Our CEO, Sally Gafa, along with the Regional Multicultural Alliance Victoria (RMA Vic) visited Parliament House in Canberra recently, to raise awareness of issues facing regional Victoria around sustainable funding for organisations supporting multicultural communities living in rural and regional areas, proving ‘a collective voice carries more clout’.
The delegation was led (or hosted) by the Deputy Prime Minister, The Hon. Richard Marles MP, at Parliament House, Canberra with the RMA Vic meeting with Senior Advisors and 13 MPs from all parties.
The purpose of the visit was to advocate and join in important conversations as a collective, to highlight the regional-specific challenges such as access to services, employment, and infrastructure, and to table our solution which will ensure these vital services are not overlooked and receive the attention they deserve.
“There is a pressing need for a sustainable, place-based funding model to ensure regional communities are not left behind with what has always been an inequitable funding allocation for multicultural organisations. The current distribution of multicultural funds disproportionately favours entities with broad mandates, such as local governments, public health agencies, and community health providers; while these organisations have important roles, their wide scope dilutes their focus on regional multicultural needs,” Sally said.
“In contrast, specialised multicultural organisations, which are deeply connected to their communities and offer culturally tailored services, receive little to no funding. This imbalance weakens the effectiveness of multicultural programs and undermines the communities these funds are meant to assist,” Sally said.
“To rectify current funding disparities, we proposed to Parliament, an innovative funding model consisting of Need-Based Funding with targeted funding mechanisms. This approach supports the Victorian Government’s Anti-Racism Strategy, which emphasises flexible, targeted interventions for multicultural communities.”
According to Sally, the RMA Vic also proposed to Parliament the need to establish a basic principal funding mechanism of $2.5 Million Per Annum for regional Victoria to sustain the operational integrity of RMA Vic members, covering essential expenses such as rent, staff and infrastructure.
“Our ask is to work with Federal Members to allocate the RMA Alliance a Federal Regional Assistance Grant. We believe that a co-designed, long-term funding model will support not just social cohesion but economic participation and improved service delivery across the state and potentially across Australia in rural & regional towns & cities.
About the Regional Multicultural Alliance Victoria (RMA Vic)
Regional Multicultural Alliance Victoria is a formal partnership of seven regionally governed organisations advancing equity, cultural inclusion, and place-based service delivery, reaching over 120,000 culturally diverse residents across regional Victoria. Together, the Alliance advocates for regional diversity to be embedded in government policy, systems, and investment.
RMA Vic is comprised of: Albury Wodonga Ethnic Communities Council (Albury-Wodonga), Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council (Ballarat), Cultura (Geelong), Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District (Shepparton), Gippsland Multicultural Services (Gippsland), Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services (Bendigo), and Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council (Mildura).
