The Australian Government commitment to building a social inclusion framework for government policies and directions has the potential to provide a positive framework for addressing disadvantage and working toward cohesion and participation for all members of our society, including the one million people from non English Speaking Backgrounds with disability in Australia.

However a key concern is ensuring that the connection between cultural and linguistic inclusion is highlighted within the current social inclusion agenda. Taking account of the interaction of culture, language and disability can provide a different dimension to existing elements within the current Australian Government social inclusion agenda.

This NEDA research paper explores the definitions and measures of social exclusion, social inclusion and social cohesion through an analysis of literature and indicators from Australia and the United Kingdom. It also explores how measures of cultural diversity can be built into understanding and measuring social inclusion in Australia.