Acting CEO message: Multicultural Victoria Amendment Bill
The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) welcomes the passing of the Multicultural Victoria Amendment Bill in Parliament this week.
The Bill brings into place the recommendations of the 2025 Multicultural Review, informed directly by communities, led by George Lekakis AO and advised by the Expert Panel, including CMY CEO Carmel Guerra.
Multicultural policy is one of the critical foundations that allows multicultural young people to belong, participate and contribute, supporting lasting change that will benefit generations to come.
CMY welcomes the Bill’s mandate for a youth representative position on the Multicultural Community Advisory Group, and a designated regional Deputy Coordinator General to ensure rural and regional community needs continue to be heard and recognised.
The passing of this Bill provides an important opportunity to address the systemic barriers that continue to limit multicultural and multifaith communities’ equitable access to essential services and meaningful participation. As highlighted through the Multicultural Review, these barriers remain a significant challenge for many Victorians.
CMY welcomes the opportunity to work alongside the Victorian Government to advance multicultural policy reform, including establishing clear accountability for the implementation and reporting of a new Multicultural Strategy, and embedding genuine, shared decision-making with multicultural and multifaith communities.
The reforms adopted from the Multicultural Review are important and necessary, and enacting them sends a signal to diverse communities that Parliament has listened and is prepared to act on what communities know they need. It shows multipartisan commitment to multiculturalism, and to multicultural communities themselves. This is the leadership Victoria needs right now.
Peta Fualau
Acting CEO CMY