Where do I go to seek expertise and advice?
This category is a starting point for understanding multicultural communities’ needs and initiating partnerships and projects. Here you will find key organisations and peak bodies, as well as associations representing health practitioners from specific cultural backgrounds. You will be able to gain insights into the health needs of different communities and identify opportunities to partner on health promotion or prevention projects.
Key Organisations & Peak Bodies
Victoria
| Category | Service | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Department of Premier and Cabinet: Multicultural Affairs | The Multicultural Affairs branch within the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Victoria is responsible for advising the government on multicultural issues and implementing policies to promote diversity and inclusion. |
| Victoria | Asylum Seeker Resource Centre | The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre supports people seeking asylum in Australia through programs including legal aid, health services, food and material assistance, employment support and social services. The ASRC also advocates for asylum seekers’ rights and promotes community engagement. |
| Victoria | Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing | The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing (CCDA) provides expertise in culturally inclusive policy and practices for the Victorian aged care sector and supports aged care providers to address the needs of older people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. |
| Victoria | Centre for Culture Equity and Health | The Centre for Culture Equity and Health (CEH) builds the capacity of the health and community sectors to deliver responsive and inclusive services to communities from migrant and refugee backgrounds. The Centre provides organisational training, community education, a Health Translations online library, resource development and cultural consultancy in areas such as health literacy, cultural competence and language services. |
| Victoria | Centre for Multicultural Youth | The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) supports young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds through a range of specialist support services, programs, resources and advocacy initiatives. CMY also provides training and consultancy. |
| Victoria | Ethnic Community Council of Victoria | The Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV) is the peak advocacy policy body for Victoria’s ethnic and multicultural organisations: working with more than 220 member organisations, including ethnic associations, multicultural service providers and eight regional ethnic communities’ councils. |
| Victoria | Faith Communities Council of Victoria | Faith Communities Council of Victoria (FCCV) is Victoria’s umbrella multi-faith body, which promotes positive relations between people of different faiths and greater public knowledge of the teachings, customs and practices of Victoria’s diverse faith traditions. Members include faith bodies and multi-faith/interfaith networks and organisations. |
| Victoria | FKA Children’s Services | FKA Children’s Services offer professional learning opportunities, resources and support to education and care services to build culturally rich environments for children. FKA also has bilingual/bicultural support workers who offer consultation services and work with staff, parents and children to support newly arrived children engage and settle in education settings. |
| Victoria | Foundation House | Foundation House provides services to people from refugee backgrounds who have experienced torture or trauma. Services include: counselling, advocacy, family support, group work, psycho-education, information and complementary therapies. They also engage in community work through community advisory groups, networking, partnerships and consultation. |
| Victoria | InTouch | InTouch (Multicultural Centre against Family Violence) works across the family violence continuum, providing in-language and culturally-informed case-management, perpetrator programs, a community legal centre and specialized migration assistance, crisis recovery, learning and development programs and capacity building projects. |
| Victoria | Migrant Workers Centre | Migrant Workers Centre provides information, advice, advocacy and support to migrant and temporary workers, helping them understand their rights, access fair work conditions and navigate employment, legal and community services. They strive to empower workers through education, casework and community engagement. |
| Victoria | Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health | The Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health works with migrant and refugee women, community agencies, health practitioners and governments to build and share knowledge and promote access to health services for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds. The organisation also offers a Community Workshops Program, which provides health education sessions facilitated by bilingual/bicultural health educators, delivered in a range of settings such as community health services, neighborhood houses, schools and social clubs. |
| Victoria | Multicultural Women Victoria | Multicultural Women Victoria focuses on building the capacity of women to advocate for themselves and fully participate in society. The organisation brings women together through programs such as Women’s Circles, Multicultural Playgroups and Global Kitchen. They also plan events and offer training in health, respectful relationships, cultural awareness leadership and employment pathways. |
| Victoria | Multicultural Youth Group | The Multicultural Youth Group (MYG) is a community-based organisation dedicated to empowering young people from CALD backgrounds. MYG runs leadership training, creative programs and community-engagement initiatives to build intercultural relationships, strengthen youth resilience and provide a platform for young people to contribute positively to their communities. |
| Victoria | Victorian Transcultural Mental Health | Victorian Transcultural Mental Health works with organisations to strengthen their capacity to address inequity in mental health service provision with the goal of improving the mental health, social and emotional wellbeing of culturally diverse communities. The organisation is a state-wide provider of organisational development, community engagement, workforce education and research. |
National
| Category | Service | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Directory | Key organisations for working with CALD communities - CFCA | Child Family Community Australia (CFCA) has produced a directory of key organisations for working with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities - nationally and for each state and territory. |
| National | Australian Multicultural Council | The Australian Multicultural Council (AMC) is a ministerially appointed body representing a broad cross-section of Australian interests that provides independent and robust advice to Government on multicultural affairs, social cohesion and integration policy and programs. |
| National | Australian Red Cross | The Australian Red Cross is a humanitarian organisation providing support and advocacy for people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. They deliver community programs, settlement support and opportunities for consultation and engagement with vulnerable and multicultural communities. |
| National | Diversity Council Australia | The Diversity Council Australia (DCA) is an independent not-for-profit organization that works to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace in Australia. The organisation collaborates with businesses and government agencies to promote cultural diversity, gender equality and inclusion in employment practices. |
