This consultation is now closed.

Thank you for sharing your feedback on your priorities for the Multicultural Partnerships Policy in September and October 2023. Your feedback helped us design the new Multicultural Partnerships Policy that was adopted at the Council Meeting on Tuesday 14 May 2024.

We're lucky to have such a diverse and vibrant multicultural community here in Yarra and everyone has a role to play in making sure everyone feels included and valued.

In the past, Council’s role has been outlined in our Multicultural Partnerships Plan. The Multicultural Partnerships Plan ensured we’re providing services that are as accessible and culturally relevant as possible.

The plan provided guidance for our staff when they work with our diverse community and supports the inclusion of culturally and linguistically diverse residents in Council processes.

As the last plan expired in 2023, we replaced the four-year Multicultural Partnerships Plan with a long-term policy defining Council’s role in how we support our diverse community.

This Multicultural Partnerships Policy will be updated to align with each Council Plan’s objectives and values, without requiring a complete redevelopment every four years.

To help draft this Policy we held a broad community consultation in September and October 2023 to understand the community’s expectation of Council’s role within the multicultural space. We also wanted the community to help us:

• prioritise Council’s strategic objectives
• understand if there are any gaps within the objectives.
• identify potential actions to better support our multicultural community

Through this consultation as well as through conversations with community leaders and service providers, Council have decided to prioritise the following areas:

• standing against racism
• promoting effective communication
• fostering connections
• creating inclusive spaces
• building community capacity.

60% of this feedback came from people who spoke a language other than English.

We also heard that Council should simplify its approach to supporting the multicultural community. In response to this, we’ll be shifting away from complex multi-year strategies that we have done in the past.

Instead, we have used your feedback to draft a new Multicultural Partnership Policy that simplifies and clarifies our strategic direction in this space. This policy intends to clearly outline:

• our main goals
• our ongoing commitments to the multicultural community
• how we manage those day-to-day

This draft Policy was endorsed at the Council Meeting on Tuesday 14 May. You can read the agenda and minutes using this link.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the survey. Your feedback will be considered as we develop our new Multicultural Partnerships Strategy to support our diverse community.

We're lucky to have such a diverse and vibrant multicultural community here in Yarra. We all have a role to play in making sure everyone feels included and valued, regardless of their background.

In the past, Council’s role has been outlined in our Multicultural Partnerships Plan. The Multicultural Partnerships Plan ensures we’re providing services that are as accessible and culturally relevant as possible.

The plan provides guidance for our staff when they work with our diverse community and supports the inclusion of culturally and linguistically diverse residents in Council processes.

As the current plan expires in 2023, we’re replacing the four-year Multicultural Partnerships Plan with a long-term guiding strategy defining Council’s role in how we support our diverse community.

This Multicultural Partnerships Strategy will be updated to align with each Council Plan’s objectives and values, without requiring a complete redevelopment every four years.