Culturally responsive practice with culturally and linguistically diverse communities

Overview

Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world. It has people from over 300 different cultural backgrounds, and more than 20% of Australians were born in another country.² This diversity means that when organisations create services – like healthcare, schools, community programs or government support – they need to make sure these services work well for everyone, not just some people.

People with disability experience significant barriers to participation in everyday activities, including employment. People with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, face additional barriers due to the intersection of different parts of their identity, including their disability and cultural background. In some cultures, disability is viewed as a punishment or source of shame and people with disability can experience stigma and exclusion because of it. ³

While people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse communities have a range of experiences, some common factors in their experience of disability services can be identified. These include difficulties with:

• understanding how Australian disability services work
• accessing services in their language
• feeling safe reporting problems or asking for help
• navigating complex systems like the NDIS.⁴

People with disability are at risk of abuse, neglect and unfair treatment because of systemic barriers and discrimination. The Disability Royal Commission found that people with disability from culturally diverse backgrounds face even greater risks of harm due to their cultural background.⁵ This is partly due to the discrimination and marginalisation that they experience because of both their disability and their culture. The barriers caused by the intersection of ableism and racism can make it harder for them to access systems and services that are safe, respectful and understanding of their culture.⁶

To provide good support, systems and organisations need to think carefully about the different challenges experienced by people with disability from diverse cultural backgrounds. This might include making extra changes to ensure that people with disability from a broad range of backgrounds can access services and get the help they need. 

Cultural responsiveness is not just about translating documents or arranging interpreters, but about designing information, systems and services in a way that reflect how people from a broad range of communities understand and use them.⁷ 

A note about language

We are using the term culturally and linguistically diverse (sometimes referred to as CALD) but acknowledge that it is a contested term among many communities. There is significant diversity across the Australian community, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who were born in Australia, people who are proficient in English, people from refugee and economic migrant backgrounds and Deaf people who use Auslan.  

People with disability from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds are all different and if they need different support and adjustments to get and keep a job, those needs will be different too.

Key strategies for success

Some key strategies for success in practicing cultural responsiveness include:

• building trust by working with community leaders and organisations who have existing relationships with culturally and linguistically diverse communities
• making communication accessible and culturally appropriate, going beyond simply translating documents to think about how, when and where you share information with the person
• employing staff that reflect the diversity of the community you are working with, including people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• designing services with the community you are supporting, involving people with disability from those communities at every stage of planning, designing and operating services.^{8 9}