| National | Embrace – Multicultural Mental Health | Embrace Multicultural Mental Health (the Embrace Project) is run by Mental Health Australia and provides a national focus on mental health and suicide prevention for people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. It provides a national platform for Australian mental health services and multicultural communities to access resources, link to services and information in a culturally accessible format. |
| National | Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils | The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) is the national peak body representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. FECCA’s role is to advocate and promote issues on behalf of its constituency to government, business and the broader community. |
| National | National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council | The National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council’s (NEMBC) is the peak organisation representing ethnic community broadcasters across Australia. The NEMBC supports multicultural and multilingual community broadcasting through its programs and services, including: an annual national conference; the multicultural broadcasting awards; the Ethnic Broadcaster magazine; training and workshops; and a news service, which provides free access to news scripts for NEMBC media news members. |
| National | National Ethnic Disability Alliance | The National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA) is a national Disabled People’s Organisation that advocates for the human rights of people with disability and their families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. |
| National | Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care | Partners in Culturally appropriate Care (PICAC) supports aged care service providers to deliver care that meets the needs of people from migrant and refugee backgrounds in aged care. They provide workshops, training and resources. There is a PICAC organization in each state and territory (Centre for Cultural Diversity in Aging delivers PICAC in Victoria). |
| National | Refugee Council of Australia | The Refugee Council of Australia (RCoA) is the national umbrella body for refugees and the organisations and individuals who support them. RCoA’s aim is to improve Australia’s refugee and asylum policies by analysing and researching policies, consulting with communities to identify key issues and advocating for change. RCoA delivers the National Ambassadors Program (NAP, connecting refugee speakers with communities across the country, giving them the opportunity to share their stories in schools, organisations and workplaces. |
| National | Refugee Education Australia | Refugee Education Australia is a not-for-profit that works to improve education access and outcomes for communities from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds through advocacy, partnerships and system-level initiatives across Australia. |
| National | Settlement Council of Australia | The Settlement Council of Australia is the peak body representing migrant and refugee settlement agencies across Australia. It operates as a network of settlement service providers with the aim of bringing providers together at a national level to create a voice for improving policy and strategic planning. |
| National | The Social Policy Group | The Social Policy Group (SPG) is a national organisation advocating for the needs and issues affecting CALD communities. Through its specialist peak bodies in areas such as health and settlement services, SPG shapes policy, supports service delivery and ensures the voices of CALD communities are represented in decision-making. |
| National | Welcoming Australia | A national initiative that works with communities, local governments and organisations to strengthen belonging and social cohesion. Provides opportunities for consultation, collaboration and community engagement with migrant and refugee communities. |
Ethno-Specific or Language-Specific Organisations
There are hundreds of organisations in Victoria delivering support services to specific cultural and linguistic groups, from long-established ones employing a large workforce to small, volunteer-based ones with no paid staff. These organisations are experts in their own communities and there is much to learn from them.
Unfortunately, and in part because of the constantly evolving nature and numbers of such organisations, there is no definite list nor directory. We have listed two directories below that provide links to large organisations. We also recommend the Ethnic Council of Victoria list of member organisations, updated annually in their Annual Report, as an up-to-date, if not exhaustive, list.
| Category | Service | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Directory | Ethno-Specific Organisations List - Sylaba Translations | Sylaba Translations has produced a Directory of Ethno-specific Organisations in Australia, which includes many key organisations and contacts. Ethno-specific organisations are usually staffed by bilingual/bicultural workers who deliver case work and advocacy services in a range of areas including settlement, family and social support, disability and aged care. They also play an important role in community engagement. |
| Directory | This directory from Boroondara Council has a focus on the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne but also includes many statewide ethno-specific agencies. |
Medical & Health Professionals’ Associations
| Category | Service | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | Australian Chinese Doctors Association | The Australian Chinese Doctors Association (ACDA) provides a platform for Australian Chinese medical professionals to exchange information, expertise and resources. |
| Chinese | Australian Chinese Medical Association of Victoria | The Australian Chinese Medical Association of Victoria (ACMAV) originated as an association of medical practitioners of Chinese background but has since widened its membership to medical students and doctors with an interest in caring for Chinese patients. |
| Chinese | Chinese Nurse Association Australia | The Chinese Nurse Association Australia's (CNAA) members include registered nurses, personal care assistants and a range of other health care professionals. The organization provides community health education and runs social activity groups, cultural events, outings for seniors as well as a nurse consulting group. |
| Greek | Hellenic Medical Society of Australia | Hellenic Medical Society of Australia (HMSA) is an association of Australian-Greek medical professionals. |
| Indian | Indian Doctors in Australia | Non-profit support group for Australian and Indian trained doctors. |
| Iranian | Iranian Australian Association of Health Professionals | The Iranian Australian Association of Health Professionals (IRAHP) comprises Australian-Iranian medical practitioners, dentists, dieticians, psychologists, social workers and other allied health professionals as well as health scientists and academics. |
| Iraqi | Iraqi Health Professionals Association | The Iraqi Health Professionals Association (IHPA) was formed to provide a social and professional network for Australian Iraqi health professionals to connect and share information and resources and celebrate the achievements of members. |
| Islamic | Australian Islamic Medical Association | The Australian Islamic Medical Association (AIMA) membership includes medical and allied health professionals of Islamic faith, heritage or background. The AIMA participates in projects, mentors students and delivers health education and professional development activities. |
| Somali | Somali Healthcare Professionals | Somali Healthcare Professionals (SHP) focuses on information and resource sharing, networking, professional development and fostering connections among healthcare professionals from a Somali background. |
| Vietnamese | Australian Vietnamese Health Professionals Association of Victoria | The Australian Vietnamese Health Professionals Association of Victoria (AVHPA) has a membership of medical and allied health professionals from a Vietnamese background practicing in Australia. The association provides a forum for networking, sharing ideas and promoting best practice. |
Have feedback? Email us at enquiries@ceh.org.au
