Ethnic affairs priorities statements

Ethnic affairs priorities statements (EAPS)

The cultural diversity of the people of NSW reflects the whole population of NSW, which comprises people from a range of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds.
The four principles of cultural diversity are:

• All individuals in NSW should have the greatest possible opportunity to contribute to, and participate in, all aspects of public life.
• All individuals and public institutions should respect and accommodate the culture, language and religion of others within an Australian legal and institutional framework where English is the primary language
• All individuals should have the greatest possible opportunity to make use of and participate in relevant activities and programs provided or administered by the Government of NSW.
• All public institutions of NSW should recognise the linguistic and cultural assets in the population of NSW as a valuable resource and promote this resource to maximise the development of the State.

These principles of cultural diversity are the policy of the State. Accordingly, each public authority must observe these principles in conducting its affairs.

Implementing the principles of cultural diversity in NSW public agencies

EAPS document the agency’s strategies to achieve outcomes, together with performance measure and plans for future action. These might include:

• the use of the Community Language Assistance Schemes as an active strategy in meeting the communication needs of non-English speaking clients
• positioning staff language skills as a tactical resource in its integrated communications strategy
• ensuring that training in cross-cultural issues is incorporated within other functional training and is regularly evaluated and revised.

A number of NSW agencies have been identified as Key Agencies on the basis of:

• a high degree of client contract, especially in the areas of welfare, justice, education and employment
• responsibility for developing and implementing government policy in these areas
• agencies which administer major funding programs.

These agencies are also required to work closely with the Ethnic Affairs Commission in the preparation of their EAPS and to lodge their EAPS with the Commission.

Further information on the common selection criteria is located at http://www.jobs.nsw.gov.au