Proving that ‘a collective voice carries more clout,’ the Regional Multicultural Alliance Victoria (RMA Vic) made a big impression in Canberra recently, raising awareness of issues facing regional Victoria around sustainable funding for organisations supporting multicultural communities living in rural and regional areas.
The delegation was hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister, The Hon. Richard Marles MP, at Parliament House, Canberra, with RMA Vic meeting with Senior Advisors and 13 MPs from all parties.
According to Sam Atukorala, CEO of the Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District Inc., the purpose of the visit was to advocate and join in important conversations as a collective, highlighting regional-specific challenges such as access to services, employment, and infrastructure, and to table solutions to 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,” said Mr Atukorala.
“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,” Mr Atukorala added.
“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 Mr Atukorala, 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 and regional towns and cities.”
