Culturally Responsive Community & Welfare Services
Community service delivery that is inclusive and engaging for refugee and migrant communities
CEH works alongside community service providers to deliver culturally responsive and accessible programs. We strengthen community services through cultural competence, co-design, and lived experience engagement – ensuring programs, resources and service delivery are inclusive, equitable and responsive to community needs.
We build community sector capability by:
- Training staff and volunteers in cultural competence and equity; face-to-face and online training with impact
- Supporting service design to ensure that it meets the needs of migrant and refugee populations in your area
- Developing resources that strengthen inclusive community practice and case management
- Designing multicultural inclusion initiatives specific to your client base
- Supporting you to make meeting your DEI goals and targets simple.
What our clients say
“The CEH trainers bring a wonderful mix of expertise and fun to their training, making it engaging, enjoyable and practical. I now feel more confident about the work that we do with CALD communities and supporting culturally sensitive practice across our teams. I would recommend this training to anyone working in community services who wants to improve their skills in cultural competence.”
Shau Teo, Family Violence Practice Leader, Baptcare Sunshine
Our Experience
Creating practical resources to support lived experience workers and their managers
Employing and retaining Lived Experience Workers in entry-level positions requires all parties to understand what adjustments need to be made to ensure this opportunity is a positive one for all involved. Together with workers in the Yarra Housing team (DFFH) and the Richmond Community Hub on the North Richmond public housing estate, CEH developed a series of resources to support the workers themselves and their managers.
The five help sheets support workers to understand what to expect of their workplace, how to make the most of supervision and suggestions on how to manage tricky boundaries issues; the guide for managers outlines how recruitment, onboarding, professional development and supervision can be adapted to the specific needs of these staff.
Strengthening practitioner confidence when working with diverse communities
In 2024/25, CEH delivered a series of tailored and interactive workshops for practitioners at Baptcare Sunshine. The training focused on cultural competence, working effectively with interpreters, plain‑language communication, and the role of cultural competence in disability services. Each session built on the previous one, helping participants better understand the barriers clients face when engaging with services and equipping them with practical strategies and tools to support improved client outcomes.
We have also partnered with Victorian Legal Aid (VLA) for over 10 years, delivering biannual Working with Interpreters workshops for lawyers. This long‑term relationship has enabled us to develop a deep understanding of staff challenges and tailor training to reflect real‑world practice. Working closely with VLA, we co‑designed video case studies, interactive activities and blended learning resources, including bite‑sized eLearning modules, to support ongoing learning and respond to evolving workforce needs.
Find out more about our services
We can work with you through multiple streams:
Organisational Training: Tailored programs to enhance the cultural competence and inclusive practice of your workforce.
Cultural Consultancy: Guidance on culturally responsive service delivery, program design, and organisational strategy.
Collaborative Projects: Community engagement, focus groups, communications campaigns – we’ll work together to customise a project or initiative that meets your goals.
Community Engagement & Education: Community partnerships, workforce education and health promotion activities, tailored to support prevention of STIs, HIV, blood‑borne viruses and viral hepatitis in migrant and refugee communities.
Resource Development: Improving and co-creating resources to meet community knowledge and information needs.
Health Translations Library: Free online library of high-quality translated Australian health and wellbeing information, available in over 130 languages.
Cultural Competence Assessments: Access to online tools to support your organisation to identify strengths and gaps in cultural competence. The tools provide you with a personalised PDF report with scoring, so you can benchmark and track your progress.
Diversity Links Victoria – CEH’s free online directory: This directory brings together, in one place, links to bilingual workers, ethno-specific organisations, multicultural services, advocacy groups, and data sources across Victoria’s health, disability, and community sectors.
