It’s time to rethink what multicultural policy actually means
In today’s post, Maedeh Aboutalebi Karkavandi Senior Research and Evaluation Analyst at Good Shepherd Australia and New Zealand (GSANZ) reports on her consultations with staff in developing a submission to the Victorian Government’s Multicultural Review. Drawing on practitioner insights, the post highlights key themes such as the need for genuine representation, culturally safe service delivery, equitable access for women on temporary visas, and stronger government accountability.
In preparing our submission to the Victorian Government’s Multicultural Review, Good Shepherd staff uncovered rich insights about the experiences of multicultural communities and the role of community services in fostering belonging, equity, and inclusion.
Genuine representation means more than a seat at the table
Genuine representation is not just about having culturally diverse people in the room. It is about ensuring those voices are heard and have influence. To foster real inclusion, the Victorian Government must prioritise authentic representation and visibility of culturally diverse communities in leadership roles – but beyond symbolism. Systems must reflect the communities they serve. As Good Shepherd practitioners shared, inclusion matters in so far as seeing someone who looks like you can build trust and safety in public systems. Without visible leaders reflecting community diversity, people from culturally diverse backgrounds continue to bear disproportionate emotional labour educating others and bridging cultural gaps. However, representation must be more than just symbolic – there must be clear pathways to decision-making power, including influence over resources, program design, and policy direction. Representation without authority is performative and risks maintaining the status quo. Representation must also move beyond the traditional gatekeepers. Governments often rely on established leaders, typically older men, who do not reflect the full diversity of their communities. As stated by one of Good Shepherd practitioners, “How are we talking to the women?” Inclusive engagement needs deliberate outreach and resourcing of grassroots voices. These are the people who bring lived experience but may not have formal platforms. They are essential to creating decision-making processes that are truly representative and equitable.
Culturally safe programs increase economic independence and social inclusion
Good Shepherd's multicultural specific initiatives demonstrate the impact and importance of culturally safe, strengths-based approaches: LaunchMe for Multicultural Women, a place-based small business coaching and community connection program; and UBUNTU, a collective enterprise innovation project delivered in partnership with Afri-AusCare. Our soon to open emergency accommodation initiative, Bridget House, offers a culturally responsive alternative to the unsafe and inadequate hotel stay model for women experiencing family and domestic violence.
These programs have not only improved participants’ financial wellbeing, they have also strengthened community connectedness. For example, the community cooking initiative instigated by the current UBUNTU participants evolved to a farm-to-table business model incorporating community kitchen garden, a café selling their prepacked meals or snacks, and plans for a cookbook. Similarly, participants in LaunchMe for Multicultural Women have been supported to grow their own businesses with impacts reaching beyond individual program groups. Through an alumni network that fosters ongoing support and opportunities, women are now collaborating, hiring each other, referring clients, and staying connected.
Our practitioners emphasise how our approaches explicitly acknowledge and work to address the structural barriers faced by multicultural women, including language difficulties, limited social networks, and lack of opportunities for earning personal income. Programs such as LaunchMe for Multicultural Women, are deeply embedded within community and are co-designed with community members to ensure they are relevant, respectful, and effective. Delivery models prioritise active listening, cultural understanding, and trust-building, recognising that meaningful engagement begins with valuing lived experience.
Micro-enterprise initiatives provide an alternative pathway to building financial capability and opportunities to develop financial independence. These programs also generate broader impacts by leveraging the power of multicultural community collaborations. We recommended funding reform that enables sustained and strategic investment in place-based, community-driven social service programs. This should include mechanisms to better utilise existing resources and ensure alignment across services and jurisdictions.
Ensuring equitable access to essential supports for vulnerable groups, including those with uncertain visa status
Addressing inequities in access to essential services, especially for vulnerable groups such as victim-survivors of family violence with uncertain visa status, is a pressing priority. Structural barriers often force these women to navigate complex systems without adequate support, exacerbating harm and marginalisation. Policies must ensure safe and equitable access regardless of citizenship status, preventing the misuse of immigration systems as tools of abuse, as highlighted in our practitioner discussions.
Improving interpreter standards and translation quality
As noted by Good Shepherd practitioners, communication challenges exacerbate barriers to accessing government services. These include inadequate interpreter services and a lack of translated materials in plain, accessible language. Reliance on informal translation methods, such as family members or tools like Google Translate, risks missing critical issues like coercive control. Our practitioner experiences are consistent with research findings that show poor interpreter quality and reliance on untrained individuals can undermine trust and limit access to critical services for culturally diverse communities. This highlights the urgent need for professional, well-trained interpreters who can manage sensitive conversations.
To address these challenges, the Victorian Government must invest in improving interpreter quality through ongoing training, compliance monitoring, and ensuring interpreters receive appropriate support to navigate the complexities of trauma-informed communication. Additionally, the availability of translated resources should be expanded and designed with cultural and literacy considerations in mind to promote equity in access.
Embed structural reform and community accountability
Restoring public trust and achieving meaningful change requires a review and expansion of the Victorian Multicultural Commission’s mandate. This should involve embedding transparent reporting mechanisms, enhancing community engagement processes, and ensuring the Commission provides strategic advice that supports whole-of-government reform. In this context, it is also important to consider: what is the role of local government? Local councils are often the first point of contact for communities and play a critical role in implementing inclusive policies, facilitating grassroots engagement, and ensuring that multicultural strategies are responsive to local needs and realities. To reinforce accountability and ensure policy implementation is community-informed, a Ministerial Advisory Group or sub-committee of Cabinet should be established, with formal mechanisms for reporting progress to Cabinet. In parallel, the Victorian Government should advocate for a national framework and coordinated plan, led by an inter-jurisdictional committee positioned within the Prime Minister’s portfolio, to strengthen alignment across jurisdictions and drive systemic reform at the federal level.
Where to from here?
The next step is to invest consistently in community-led programs and make inclusion a clear priority in policy and services. Real change depends on listening to communities and holding systems accountable.
Author: Dr Maedeh Aboutalebi Karkavandi, Senior Research and Evaluation Analyst, Policy, Advocacy and Service Impact, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, Melbourne, Australia.
Content moderator: Dr Jozica Kutin.