Australia is more diverse than ever before. Too often, differences in access and outcomes persist for people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. These disparities are magnified by service responses that inadequately meet their needs and preferences, perpetuating the structural inequalities they already face. Specialised services and responses play a critical role in maintaining and strengthening Australia’s multicultural society. This policy brief explores specialised services and initiatives for a multicultural Australia. 

Recommendations 

1. The Australian and state/territory governments should reinvigorate investment in multicultural and ethno-specific services and initiatives in response to the increasing cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity of newcomers. 
2. The multicultural and ethno-specific non-government sector has a vital role in delivering specialised services to newcomers and ensuring that policy and program settings are fit-for-purpose, codesigned and responsive to specific needs and local contexts. 
3. To strengthen its reputation as a fair country, the Australian and state/territory governments should strengthen access and equity policies to ensure that publicly funded programs and services meet newcomers’ needs and include transparent mechanisms for government departments and agencies to monitor and report progress. 
4. Given the extent of government outsourcing of social services previously delivered by governments, it is vital that access and equity policy applies to all government funded services, whether these are provided directly by government, private or non-profit organisations. 
5. Australian and state/territory governments should adopt a culturally responsive framework to provide the scaffolding for reorienting policy and programs to achieve access and equity for newcomers. 
6. Australian and state/territory governments should strengthen cultural diversity and representation across the NFP sector by investing in multicultural community organisations and investing in emerging leaders in these organisations.
7. The Australian and state/territory governments should ensure that the digital transformation of government services is anchored in policy that promotes equitable access by newcomers. 
8. The Australian Government should improve the consistency of data that captures cultural and linguistic diversity of the population and work with state/territory governments to improve the collection of administrative data to paint a fuller picture of differences in access and outcomes among newcomers.