Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW partnered with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to reach out to five CALD community groups to assist them to participate in the Census 2021.
With the COVID-19 crisis, more specifically the lockdown measures in NSW, all the face-to-face assistance through the “fill in the form” sessions and pop-up hubs were cancelled.
Hence the ABS reached out to community organisations and services connected with communities, to support them to ensure the Census was completed and that data would be representative of CALD communities.
The ECCNSW engaged with ABS and focused on addressing barriers faced by each of these specific communities.
The ECCNSW bilingual educators from the following five languages groups, Arabic, Assyrian, Vietnamese, Korean and Mandarin were engaged by ABS to become “prompters” of the Census.
Prior to engaging in the role as “prompters” they attended a train the trainer Zoom workshop which enabled them to better understand the purpose and significance of Census data.
By doing this, the ABS will gather the necessary data and information to help government to better prepare for the future and provide valuable insights for informed decisions regarding improving services in the community.
The ECCNSW is proud to have been a part of the Census process to ensure everyone is counted and that cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity is captured and is reflective of Australia’s rich tapestry.
The ECCNSW encourages those who have not yet completed their Census to go online or submit the form by post as soon as possible to avoid a fine.