Australian Multiculturalism for a New Century: Towards Inclusiveness

Appendix G - Charter Of Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society (continued)

2. Practical strategies for achieving equity:

• Recognising and valuing difference: Clients have different opportunities, education, skills and needs; agencies take account of these differences in the ways services are designed and delivered (for example, by either employing ethnic or indigenous staff to deal with sensitive issues that affect ethnic or indigenous clients; or by developing networks with relevant agencies which could provide support to staff members on specific ethnic or indigenous issues).

• Removing barriers: Agencies help clients to overcome possible disadvantage caused by country of birth, language, culture, race and religion (for example, by employing ethnic or Aboriginal liaison officers) so that everyone receives fair treatment from government services.

Achievement of equity by government services could be monitored through:

• Qualitative information obtained via consultations with client groups.

• Use of program outcomes reports and, where appropriate, evaluation case studies to illustrate relative impact on different client groups.

Notwithstanding the difficulty in quantifying certain processes and outcomes, some measurable indicators of equity (such as a reduction in the level of complaints about unfair treatment) will help agencies determine whether a strategy has succeeded, and to what degree it has succeeded.

3. Practical strategies for achieving communication:

• Informing eligible clients: Agencies use a range of information strategies to inform clients from different backgrounds about services. Strategies include the provision of information in languages other than English, and through both print and electronic media.

• Consultation: Agencies consult with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds at all stages in program planning, design, delivery and evaluation, and provide feedback to customers about the outcomes of these consultations. Agencies also consult with other providers and levels of government, as appropriate, to ensure co-ordination of services appropriate to clients' needs.

• Participation: Where appropriate, agencies include people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds on decision-making and advisory bodies so that a broad range of views is brought to bear on all key decisions. In this regard, agencies make use of existing registers of people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds to make appointments to these bodies.

Achievement of informative, consultative and participatory government services could be monitored through:

• Evidence of the use of information strategies, including the use of television and Aboriginal and ethnic radio and translated materials, so that all clients, whatever their background, receive appropriate information about services.

• Numbers of clients from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds involved in consultative arrangements.

4. Practical strategies for achieving responsiveness:

• Flexible services: Agencies optimise the reach and impact of mainstream government programs through adapting their service delivery to the particular needs of different clients.

Achievement of cultural sensitivity and responsiveness of government services could be monitored through:

• Evidence of client needs assessments undertaken and taken into account.

• Evidence of staff undertaking cultural diversity training.

• Measurement of the level of client satisfaction with services through structured feedback.

• Evidence of marketing of services to all sections of the community.

5. Practical strategies for achieving effectiveness:

• Collecting data: Agencies collect data to identify the possible causes of disadvantage associated with a client's cultural and linguistic background which could affect their accessing and benefiting from government services. Key characteristics could include birthplace; whether a person's first language spoken was English, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background; Australian South Sea Islander background; date of birth, year of arrival in Australia; birthplace of parents; sex; and religion. The collection of data will not always include all these items. The relevance of these data items will vary depending on the service delivery context.

• Performance monitoring and reporting: Agencies develop appropriate performance indicators for assessing if program outcomes have been achieved for clients, consistent with stated objectives.

• Utilising staff skills: Agencies recognise, utilise and remunerate the linguistic skills, cultural knowledge and community contacts of their staff, as appropriate.

Achievement of 'results-oriented' government services could be monitored through:

• The extent to which clients of a program achieve agreed objectives within a specified time frame.

• Percentage and number of clients satisfied with quality of service; and helpfulness of staff.

By having in place measurable indicators of effectiveness (for example, client satisfaction survey data) agencies will be better able to determine whether a strategy is successful or not.

6. Practical strategies for achieving efficiency:

• Planning: The needs of clients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are considered in all stages of the program cycle: strategic planning (especially inclusion in vision statements or corporate goals); policy development; program design; service delivery; and evaluation and reporting.

• Managing resources: Within available resources, agencies continuously improve the quality of service delivery and seek innovative ways of bringing services to clients; for example, through new technology and partnerships with other agencies. These initiatives take into account the cultural and linguistic diversity of clients. Agencies also recognise the needs of clients in remote areas through developing outreach and community liaison arrangements.

Achievement of efficient government services could be monitored through evidence of government agencies allowing for costs associated with developing culturally responsive and accessible services in the course of their budget planning. Where a service is delivered by a non-government contractor these considerations would need to be factored into agencies' tendering bids and contracts.

Having indicators of efficiency can help agencies to determine whether a strategy has succeeded and the degree to which it has succeeded.

7. Practical strategies for achieving accountability:

• Public accountability: Accountability is focussed on outputs and results as well as inputs and processes. Government departments and agencies also need to report on the outcomes they have achieved for clients from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This can be done through departmental/agency annual reports.

• Contractual obligations: Where a program or service is delivered via an intermediary, such as another level of government or a non-government organisation, the funding conditions in contracts specify relevant access and equity accountabilities (for example, collection and reporting of information on client characteristics).

Achievement of accountable and transparent government services should be assured through the reporting mechanisms specified above.

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