DIMA Annual Report 1997-98
Sub-program 4.1: Multicultural Affairs
Objective
Description
Performance information
Financial and staffing resources summary
Performance outcomes
Objective
To foster appreciation of Australia's cultural diversity, within a framework of national unity.
Description
The Multicultural Affairs sub-program coordinates policy advice on issues concerning Australia's cultural diversity.
It takes a strategic interest in activities within the Department and across a wide range of Commonwealth policies and programs and at the same time it advocates for cultural diversity to be considered as a mainstream issue for all agencies.
During 1997–98, the aims of this sub-program were progressed and consolidated through the continued implementation by Commonwealth agencies of the principles outlined in the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society.
Significant progress was also made in regard to the Commonwealth's Productive Diversity Strategy, which aims to encourage business to capitalise on the cultural and linguistic skills and the business acumen of their workers born and educated overseas.
The framework of future multicultural policy is being addressed by the National Multicultural Advisory Council (NMAC), which is supported by this sub-program.
The sub-program is administered through Multicultural Affairs Branch, with direct assistance from State and Territory offices, when regional support or implementation is required.
Some elements of the multicultural affairs sub-program, such as the broad goal of improving migrant and refugee access to Australian society, are achieved through the National Integrated Settlement Strategy, the Translating and Interpreting Service and the Adult Migrant English Program.
These functions are implemented by the Citizenship and Language Services and Settlement Branches and are reported under sub programs 4.2 and 4.3.
Performance information
Outcomes are measured by the extent to which:
- the National Multicultural Advisory Council is supported, particularly with regard to the preparation of its report to Government;
- consultation and market research is conducted for the Government's anti-racism campaign;
- the principles of the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society are embedded in Government service delivery;
- productive diversity management principles are recognised by Australian institutions, including the business sector; and
- advice is provided on policy and implementation of priority issues such as advocating the benefits for business of utilising Australia's linguistic and cultural diversity, community relations, migrant women's issues, ethnic youth and aged care and employment matters.
Financial and staffing resources summary
1997–98 |
1997–98 |
1996–97 |
|
| Budgetary (cash) basis | |||
| Components of appropriations | |||
| Annual appropriations | |||
| Running costs | 9 259 |
3 385 |
n/a |
| Other program costs | 756 |
749 |
n/a |
| Total appropriations | 10 015 |
4 134 |
n/a |
| Less adjustments | 0 |
0 |
n/a |
| Total outlays | 10 015 |
4 134 |
n/a |
| Total revenue | 0 |
0 |
n/a |
| Staffing | |||
| Staff years (actual) | 66 |
44 |
n/a |
Due to program restructures in both 1996–97 and 1997–98, sub-program figures for 1996–97 actuals are not meaningful for comparative purposes to 1997–98 figures. They have therefore not been included in this table.
[ Top Of Page ]Performance outcomes
(i) National Multicultural Advisory Council
On 30 June 1997 the Minister announced the appointment of a new National Multicultural Advisory Council (NMAC), with revised membership and terms of reference.
The Council's first task was to develop a report which recommends a policy and implementation framework for the next decade aimed at ensuring that cultural diversity is a unifying force for Australia.
The Council's inaugural meeting was held on 12 August 1997 at Parliament House in Canberra. During 1997–98 the Council met six times.
On 11 December 1997, the Prime Minister launched the Council's issues paper, Multicultural Australia: The Way Forward.
The issues paper aimed to initiate discussion in the community, as part of the community consultations required by the Council's terms of reference.
The issues paper invited the public to provide submissions to the Council; and 164 submissions were received.
The Council is expected to submit its report to the Minister early in 1998–99.
The Council's membership was increased to 16 following the resignation of two members in November 1997 and the appointment of three new members in April 1998.
DIMA has supported NMAC by providing the full range of secretariat services and by assisting with the drafting of the Council's issues paper and draft report to the Minister. The secretariat also circulated relevant information to members as required.
