Canberra is a rich, diverse and proudly multicultural community. The Multiculturalism Act 2023 was recently established to support the Territory's continuous growth and improvement as an inclusive city, celebrating our multiculturalism and diversity. Part of the Act enshrines a new Ministerial Advisory Council for Multiculturalism in law.

The Council will advise the Minister for Multicultural Affairs on issues of importance for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

In developing the Multiculturalism Act 2023, the ACT Government held two rounds of targeted consultation with community organisations and groups. We have used this valuable input to formalise the functions, membership and appointment process of the Council.

Consultation on the Terms of Reference for the Council closed on 10 April 2023. We had sought your views on what should be included in the Terms of Reference in three key areas to ensure that they reflect the interests of multicultural communities.

1. Membership and representation
2. Community engagement
3. Accountability and transparency

To guide our conversations, we had developed a Discussion Paper with a summary of what we are proposing and questions to consider in establishing the new Council. You can also view it in Arabic (العربية), Chinese simplified (简体中文), Chinese traditional (廣東話), Korean (한국인) or Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt).

We had also worked closely with culturally and linguistically diverse community groups and leaders in the ACT to support your engagement during the consultation process. Information on how to access translated material and interpreters is available in multiple languages on the translation and interpretation page.

The new Ministerial Advisory Council for Multiculturalism will be announced in September 2023 with details published at ACT Multicultural Advisory Council - Community Services

inform the membership, representation, community engagement, and accountability requirements for the Council.

In February 2023, following extensive community consultation, the ACT Government passed the Multiculturalism Act 2023, to support the Territory's continuous growth and improvement as an inclusive city, and celebrating our multiculturalism and diversity.

The Act follows two separate rounds of community consultation on what was initially called the Multicultural Recognition Act. The new title "multiculturalism" reflects the feedback we received from the community that the legislation should celebrate multiculturalism and diversity, not only recognise it.

The Multiculturalism Act 2023:

1. Establishes a Charter for Multiculturalism -- the Charter sets out principles for supporting diversity, inclusion and belonging. It will guide the government when developing, delivering and evaluating policies, programs and services.
2. Formalises the Ministerial Advisory Council for Multiculturalism -- this group advises the Minister for Multicultural Affairs on issues of importance for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
3. Requires ACT Government agencies to report on how they are promoting and implementing the Act.

The latest Listening Report of what we heard from further consultation on the Terms of Reference for the Council is now available.

The previous listening reports are also available:

• The first Listening Report with a summary of what we heard from you during the first round of consultation is available.
• The second Listening Report with a summary of what we heard from you during the second round of consultation is available.