1.1 Executive accountability: Appoint a Senior Executive Officer to coordinate and oversee implementation of multicultural access and equity obligations Senior Management Team July 2013 Senior Executive Officer appointed 1.2 1.3 Agency commitment: Appoint an internal Access and Equity Committee to assist in communicating Policy implementation requirements across the agency and to ensure that staff understand and are committed to implementation of the Multicultural Access and Equity Policy Develop clear Terms of Reference to define purpose, objectives and membership of the Committee Senior Management Team Manager, Corporate Affairs September 2013 November 2013 Access and Equity Committee established and members engaged Clear Terms of Reference developed, approved and issued to committee members 1.4 Other actions: Incorporate Cancer Australia’s vision for and commitment to multicultural access and equity into its 2014-19 Strategic Plan Health Promotion & Communication team July 2014 Strategic Plan published, including a clear statement of Cancer Australia’s vision for the Multicultural Access and Equity Policy 1.5 Enhance awareness and understanding of the Multicultural Access and Equity Policy by incorporating internal promotion of it into Cancer Australia’s Internal communication strategy Health Promotion & Communication team August 2013 Actions to raise awareness of the Multicultural Access and Equity Policy incorporated in the Cancer Australia internal communication strategy Engagement Effective engagement with culturally and linguistically diverse communities is central to Cancer Australia achieving its mission of reduced impact and improved wellbeing of people affected by cancer. Understanding consumer and stakeholder needs is critical to ensuring all Australians have access to the services they require. Action Responsibility Timeline Target Stakeholder engagement:
3.1 Performance indicators and reporting: Develop a set of KPIs relating to engagement with, and outcomes of services to, culturally and linguistically diverse clients General Manager, Programs/ Multicultural Access & Equity Committee June 2015 Set of KPIs defined and approved by the Cancer Australia Senior Management Team 3.2 3.3 Feedback: Review current feedback mechanisms to ensure they are appropriate for and responsive to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and that feedback received is dealt with appropriately Implement improvements/additional mechanisms based on any areas for improvement identified by the review Health Promotion & Communication team Health Promotion & Communication team February 2014 July 2014 Internal report compiled outlining the findings of the review of feedback mechanisms Provisions to improve any areas identified in the Report will be in place Capability It is imperative that Cancer Australia staff, contractors and service delivery partners are skilled in cultural competency to assist the agency in planning and delivering services that are effective and culturally appropriate. This, ultimately, will enable Cancer Australia to respond appropriately to the needs of its stakeholders and audiences. Action Responsibility Timeline Target 4.1 Cultural competency: Conduct compulsory cultural awareness training to ensure staff are appropriately equipped with cultural awareness and competency skills Manager, Corporate Affairs May 2014 Internal training session conducted and attended by all staff
4.2 Support attendance at additional cultural awareness training courses, seminars and conferences as part of staff professional development plans All line managers June 2015 (end of next full PDP review cycle) Cultural awareness training identified by staff and considered/approved by Senior Management Team 4.3 Research and data: Collect ethnicity data on the culturally and linguistically diverse groups with which Cancer Australia engages and to which it delivers its services General Manager, Programs/ Corporate Affairs team December 2014 Cancer Australia’s corporate contact database will be updated to include a where relevant diversity information can be inserted 4.4 Other actions Identify key indicators of diversity (e.g. country of birth data, language preferences, etc.) to guide scope of resources that should be considered for translation. These indicators will be considered for inclusion in future data collection Multicultural Access & Equity Committee December 2014 Set of indicators defined and corporate contact database fields updated accordingly Responsiveness Cancer Australia is committed to responding effectively to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities in order to improve cancer service delivery and to ensure the provision of accessible information to aid consumer decision making and to raise awareness of cancer. Action Responsibility Timeline Target 5.1 Standards: Conduct an audit to identify any whole-of-government standards and guidelines developed by Cancer Australia Multicultural Access & Equity Committee 2014 Internal report compiled outlining findings of audit
5.2 Where relevant, update any whole-of-government standards and guidelines to ensure they adequately address multicultural access and equity considerations Multicultural Access & Equity Committee/ Production Coordinator June 2014 All relevant standards and guidelines identified in the audit report will be updated 5.2 Policy, program and service delivery: Ensure that policies, programs, community interactions and service delivery are effective for culturally and linguistically diverse communities by reviewing strategies for engagement General Manager, Programs/ Multicultural Access & Equity Committee February 2015 Initial consultations undertaken with communities and feedback regarding agency performance sought 5.3 Outsourced services: Update all Cancer Australia procurement and contract templates, grant/funding agreements and related guidelines to include multicultural access and equity requirements Senior Advisor, Program Funding and Procurement June 2014 Templates updated, published on the Cancer Australia intranet and promoted internally 5.4 Other actions: Develop a style guide to ensure those responsible for contributing to Cancer Australia’s written resources and reports are aware of the importance of presenting information Plain English and ensuring general inclusiveness in relation to references to ethnic groups Health Promotion and Communication team February 2015 Style guide will be finalised, published on Cancer Australia’s intranet and promoted internally Openness Cancer Australia strives to be open and accountable regarding its interactions with and responsiveness to culturally and linguistically diverse Australians through clear, effective communication with the public. Action Responsibility Timeline Target 6.1 Publishing: Publish all two-yearly AMPs on Cancer Australia website, E-comms July 2013 CA’s 1st two-yearly AMP (covering the period 2013-15) published on
6.2 commencing with the 2013-15 AMP Include performance reports against KPIs for culturally and linguistically diverse clients in Cancer Australia’s annual reports, commencing with the Cancer Australia Annual report 2014-15 Health Promotion & Communication team June 2015 Cancer Australia website Inclusion of defined KPIs for culturally and linguistically diverse clients will be incorporated into plans for development of the Cancer Australia Annual Report (which will be tabled in Parliament by Oct 2015) 6.3 6.4 Data: Act transparently by placing notice on Cancer Australia website to inform users that the agency will be engaging in data capture, analysis and possible disclosure of information to improve responsiveness to Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities Make de-identified culturally and linguistically diverse data available to other departments or agencies and to the public, where appropriate Multicultural Access & Equity Committee/ Corporate Affairs team June 2014 December 2014 Statement will be uploaded to the Cancer Australia website Requests for information will be logged, reviewed and responded to in a timely manner and information provided where approved