[ Top Of Page ]Membership
Mr Neville Roach Chairman
Mr Randolph Alwis
Mr Iftikhar A Chaudhry
Bishop David Cremin
Mr Melville Fialho
Mr Angelo Hatsatouris OAM
Dr Chandran Kukathas
Ms Peggy Lau-Flux
Mr Alister Maitland
Professor Bruce McKern
Dr Colin Rubenstein
Ms Evelyn Scott
Dr My-Van Tran OAM
Dr Peter Wong AM
Ms Agnes Whiten
Emeritus Professor Jerzy Zubrzycki AO CBE
Former Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Secretary, Helen Williams, Prime Minister John Howard, Minister Philip Ruddock, and the Melbourne Lord Mayor, Ivan Deveson, with National Multicultural Advisory Council Chairman, Neville Roach at the launch of the issues paper Multicultural Australia: The Way Forward. [ Top Of Page ]
(ii) Anti-racism campaign
Development of the anti-racism campaign continued with a primary consideration being to ensure that any campaign strategy would be effective in bringing about a lasting impact. As part of this process, the Department commissioned market research into issues relevant to the campaign and submitted reports to the Minister.
The research provided a solid foundation on which a campaign strategy could be built and launched. This is scheduled to occur in early 1998–99.
Most of the campaign budget of $5 million has been carried over into 1998–99 to fund the campaign.
[ Top Of Page ](iii) Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society
In response to the need to provide Commonwealth services in a manner appropriate for a culturally diverse society, the Commonwealth developed an access and equity strategy, now embodied as the seven principles of the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society.
Commonwealth agencies are encouraged to incorporate the principles of the Charter into their service planning, delivery and evaluation processes so that they more effectively respond to the cultural diversity of the Australian community.
During 1997–98, DIMA provided relevant and up-to-date policy advice on implementing the Charter across the Commonwealth. Results included:
- the 1997 Access and Equity Annual Report, documenting progress in the implementation of the Charter across Commonwealth departments and agencies;
- the guidelines for the Government's Service Charters initiative, Putting Service First: Principles for Developing a Service Charter, requiring the compliance of Commonwealth service agency charters with the Charter of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society. The DIMA Service Charter was developed consistent with this requirement; and
- Centrelink taking into account the Charter in the planning of government services delivered through its shop fronts. In particular, Centrelink developed its multicultural services segment consistent with Charter principles.
- A range of strategic opportunities was pursued to ensure that mainstream government program planning, service delivery and outcome reporting processes are consistent with the Charter. They included:
- working with the Department of Finance and Administration in the development of guidance for public sector managers on competitive tendering and contracting of government services;
- being consulted by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in the review of department and agency annual report guidelines;
- working with the Department of Industry, Science and Tourism in the development of a reporting framework for department and agency service charters; and
- liaison with the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission in development of the Australian Public Service workplace diversity strategy.
(iv) Productive diversity
The Government's productive diversity strategy involves projects which seek to capitalise on the linguistic and cultural skills, ideas and innovation, knowledge of business networks and experience in business practices often available in people born and educated overseas.
The main objective of the productive diversity agenda in 1997–98 was to raise the awareness of business leaders and business students of the principles of productive diversity.
Initiatives undertaken during the year included two productive diversity seminars, opened by the Minister, in Sydney and Melbourne, in June 1998. The seminars were jointly developed and presented by the Monash Mt Eliza Business School and the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Attendance at the seminars was by invitation only and the evaluation indicates that they were greatly valued by the attending senior management representatives from a number of Australia's largest companies.
In December 1997, research started in partnership with the Committee for Economic Development of Australia to determine the circumstances in which productive diversity principles are being applied across Australian companies.
In March 1998, a study began to determine the extent of curricula, across the Australian University and TAFE sectors, which harnesses productive diversity management principles.
The results of these two research projects were received by the Department in June 1998 and will be used in 1998–99 to inform the next stage of the productive diversity agenda.
The Minister launched a new productive diversity kit in June 1998, entitled Cultural Diversity At Work. The kit includes case studies of a number of Australian companies which have implemented productive diversity.
