Good practice principles
The department is:
- promoting and monitoring adherence to the department’s Language services policy and guidelines, including ensuring all health services in Victoria provide certified interpreters and quality translations so multicultural communities can make informed choices about their own health care
- actively co-designing translated and plain English information and resources to meet language, literacy and cultural needs and preferences, including ensuring resources are produced in a range of accessible visual formats
- planning for language services, including analysing data on language services needs and use and adding interpreting and translation costs into all services and program budgets
- disseminating health information through multicultural community networks, relevant social media and media channels, and the Health Translations online directory
- advocating to the Commonwealth, local government and other state departments to improve language services and accessible communication.
Practical resources and supports
- Department of Health: Language services policy and guidelines
- Victorian Government: Language maps of multicultural and Better practice guide for multicultural
- Health online directory of over 28,000 resources
- Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and cultural consultancy and language services training
- Multicultural community networks such as Victorian Multicultural , Ethnic Communities Council of and Victorian Refugee Health .
Actions we will take
| Flagship initiatives | Timeframe | Lead division |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 Review the department’s Language services policy and guidelines and develop new tools and supporting resources to inform language services as part of health planning, program design and delivery. | 2023–26 | Hospitals and Health Services |
| 3.2 Implement an ongoing increase to multicultural translations quotas from 5% to 15% of the department’s total campaign advertising. | Ongoing | Communications and Engagement |
| Other new and continuing actions | Timeframe | Lead division |
|---|---|---|
| 3.3 Promote and use new whole-of-government resources for accessible multicultural communications such as the Better practice guide for multicultural and Language maps of multicultural . | Ongoing | Whole-of-department responsibility |
| 3.4 Rebuild the communications approach to summer emergency responses in partnership with multicultural community organisations. | 2023–24 | Communications and Engagement |
| 3.5 Review the department’s approach to communicating with multicultural communities, leveraging the Better practice guide for multicultural , to ensure the department’s channels and methods for communicating with this audience are consistent across the organisation. This includes a review of the trial partnership with Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (2022–23) and other channels used by the Communications and Engagement team and from other government agencies to determine best practice. | Ongoing | Communications and Engagement |
| 3.6 Promote the Health online portal, a free online library of translated Australian health and wellbeing information managed by the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health. | 2023–26 | Community and Public Health |
| 3.7 Continue to commission translations projects to ensure accessible information is available for multicultural communities for new services and programs, including through partnering with the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health. | Ongoing | Whole-of-department responsibility |
Good practice example: Smile Squad program improvement efforts to enhance engagement of refugee background communities
People from multicultural backgrounds, particularly refugees and people seeking asylum, are a priority population that are disproportionately affected by poor oral health.
Smile Squad is the Victorian Government’s school dental program that delivers free oral health promotion, dental check-ups and treatment to Victorian government school students at school. In 2022–23, the Smile Squad team conducted a literature review and consultations with dental care professionals, refugee health services, government departments and researchers. This led to two service improvement activities:
- establishing the Smile Squad Refugee Advisory Group from July 2023 to June 2024 with the support of cohealth, including recruiting 17 refugee community delegates from across Victoria
- starting a place-based project in July 2023, led by the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health, to make Smile Squad services more accessible and culturally competent for students from refugee backgrounds.
In 2023–24, the team is working in partnership with the Smile Squad Refugee Advisory Group, community health services and partner agencies (such as Dental Health Services Victoria, community dental agencies, the Department of Education and the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Behavioural Insights Unit) to review current services and resources and provide advice on equitable planning and delivery to enhance participation of students and families of refugee backgrounds.
By March 2024, the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health is expected to complete community consultations and focus-group testing with students from refugee backgrounds and their families to provide advice on:
- barriers and enablers to accessing Smile Squad oral health promotion and clinical services
- how to increase participation in Smile Squad oral health promotion and clinical services
- communications to better explain Smile Squad
- other ways to gain informed consent and promote the program to support participation
- next steps to develop social media and other audiovisual materials that will support participation in clinical services and increase oral health literacy.
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Language services policy and guidelines.
Health Translations online of over 28,000 resources
Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health language services
Victorian Government:
Multicultural community organisations and networks listed in Appendix 4.
Reviewed 16 April 2024