Standards for recording cultural and language diversity

Introduction

Of all States and Territories, Western Australia has the largest proportion of citizens born overseas with more than half a million people
(531,747 persons) or just over a quarter of the total population (27.1%) born overseas. To facilitate effective planning and delivery of culturally appropriate services to Western Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse population, it is vital that government agencies and other service providers have a clear understanding of, and relevant data on, the demographic, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of their client base and workforce.

In November 1999, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a publication, Standards for Statistics on Cultural and Language Diversity, that documents national standards for measuring diversity in the Australian population via a core and a standard set of Cultural and Language Indicators. [1]

The information gained using the core and standard sets of indicators will provide service providers with a body of data that will assist them in planning and delivering optimal service to their clients.

Why collect cultural diversity data?

Data on cultural and linguistic diversity is useful for a number of reasons. It assists agencies to:

• appreciate the diversity of their clientele and workforce
• plan and deliver services that are effective and culturally appropriate
• respond appropriately to community needs
• meet their access and equity outcomes.

What's wrong with using non-English speaking background (NESB)?

NESB is no longer considered to be an appropriate measure of cultural diversity for a number of reasons:

• It is an oversimplified indicator of disadvantage – for example, it groups business migrants with refugees.
• It masks the linguistic and cultural diversity within and between ethnic groups.
• It defines people in the negative and often implies a lack of English proficiency.
• It is unhelpful and potentially misleading in assessing the need for and effectiveness of policies, programs and service provision.

If the acronymn CaLD (cultural and linguistic diversity) is to be used, it is recommended that it be utilised using the definition included in OMI’s Working Definitions of Terms (provided on http://www.omi.wa.gov.au)and is clearly understood to refer to a person or group’s background, that is, a person is from a CaLD background rather than a person ‘is’ CaLD.

Standards for statistics on cultural and language diversity

A minimum core set and a standard set of cultural and language indicators have been developed in accordance with Australian Bureau of Statistics requirements.
The minimum core set is as follows:

• country of birth
• main language other than English spoken at home
• proficiency in spoken English
• Indigenous status (for use when focus is not specifically on migrants).

The full standard set also includes: ancestry, country of birth of father, country of birth of mother, first language spoken, languages spoken at home, main language spoken at home, religious affiliation, year of arrival in Australia.
These can be added either individually or in combination to the core set.

Uses and benefits of the new standards

The cultural and language indicators provide significant benefits including:

• provision of a consistent measure of cultural and language diversity in statistical and administrative collections requiring information on cultural and language diversity.
• the capacity to make comparisons between regions and states and against census data.
• greater ability to assess clients’ cultural and language requirements, for example, the need for interpreters and/or bilingual staff.

Implementation

Further information regarding the implementation of the standards can be obtained from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s The Guide: Implementing the Standards for Statistics on Cultural and Language Diversity or by contacting the Office of Multicultural Interests on (08) 6552 1500 or the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity on (08) 9214 6600.