Multicultural education and engagement plan 2025–27

Our work on the Multicultural education and engagement plan 2025–27 (MEEP) is shaped by the 2 governing documents outlined below.

Strategy 2027

Strategy 2027 sets VEC objectives until 2027. It reflects the dynamic and complex environment we work in, and responds to new challenges including:

  • changes to the law
  • changes to the way people expect elections to run, including using technology
  • misinformation and disinformation across the media landscape and their impact on political views
  • decreasing trust in democratic systems
  • increasing threats to our systems and applications and a need for better cybersecurity.

The strategy has 4 thematic areas that guide our work and help address these challenges:

  • Trust – we are trusted to deliver electoral services with integrity and high quality.
  • Voters – we deliver a great voter experience.
  • Processes and systems – our processes and systems respond to a complex environment.
  • Wellbeing – our people are capable, engaged and satisfied.

These themes inform the goals and actions of our education and engagement plans.

Inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) framework

We are committed to providing inclusive and accessible services to Victorians and creating a workplace that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We aim to foster respect and prevent all forms of discrimination, harassment, and violence.

We are developing an IDEA framework which will explain how we will work with people of all ages, genders, sexualities, abilities, ethnicities, cultures, religions and socio-economic backgrounds. Our IDEA framework will build on our previous diversity and inclusion framework to increase trust in the VEC through recognising and celebrating diversity.

The VEC has a history of championing inclusion through initiatives such as our democracy ambassador program. The IDEA framework will support the goals of our education and engagement plans to help our staff and communities thrive. 

Goals of the MEEP

Our culturally accessible and responsive services for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities have made us a recognised leader in fostering electoral participation. Our innovative voter education and inclusion programs were created with the help of community leaders, services, and organisations. The MEEP will build on these relationships and explore new ways to work together.

With Victoria’s growing diversity, increased engagement and participation in democracy can strengthen bonds within and between diverse communities.

True democracy depends on inclusion. We want to support CALD communities, especially where there is low voter turnout and high informal voting rates. We aim to:

  • increase trust, understanding, and access to the electoral process
  • help people learn how to vote correctly
  • promote lifelong engagement in voting and democracy
  • increase electoral enrolment and participation.

The MEEP has 3 focus areas:

  • access
  • knowledge and confidence
  • relationships, visibility, and representation.

The actions we will take to achieve these goals are outlined under the headings below.

Access

To improve CALD communities’ access to electoral services and processes, we will:

  • ensure resources are culturally and linguistically inclusive
  • create and promote in-language videos
  • keep translated enrolment forms up to date
  • identify and address barriers to CALD electoral participation
  • monitor and respond to changes in migration and growth in multicultural communities.

Knowledge and confidence

To improve CALD communities’ electoral knowledge and confdence, we will:

  • employ people from CALD backgrounds as VEC democracy ambassadors (DAs)
  • deliver DA sessions to language groups with lower English profciency
  • provide active citizenship workshops to new multicultural communities

Relationships, visibility, and representation

To increase stakeholder relationships and CALD communities’ visibility and representation in electoral matters, we will:

  • maintain relationships with the CALD Advisory Group and support CALD stakeholders and communities
  • support multicultural service providers
  • strengthen relations with multicultural communities
  • attend multicultural events, conferences and forums
  • acknowledge important multicultural events across VEC communication channels.

MEEP outcomes

At the end of the MEEP, some of the outcomes we hope to see are:

  • more people from CALD communities knowing how, and feeling confdent, to enrol and vote
  • more people from CALD communities enrolling, voting and being able to access help to vote if needed
  • stronger ongoing relationships with CALD leaders
  • stronger engagement, representation from, and visibility of CALD stakeholders
  • more CALD stakeholders helping community members participate effectively in elections.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Advisory Group

The MEEP was developed in collaboration with the CALD Advisory Group. It has 10 members, including people from CALD backgrounds and the following multicultural sector service providers:

  • Carringbush Adult Education
  • Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria
  • Victoria University
  • Victorian Local Government Multicultural Issues Network
  • Centre for Multicultural Youth
  • Migrant Information Centre (Eastern Melbourne)
  • Ethnic Council of Shepparton & District Inc
  • AMES Australia
  • Victorian Multicultural Commission.

The CALD Advisory Group provides us with community advice, feedback and ideas for better elector engagement with multicultural communities.