Northern Rivers for Refugees was founded in 2015 as Ballina Region for Refugees to support onshore and offshore refugees. It started with a small group meeting in a Lennox Head cafe and has now grown to more than 80 members.

In June 2024 the name was changed to Northern Rivers for Refugees because of our expanded activity in the region.

We started out providing mobile phones and online connections for refugees to stay in touch with their homes and families. The support grew to providing respite accommodation for refugees in our region.

Since 2022 we have helped to settle refugee families under the Federal Government’s Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP).