Cultural Transition to Australian Society

for Newly Arrived Culturally & Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities

Objectives

  • To assist newly arrived CALD families in the transition to Australian Society more effectively
  • To train community leaders of the same CALD group as mentors and leaders for newly arrived families
  • To support the community leaders as they mentor the newly arrived families, whether in male / female groups, or in mixed groups


WHISE will work with service organisations and support services to provide this program under contract to the clients identified by the organisation.

Target Client Groups

Current ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008) and local government data indicate that the following groups are newly arrived with the City of Greater Dandenong and other southern metropolitan areas, and have considerable needs in making the transition to settled life within Australia:

  • Sudanese
  • Somali
  • Horn of Africa
  • Afghani
  • Iraqi
  • Burmese

While these are priority groups in terms of known disadvantage, the final groups selected will be on the basis of advice from the contracting organisation.

Service Outline

  • Identify five CALD community groups of the Southern Metropolitan Region, on the basis of advice from the Client, who have demonstrated significant difficulties in understanding and living within the Australian context
  • Identify two community leaders for each CALD group, who will then be trained as peer educators and mentors for their own community
  • Train the community leaders in group facilitation and communication, and develop with them the program of support and familiarisation tailored to the specific needs of their community
  • Work with the Client to identify participants in the program from the targeted community groups
  • Implement the tailored programs to each CALD group and gather feedback on the outcomes, issues and perceptions of the participants – program of 8 sessions to be run for each CALD group


Expected Outcomes

For the trained community leaders:

  • Improved skills and ability to mentor and lead members of their community
  • Improved confidence in assisting newly arrived families to adjust more effectively to Australian Society
  • Improved knowledge in the services and supports available to CALD communities generally, and to newly arrived families in particular
  • Improved understanding in how Australian systems work, and how to access services

For the participants:

  • Support and encouragement in making the transition to living in Australia
  • Improved ability to understand Australian culture, structure and systems
  • Increased knowledge of service available
  • Increased confidence in accessing services
  • Improved English communication skills

Fees

  • Community leader training: $ 300 per session (six sessions)
  • Group sessions: $ 150 per session (8 sessions per group)
  • Up to 15 participants in each group
  • Separate men’s and women’s groups