The Multicultural Framework Review was launched in August 2023 to examine the state of Australia’s multicultural society and recommend changes to laws, policies and institutional settings to build towards a stronger, more inclusive multicultural nation and respond to contemporary challenges.
On 24 July 2024, the Federal Government released the report of the Multicultural Framework Review and the Government Response. The Review’s report ‘Towards fairness: A multicultural Australia for all’ recognises the role of media in representing diverse cultures as fundamental to a successful multicultural Australia and the importance of accurate and positive multicultural representation in mainstream media to an individual’s sense of belonging.
‘Inclusive media and representation has an immense influence on shaping national narratives…Done well, inclusive media and representation reflects the multicultural nature of Australian society through diverse representation in media [and] promotes accurate and positive portrayals of various cultures to combat stereotypes and prejudices’ (p. 48).
The report has made several recommendations that are relevant to the community broadcasting sector, including improved access to government funding for independent multicultural media, and a formalised and expanded role for peak institutions such as the Community Broadcasting Australia Association (CBAA) – to help drive improvement in policy and service delivery outcomes, both domestically and internationally.
The CBAA and National Ethnic Multicultural Broadcasting Council (NEMBC) made submissions on behalf of the community broadcasting sector and appeared before the Review panel. CBAA and NEMBC are currently working together with the government towards implementing the recommendations of the report to support the vital activities of ethnic and multicultural community stations and broadcasters.
Read the Multicultural Framework Review Report here: Towards Fairness - a multicultural Australia for all (14MB PDF).
Read the Government Response here: Multicultural Framework Review – Government Response (435KB PDF).