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Spotlight on: Working with multicultural communities

Exploring how the workforce can strengthen culturally safe, inclusive and responsive mental health care for Victoria's multicultural communities.

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Every person’s story is shaped by culture, family and community. 

To deliver care that’s truly person-centred, we need a workforce that can see and support people in their full context — with cultural safety, curiosity and respect at the heart of every interaction. 

The focus on multicultural communities is an important element of Capability 3: Working with diverse consumers, families and communities, one of the core capabilities in Our Workforce, Our Future.

That’s what this Spotlight is about. 

We are bringing together the organisations, tools and training that help make our system more inclusive, culturally responsive and equitable. 

This page will remain as a growing hub where you can find practical resources, explore sector initiatives and contribute your own examples of good practice. 
 

What's on at the Collaborative Centre

Presented by the Victorian Multicultural Commission in partnership with Solis and supported by the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Dumplings Against Depression is a community event that brings people together over a shared meal to talk openly about mental health and wellbeing across cultures. Featuring multicultural mental health experts, community voices, and interactive sessions, recordings of the panel sessions will be made available following the event. Watch this space! 


Register here

Dumplings against depression banner image

Get to know your statewide lead organisation, Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH) 

Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH) helps organisations, government and individual practitioners understand how they can better meet the needs of diverse communities. Watch these videos to learn more about how they work and consider how you could collaborate with them.

Watch: Our transcultural experiences

To communicate a little more about who VTMH are, what they do, and how they collaborate with organisations on cultural diversity, equity and inclusion within the mental health landscape, they recently created five short videos about their work.

What can I already access?

Learn more below about what you can already utilise to build on your ability to provide culturally responsive care and create inclusive services to meet the needs of mental health consumers from all cultural backgrounds and belief systems.

Learn and grow

Learn and Grow: self-directed modules  

Build your cultural responsiveness and awareness capability at your own pace with short, practical online modules. 

 

Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH) 

VTMH offer free interactive online learning for state-funded healthcare providers.

Topics include

  • Orientation to Culturally Responsiveness,
  • Cultural Diversity and Assessment,
  • Working with Interpreters and,
  • LGBTIQ Intersect.

vtmh.org.au/interactive-online-learning 

 

Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health (CEH) 

Paid e-learning modules focussing on cultural competence, health literacy and community engagement 

ceh.org.au/training 

 

Mental Health Professional Online Development Program (MHPOD)

MHPOD Learning Portal provides free access to online learning material presented in a longform, multimedia-rich format. Sign up and navigate to the diversity section.

https://elearning.mhpod.gov.au/

Learn together

Learn together: workshops and team training

Join live sessions or bring your team together for hands-on learning. 

 

VTMH workshops 

Check their training calendar. https://vtmh.org.au/events/

 

Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health (CEH)

Workshops — tailored sessions (cost associated). ceh.org.au/training 

 

Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria Mental Health in Multicultural Communities

Training – costs may be associated. https://eccv.org.au/mental-health-workshops/

 

Mahana Culture 

Organisational training to build inclusion and equitable opportunities.mahanaculture.com

Learn with support

Specialist support and communities of practice

Tap into advice and mentoring for your team in individual cases where you feel you could benefit from guidance from subject-matter experts

 

VTMH Transcultural Clinical Discussion Service 

The Transcultural Clinical Discussion Service (previously known as The Secondary Consultation Service) offers mental health clinicians an opportunity to discuss the cultural relevance of a specific consumer’s symptoms and help-seeking behaviours or challenges with engagement.   

Commit to your ongoing learning by joining communities of practice 

  • VTMH Community of Practice in Cultural Diversity and Mental Health
  • VTMH Lived Experience and Diversity (LEAD) Community of Practice

All links to the above can be found here: https://vtmh.org.au/education/group-learning/

 

Solis

Join Solis, a capacity-building, support & resource network for multicultural, culture-oriented mental health advocates & practitioners. http://wearesolis.org/join-us/

Empower others

Empower others: Resources for consumers, families and community leaders 

Access resources written in-language that you can pass on to consumers, families and supporters

 

Health Translations

Multilingual health information: healthtranslations.vic.gov.au 

Search an online directory and collection of resources including organisations, websites, online & in-person services and support resources, Instagram pages, podcasts and research related to living, being, and working in an intersectional and multicultural mental health space.

 

Solis

Cultural and Mental Health Toolkit. https://wearesolis.org/home/

Empower yourself

Empower yourself: Reflect and assess practice 

Use these tools to self-reflect on your own and your organisation’s readiness to work across cultures and communities. These are self-paced and can be used in service-wide development, to guide a specific program or project, or as a tool to reflect on your personal ability to provide culturally responsive care.

 

Cultural Competence Tools – CEH 

ceh.org.au/cultural-competence-tools 

 

Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia

Embrace framework. https://embracementalhealth.org.au/ 

Frameworks that guide

Explore some key frameworks and accreditation models that shape culturally safe care. 

Diverse Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework

Statewide framework supporting inclusive, culturally responsive and equitable mental health care.

Rainbow Tick Framework and Accreditation

Framework and accreditation for LGBTIQA+ inclusive practice

Get involved

This Spotlight is part of our Collaborative Centre’s ongoing commitment to connect the sector. 

We’ll continue to build on this hub with new stories, events, and lived experience insights — and we invite you to contribute. 

Together, we’re building a workforce that reflects the communities it serves — culturally safe, inclusive, and connected. 
 

Have a good practice example, event or resource to share?

Email us to share your ideas!

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