Hopes landmark move will expose ‘invisible’ barriers migrants face

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles hopes the move will help government see barriers that are currently “not visible” to policymakers.

“To me, that is exactly what the Voice is about … This is sometimes a challenging task. I think embracing it, and recognising the importance of speaking to people on terms that work to them, is fundamental in a society like ours.”

Information on the review will also be made available in 35 commonly-spoken languages. But after some health information was poorly translated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Giles insisted work was being done to ensure they were “both accurate in the literal sense and fully comprehensible”.

What is the review?

It’ll take input from a range of backgrounds, including:

• Australians from a migrant family background
• New migrant arrivals and people born overseas
• Refugees and humanitarian entrants
• Permanent and temporary visa holders

Giles said there were “obvious policy questions” for the review to address, including:

• Barriers to entering the job market and developing skills
• The quality of Australia’s settlement services
• Culturally appropriate aged care support

“What we’re hoping to do … is identify the questions that we are not asking, identify those gaps in government’s engagement with community that perhaps are not visible to those of us who deal formally in policy-making,” Giles said.

Community liaison officers, who Giles described as “the interface between my department and community”, have also been tasked with alerting migrant groups.