
Echoing that is the Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma, which works with people fleeing dangerous or violent situations in their home countries.
The organisation says such people may experience problems later, particularly among the young.
Discrimination and isolation from non-migrant peers can leave many youths alienated.
National coordinator Paula Peterson and the chief executive of the organisation's Queensland arm, Tracy Worrall, say it can lead to them gravitating towards certain groups.
But they point out it is not a problem unique to migrant communities.
(Peterson:) "There is a kind of broad issue of, when a group feels alienated, they will naturally be drawn to peers, where they feel comfortable and accepted and safe, and not judged. So I think that it's not surprising that, in some places, it's becoming an issue, because I think that, unless people are accessing the kind of support that they need to feel part of the community that they've joined, then this is always going to be a risk."
(Worrall:) "I think you could look at any group of young people in a whole range of different environments in Australia and see similar issues. So I don't think this is an issue that is just about young people from refugee backgrounds. It also might be an issue in parts of our society where people are excluded for other reasons, such as social disadvantage."
Many groups say they feel African communities have been demonised and unfairly characterised.
Dr Ahmed says a few bad examples are giving everyone a bad name.
"We are in a state of questioning of multiculturalism and the role of migrants, and particularly when it comes to Africans. We are at the bottom of the ladder, and we are judged wrongly. Now, as if Africans brought crisis to this country, it's portrayed as if we are the crime-infested sort of people coming. No. There are a few kids who are repeatedly offending, not, as reported in the media, for every offence, there's a different person. So, we are just labelled for any crime that goes as if we are the only people bringing crime."
Other issues raised include the level of English language classes, intergenerational trauma and, at times, a lack of cultural sensitivity.
Jesuit Social Services chief executive Julie Edwards says migration must not be treated as an isolated event.
"We'd like to see services extend beyond five years, when we know that, for many people, the journey is a long one. And we believe it can be a very positive one and one where we've seen so many people make a contribution to this country. But we need to invest in them, and sometimes that job isn't done in five years. We need to have a greater range of initiatives that help people at various points along their journey of settlement."
All of the groups involved say they would like to see real change come from the inquiry.
Paula Peterson has warned against services and organisations using the same approach for all migrant communities.
"I have heard around the traps* that there is a real desire at government level to come up with some kind of magical formula which you can apply to a prospective migrant or refugee coming to Australia and be able to ascertain their likelihood of settling well, based on a particular formula. I think that would be an absolute travesty if that ever happened and, certainly, against all the principles of what we've been proud of, in terms of our refugee and humanitarian resettlement programs, because I think it's been our experience that it isn't a factor of where a person's come from, it's actually not even a factor of a person's capacity to speak English, it's a capacity of their sense of belonging. And I think there are lots of things that we can do to enhance that."
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