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.

We have heard from you the need to consult as we develop the Terms of Reference for the Council.

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

There are many ways you can give your feedback:

Your feedback will be used to inform the membership, representation, community engagement, and accountability requirements for the Council.

Applications to become a member of the Council will open in May 2023. We expect to announce the new Council in late August 2023.

Please give an email address below and click submit to receive a notification when applications open.

In February 2023, following extensive community consultation, the ACT Government enacted 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 Listening Report with a summary of what we heard from you during the second and most recent round of consultation is available.

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