The Pathfinder asks you questions about your education background, interests and goals — no more than you would share with a career counsellor.

Your responses are used only to generate your personalised pathway plan. REA staff can see the number of people who have completed the Pathfinder and received a plan. Your specific answers are not available to us.

No, REA does not share your personal information with anyone. Your participation in the Pathfinder and the Pathfinder Hub is entirely separate from your immigration status and will have no effect on it.

We understand this is a real concern for some people within our community. Our privacy policy is available to read in full, and you are welcome to contact us with any questions before you begin.

No, we are not storing data. We do not sell data, use it for advertising, nor share it with commercial partners.

Generative AI, or a Large Language Model, is a type of technology trained with large amounts of data that can review your responses and produce personalised written content. We have programmed the Pathfinder using relevant websites and study information available in each state and territory in Australia, and our decades of subject matter expertise. Data is drawn from our knowledge base, but if information is not available there, the Pathfinder will search the internet.

Using the ChatBot tool will also further refine the plan through internet searching, and a tailored study pathway plan will be generated based on what you tell it about yourself.

The Pathfinder uses AI to produce suggestions specific to your circumstances, rather than giving everyone the same generic advice.

No. The Pathfinder is a tool to help you explore options and consider possibilities. It does not make decisions for you, and it does not determine whether you can access any program or scholarship.

The plan it generates is a starting point for your own thinking. Use it as a guide — it provides information, not advice.

We recommend you save your plan and take it to a relevant person (your caseworker, employment service provider, a career coach, or someone you trust who knows your situation) to discuss further.

This is an important question and one we take seriously. AI systems can reflect the biases present in the data they were trained on, and we are aware this can disadvantage people whose experiences are not well-represented.

The Pathfinder has been designed by and with input from people with lived experience of forced migration, and we review the outputs regularly.

If you receive a suggestion that does not feel right, please tell us through our website (Compliments and Complaints) — your feedback directly improves the tool.

No, you can self-identify as a refugee (including people seeking asylum and people with refugee experience who arrived on non-humanitarian visas).

You do not need to provide any documentation, visa paperwork, or proof of your background. If you identify as being from a refugee or forced migration background, that is enough.

This is intentional, because for many people in our community having to prove their status repeatedly is exhausting, re-traumatising and creates unnecessary barriers.

The Pathfinder is designed to be accessible to people with different levels of English proficiency, and the questions are written in plain English.

We have not made the tool available in other languages because English is generally required for study in Australia. If you find any part difficult to understand, you can ask someone to support you — a friend, a bicultural worker, or a caseworker.

If you have difficulty accessing the REA Pathfinder online, we recommend you go to your local library or community centre to access free internet.

The Pathfinder is for students of any age — whether you are just finishing school or returning to study after years in the workforce or raising a family. The pathway options and support are relevant to both younger and mature-age learners.

REA is a lived experience-led organisation: our team includes people who have navigated the Australian education system from forced migration backgrounds themselves, staff from teaching backgrounds, and settlement workers. We are a not-for-profit charity, not a government agency, and have no reporting obligations to immigration authorities.

While we name institutions where you can study and that offer scholarships, we are not affiliated with any institution and do not recommend any university or TAFE over another.

We are transparent about how we work, who funds us, and what we do with your information. You are always welcome to speak with a member of our team before you engage with any part of the program.

While REA strives to keep information up to date, we can't guarantee it is correct, as course details change frequently. Please cross-check with the relevant institution.

The REA Pathfinder is an information-finding tool and does not replace individual advice from a qualified career advisor. If the plan does not reflect your goals, background or circumstances, that feedback is valuable — please contact REA to discuss your plan with a team member.

Most people complete the Pathfinder in under 5 minutes. Please save or print your copy, as it will be deleted after an hour.

You will receive a personalised pathway plan outlining study options and next steps based on your responses.

You will then be invited to upload your plan and join the REA Pathfinder Hub — a free resource library for students from refugee and forced migration backgrounds.

From there, you may be invited to apply for the Pathfinder Studio, a small, supported cohort program that runs each semester.

No — completing the Pathfinder gives you access to the Pathfinder Hub, but the Pathfinder Studio involves a separate, selective application process. Scholarships are also separate and have their own eligibility criteria.

What completing the Pathfinder does do is connect you to REA's community and resources, and begins a relationship that may eventually support a scholarship application or a letter from REA on your behalf.

Only if you join as a member of REA (it's free for people with lived experience of forced migration).

Once you have uploaded your pathway plan and joined the Hub, you will receive occasional emails about relevant opportunities: scholarships, workshops, webinars and the next Studio intake. We may also ask about your Pathfinder plan and how useful it was.

We will not contact you for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Many temporary visa holders are eligible to study at TAFE or university in Australia, though eligibility and fee arrangements vary by visa type and institution. You can find information about this on our website.

The Pathfinder can help you identify options, and REA can connect you with further information. We encourage you to raise this with the relevant institution or a settlement service that can advise on your specific visa conditions.