Paper short abstract:

This paper provides an insight into the contrasting ways in which two migrant settler communities in Australia have sought to adopt, adapt and appropriate organisational and committee structures in response to the demands of bureaucratic funding requirements and ‘legitimate’ forms of engagement between government and non-state actors.

Paper long abstract:

This paper provides an insight into the contrasting ways in which two migrant settler communities in Australia have sought to adopt, adapt and appropriate organisational and committee structures in response to the demands of bureaucratic funding requirements and 'legitimate' forms of engagement between government and non-state actors. In order to have a voice with government, advocate for the settlement needs of their community and attract resource infrastructure and service delivery funding, new arrival communities must create organisations and committees of a particular type in order to be recognised by government and its bureaucracy. Some communities are very successful in adapting to this process, successfully gaining the attention of government and subsequently attracting funding and resources. Other communities are far less successful at adapting to these 'demands'. This paper will provide a comparison of two communities in order to gain an insight into the means by which bureaucratic form and structure may be both adhered to, and subverted, to the benefit (or not) of new settler communities.