The Victorian Government keeps multicultural communities safe through targeted programs and initiatives.
The TAC L2P Program is funded by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC). It is administered by the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) and delivered by more than 50 councils and non-profit community agencies across Victoria.
This free program is for eligible Victorian learner drivers who do not have access to a supervising driver or vehicle. It supports them to complete the mandatory 120 hours of supervised driving they need to get their driver’s licence.
The program supports 17% of learner drivers from multicultural backgrounds. This support helps them access culturally appropriate driver mentors and L2P vehicles (DTP: $8.1 million in 2023–24).
Program outcomes included:
- 13% of probationary licences obtained were from learners with multicultural backgrounds
- 19% of the program’s total drive hours was contributed to by learners from multicultural backgrounds
- 20% of volunteer mentors speak a language other than English.
Palestine Australia Relief and Action (PARA) received funding from the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) to assist the settlement of newly arrived Palestinians fleeing the Israel–Gaza conflict. The initiative helped Palestinian migrants and refugees to overcome their experience of conflict and displacement. This included ensuring they have a home and pathways to employment. The project also created business and social connections, strengthening social inclusion (DPC: $0.125 million in 2023–24).
Program outcomes included:
- recruiting a Settlement Support Officer to support activities
- establishing a partnership with Victoria’s Humanitarian Settlement Program provider, AMES
- providing critical accommodation support to 6 families for a period of up to 6 months to help with immediate settlement.
The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing’s (DFFH) Supporting Multicultural and Faith Communities to Prevent Family Violence Program works with multicultural and faith communities to end family violence.
The program funds 33 multicultural and faith community organisations. These organisations work with their communities to co-design and deliver culturally tailored projects to prevent family violence.
In 2023–24, further funding allowed 23 of these 33 organisations to extend their projects for one year.
Since its inception in 2021, the program has reached more than 35,000 people in 45 cultural and faith communities.
This included 15,152 people in the 2023–24 period (DFFH: $1.61 million in 2023–24).
The Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) funds InTouch multicultural legal centre to provide free legal services for eligible migrant and refugee women experiencing family violence.
In 2023–24, InTouch provided:
- legal support to more than 700 women
- migration support to 300 women
- 350 secondary consultations to the family violence and community legal sectors.
InTouch delivered fortnightly outreach clinics at Dandenong Hospital. This included working closely with the social work team, visiting the maternity ward and attending the Women's Health Clinic.
The team provided early intervention for migrant and refugee women experiencing family violence. This included giving information, advice and guidance.
As well as legal advice, casework and secondary consults to clients, InTouch provided education sessions for health staff. This helped staff to identify people in legal need and improved referral pathways to InTouch.
InTouch also provided training to the Monash Health Healthy Mother Healthy Babies team. This training covered the relationship between migration, family law and family violence.
InTouch continued to deliver its outreach clinic to Your Community Health in East Reservoir (DJCS: $0.263 million in 2023–24).
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