Australia is a multicultural nation: Around half of Australian residents were born overseas, or have at least one parent born overseas, and over 5.5 million Australians speak a language other than English at home. To be truly inclusive, we must ensure that the needs of all Australians, including those born overseas, are able to access Australian Government programs, services and systems, and that all people can meaningfully participate in all aspects of Australian life.
FECCA and the Collaborative welcome the Inclusive Communities Fund and its objective of strengthening community organisations so people with disability have greater choice and can participate meaningfully in social, recreational, sporting, arts, cultural, volunteering and other community activities. The proposed $200 million investment over three years is an important opportunity to make inclusion part of ordinary community life, not something confined to specialist disability settings.
However, equity will not be achieved simply by funding more organisations or making more activities available. For multicultural people with disability, meaningful participation may depend on whether communication is accessible and understandable, an organisation is culturally safe, trusted community relationships exist, and whether the pathways into community life are practical for their needs.
The central issue is that eligibility alone will not deliver equity. Multicultural people with disability can face physical, linguistic, cultural, attitudinal, digital and financial barriers, as well as added difficulty navigating disability and community systems. People should not have to choose between culturally familiar spaces that are not disability-inclusive and disability services that are not culturally safe or connected to their community. The Fund should help bring these systems together.
This requires multicultural inclusion to be embedded in the Fund’s objectives, grant architecture, partnerships, eligible activities and evaluation. It also requires practical opportunities for organisations to test and embed new approaches in partnership with people with disability, not only produce policies or attend training.
This submission is made by FECCA and the Collaborative and sets out key recommendations and responses to the consultation questions. The Australian Multicultural Women’s Alliance, another FECCA initiative, has made its own separate submission with its alliance partners
