Is Australia an Immigrant’s Multicultural Paradise? — Cultural Diversity in Australia

A culturally diverse/multicultural country is one that has a variety of cultural groups mixed within its society. When it comes to this, Australia is extremely abundant. In this blog post, we will find out if Australia really is an immigrant’s multicultural paradise.

Cultural Diversity in Australia

Australia is a rich and vibrant multicultural country. It’s not only home to the world’s oldest continuous cultures (its Indigenous people) and those from its British colonial past, but it has also become a home to many immigrants from many different countries and cultures. It’s considered to be one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse societies on Earth. A good percentage of the Australian population speak languages other than English. And different religions are also present here including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and the Aboriginal’s traditional religions etc. It can’t get any more culturally diverse than that!

Migrants as Part of The Australian Community 

Some say that Australia, to some extent, is a nation of immigrants, but where exactly do we fit in the Australian community? Australia has a rich history of migrants. This continues to contribute to our country’s social and economic fabric. Our diversity is very much an advantage in this globalised economy we’re all participating in.

The Immigrants’ contributions can also be seen and experienced in many aspects of daily life. When talking about food, for example. Australia’s multiculturalism is reflected  in the country’s food scene. For instance, here in the regional area where I currently live, you will see restaurants offering different cuisines such as Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, and Vietnamese. If you go to a bigger, more major cities, you’ll sure find a lot more! 

Blending in the Community

I’m sure that each one of you has interesting and unique stories of when you’ve just migrated here in Australia (care to share?). One statement we can all agree on is that it can be quite a challenge. One of the most important and difficult part is blending in the community. How do we do it?

It seems that initially, some of us have the tendency to cluster. Everything can be so overwhelming when you’re just starting out so I guess a lot of us try to find some familiarity to hold on to. Newly arrived migrants move to places where they can be surrounded with people from the same culture as them.

Eventually though, when we become more comfortable and when our social and economic situations have grown, we relocate to other areas. Most of us new immigrants have a strong sense of belonging to this country and the feeling gets deeper over time.

What are the barriers new migrants face?

One of the first steps of getting settled here is finding accommodation. Though this can be quite challenging since the rental market (specially in the big cities) is very competitive. The requirements for applying for a rental property might also be tricky for someone who has just moved from overseas.

New immigrants also face hurdles in finding their first job. The main issue is that they lack Australian work experience and references which are essential in gaining employment. There’s also the difficulties in having their skills and qualifications recognised here in Australia. On top of that, migrants are also more vulnerable to be taken advantage of by sleazy employers.

Help that are available

There’s collective efforts coming from the governments, non-profit organisations, and the communities in providing migrants with assistance and opportunities to positively contribute to the Australian society. The government offers settlement and support services for eligible migrants. They also provide access to gaining necessary education, employment skills, and even to learn English. In fact, the Certificate III that I have recently gained was through a government funded program organised by a multicultural non-profit organisation.

I like how migrants here are ‘welcomed’ even through the little things. Like for those who are not very fluent in English, there’s a translator option offered and information made available in different languages in government offices like the Department of Transport and the Department of Health. Not for profit organisations hold multicultural events where the local community and immigrants get to participate and experience each others’ cultures.

Laws in Place 

But as we all know, this country is now far away from that and has become one of the world’s most multicultural countries. Australia now has the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975, the country’s first federal anti-discrimination law. It aims to protect people from unfair treatment on the basis of race, colour, descent, national, or ethnic background. It’s a sign of the country’s commitment to racial equality. Despite this though, there are still some people who continue to experience prejudice because of their race or culture.

Conclusion

One of Australia’s greatest strengths is its cultural diversity. It gives the country advantages in many aspects and makes it all the more interesting. Now to answer the question “Is Australia an Immigrant’s multicultural paradise?”, the answer I think is up to you. Everyone’s experiences are different but I would say that though it isn’t perfect, it’s pretty close.

Disclaimer All content and information in this post is for purposes of sharing my experiences only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship.

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