• Lorana Bartels
• Australian Institute of Criminology

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20 June 2011Australia has a greater proportion of migrants (ie people living in Australia who were born overseas) relative to most other Western countries; as at 30 June 2009, around a quarter of Australia’s estimated resident population was born overseas. According to the 2006 Census, in descending order of population size, the main CALD groups in Australia are from Italy, China, Vietnam, India and the Philippines. However, between 1996 and 2006, increasing proportions of new arrivals came from Sudan (an average increase of 28% per year), Afghanistan (12%) and Iraq (10%). Most CALD communities in Australia, especially Asian communities, are concentrated in urban areas.

It is generally recognised that people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities may face a range of complex issues, including discrimination and prejudice, social isolation and disenfranchisement, and difficulties in assimilating within the broader Australian culture and/or in maintaining a sense of identification with the culture of origin. In addition, refugees or people who have migrated to Australia as a result of adversity may be suffering from undiagnosed or untreated trauma. All of these factors may impact on involvement in and engagement with the criminal justice system. In this paper, the key criminal justice issues in relation to CALD communities are reviewed and a summary of relevant protective and risk factors provided. Some CALD-specific crime prevention programs, which serve to promote resiliency and protective factors and/or inhibit risk factors, are then presented. In order to ensure relevance and currency, the paper is primarily limited to Australian research from 2006 onwards.