[ Top Of Page ](v) Provision of advice on policy issues
Community relations
Liaison with the community was facilitated through funding of the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia Inc. (FECCA).
As required in the grant agreement, FECCA provided community input through its submissions on the 1998 Federal Budget and the 1998 migration and humanitarian programs. FECCA also provided an avenue for community views to be put to the National Multicultural Advisory Council, to the Attorney-General's Department on model domestic violence laws and to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee on migration legislation amendments. It is also represented on numerous boards and committees.
The Bilingual Consultants Network (BCN) was established in 1988, within the former Office of Multicultural Affairs.
Its broad purpose was to provide multicultural research services on a fee for service basis, first to Commonwealth Departments and later to State and Local Government as well as the private sector.
It specialised in conducting interviews and group discussions in languages other than English. The main purpose of the BCN was to provide a means by which the views of people with poor English language skills could be reached.
The network was evaluated in 1996–97. Partly because the private sector has established services similar to those offered by the BCN, the evaluation recommended that the BCN cease to operate. This recommendation was accepted, and the network was formally wound up in 1997–98.
Migrant women's issues
The Women's Unit, in conjunction with other areas of the Department (notably, the Family and Legal Policy Sections), has focused primarily on the issue of domestic violence in 199798.
This is due, in part, to DIMA's significant involvement in the National Domestic Violence Summit in November 1997, during which it was announced that DIMA will clarify the legal and privacy issues associated with access to and disclosure of a sponsor's domestic violence history to migration applicants.
This initiative was developed with a view to ensuring that migration decision making is more fully informed.
In relation to the Summit, the Department also provided a submission on the Model Domestic Violence Laws Discussion Paper, which proposed a 'best practice model' of domestic violence legislation which could be partially or wholly adopted by jurisdictions across Australia.
Additionally, the Women's Unit meets regularly with the Summit secretariat (from the Office of the Status of Women) and other relevant agencies to discuss Summit initiatives and processes.
Due to ongoing demand, the Department has undertaken a second major distribution of its video and booklet, Marrying and Migrating ... You have to work at it.
These products were developed in response to concerns about the incidence of serial sponsorship and violence against women sponsored to Australia as fiancés and spouses.
As part of its overall strategy to ensure that refugee and migrant women's needs are being adequately addressed in the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of services, the Department has continued to provide policy advice to other government and non-government agencies on a wide range of women's issues, including female genital mutilation and employment.
[ Top Of Page ]Ethnic youth and aged
The Department addressed the needs of ethnic youth both through financial assistance to youth organisations and forums and in cross-portfolio coordination of Commonwealth initiatives.
For example, DIMA participated in the 1997 Non-English Speaking Background National Youth Policy Seminar, and financial assistance was provided for the publication of the results of a related national youth issues project.
The Department provided input to the development of the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment.
It also provided advice on youth initiatives within this portfolio for the Youth Taskforce of the Ministerial Council on Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.
The Department participated in planning processes for Australia's involvement in the International Year of Older Persons in 1999.
As a result, the special contribution and particular needs of older Australians from diverse cultural backgrounds are being considered in the development of the National Healthy Ageing Strategy and the National Strategy for an Ageing Australia.
Employment issues
The Department played a significant role in ensuring migrant issues were taken into consideration in the new Job Network arrangements.
The Department provided advice to the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) on migrant issues during the development of tender specifications for the new employment service market.
The Department also contributed to the development of the Job Seeker Classification Instrument (JSCI) to ensure that factors of particular relevance to migrants, such as English language and literacy skills, country of birth, and other personal factors identifying special needs of refugee and humanitarian entrants, were taken into consideration when job seekers were assessed.
Briefings
In 1997–98, more than 680 briefs, speech notes, and other documents were produced for use by the Minister or the Prime Minister and their representatives at community events, compared with 666 in 1996–97.
Of the 680 items, 43 were prepared for the Prime Minister's Office or the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Deadlines were met in 95 per cent of cases, compared with 97 per cent in 1996–97. The deadlines during 1997–98 were missed by one working day in a further four per cent of cases.