Victoria’s mental health law, which replaced the Mental Health Act 2014. Its principles say services must consider a person’s language, culture, ethnicity and faith and be culturally safe for people of all backgrounds.
Topic: Policy and systems
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Victorian suicide prevention and response strategy 2024–2034
Victoria’s ten-year, whole-of-government plan to reduce suicide, built around compassionate services and an intersectional approach. Its summary does not single out multicultural, migrant or refugee communities, which is useful context for advocacy.
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National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement
The agreement between the Commonwealth and the states and territories on how mental health and suicide prevention will be funded and run. It names culturally and linguistically diverse communities and refugees as priority groups for better outcomes.
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National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025–2035
Australia’s ten-year national plan to reduce suicide. It notes that people who come to Australia as humanitarian entrants have nearly twice the suicide rate of other permanent migrants, and includes actions on safe workplaces and belonging for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
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The State of Multicultural Mental Health in Australia: Research Report
A national report on the mental health of people born overseas. It found recent arrivals had the highest rates of mental health conditions among overseas-born people, that access and continuity of care were uneven, and that co-designed, culturally tailored programs work better; it sets six priority areas for action.
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Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia: Towards culturally inclusive service delivery
A national framework that helps mental health and suicide prevention services check and improve how well they serve people from multicultural backgrounds. It is now offered by Embrace as a free, self-paced online tool for services and workers.
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Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, Final Report Volume 3: Promoting inclusion and addressing inequities (Chapter 21: Responding to the mental health and wellbeing needs of a diverse population)
Volume 3 of the Royal Commission’s final report looks at fairness and inclusion in Victoria’s mental health system. Chapter 21 covers people from culturally diverse backgrounds, refugees, people seeking asylum and LGBTIQ+ people, and leads to Recommendation 34 on a safe, responsive and inclusive system.
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Mental Health: Productivity Commission Inquiry Report
A national inquiry into how Australia’s mental health system works and what it costs. It calls for services, online tools and the workforce to better meet the cultural and language needs of people from diverse backgrounds, including support for bilingual and bicultural peer workers.