Commonwealth Ombudsman, Ron McLeod, was joined by the Chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Stefan Romaniw, at Richmond today to launch a series of 24 multilingual brochures.

The brochures, which describe the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s role, aim to raise awareness that in Australia you have a right to independent review of government agencies’ decisions.

‘The multilingual brochures are an important part of our outreach program for members of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, which are an important aspect of our overall outreach program’, said Mr McLeod.

‘We are fortunate in Australia that our system of Government is an open and accountable one that allows citizens to question the actions and decisions of Government departments and agencies. Many countries do not welcome questioning and do not have processes that allow complaints to be considered independently. I am concerned that as a result members of our culturally and linguistically diverse communities may be less likely to know they can seek independent review of a government decision that seems unfair. In Australia, it is important that people, in particular members of our multicultural communities, know that they have a right to complain.’

In addition to increasing awareness of its role, the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Office assists culturally and linguistically diverse people by being as accessible as possible. Non-English speakers are welcome to contact the Office through the Telephone Interpreter Service, with the assistance of a friend or relative or in writing in their own language.

‘Distribution of the brochures is of course critical to their success,’ Mr McLeod said. ‘While my Office will be seeking assistance with distribution from Government and community organisations, I certainly welcome contact from any individuals or organisations that would like one or a number of brochures. Callers may contact the Ombudsman’s Office on 1300 362 072. The brochures are also available from our Internet site, www.ombudsman.gov.au .’

The Ombudsman’s office has taken advice from DIMA and the multicultural community in selecting the languages used in the translations and at this stage the brochure is available in Albanian, Amharic (Eritrean), Arabic,Bosnian, Cambodian (Kmer), Chinese, Croatian, Dari, Greek, Hindi,Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Laotian, Macedonian, Persian (Farsi), Polish,Russian, Serbian, Sinhalese, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

Media Contact

Media 02 6276 3759
Email – Media@ombudsman.gov.au

Date of release: 7 September 2000