Policies and Practice
Culturally and linguistically Diverse People

It is important that your sport organisation develops a culture and environment where everyone is welcomed, valued, and respected. There are many actions your organisation can take to build a positive culture in your sporting organisation.

Creating a Mission Statement 

Your organisation should have a mission statement which explains why you exist. Many sport organisations are now referencing inclusion in their overall mission statement. For example, Cricket Australia’s vision is to be a sport for all Australians.

Many sport organisations are working to open up their sport to previously under-represented population groups, which includes people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, women and girls, LGBTIQ communities, older adults and Aboriginal Victorians.

Therefore, Vicsport recommends that your vision or mission statement reflects a commitment to include everyone in your sport. This commitment should be reflected across:

• Your strategic plan.
• Business and marketing plans.
• Your website and social media communications.

If your organisation would like to reference your commitment to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds you could consider adding it as a strategic pillar or objective. Sport clubs could also express a strategic direction to be reflective of the local community.

• Example 1: (sport organisation) is committed to creating healthy sporting environments that are safe, accessible, inclusive and equitable. This commitment involves a focused approach to actively encourage and support the participation of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in all aspects of our sport.
• Example 2: (sport organisation) is committed to creating healthy sporting environments that are safe, accessible, inclusive and equitable. This commitment involves a focused approach to ensure our club/association is reflective of our local community in our membership, volunteers and leadership.

Remember to include measurable objectives in your strategic plan, so that you have a target to work towards.

• Example 3: (sport organisation) will increase participation by newly arrived migrants or refugees by 5% in (insert program or competition and year).
• (sport organisation) will increase the number of coaches from the (insert community) by 2% in (insert year).

Supporting Acceptable Attitudes and Behaviors

Clear boundaries need to be set around acceptable attitudes and behaviours. A successful sport rejects discrimination, harassment and bullying towards everyone.

Codes of conduct and other policies addressing inappropriate behaviour and unfair decision making must be in place, communicated and enforced by leaders throughout the organisation. In Victoria, it is against the law to discriminate against someone because of their race or religious beliefs (click here to learn more about personal characteristics that are protected through discrimination laws).

The State Government of Victoria has a Fair Play Code which outlines the standards of behaviour expected for everyone involved in sport and recreation. You can read more here.

Preventing Discrimination 

 It's important to understand discrimination laws, what it means for organisations and how to comply with it. Your organisation should be aware that it is unlawful to discriminate against people from various areas of life, including employment and sport. If you would like to learn more, visit the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission.

Cild Safe Standards

A very important area of consideration when developing policy is the Victorian Government’s Child Safe Standards. Victorian legislation mandates that organisations which provide services and facilities for children under the age of 18 must comply with 7 standards to create child safe environments. The act says that organisations should consider specific actions to support the safety of children from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds, as the ‘Betrayal of Trust’ inquiry found they are at higher risk of abuse. Vicsport has a range of resources to support your organisation to meet the Child Safe Standards. Click here for more information.

Taking Practical Steps 

There are many practical steps your organisation can take in terms of small changes to policy and practice to ensure you create a welcoming and inclusive culture:

• Community consultation: Consulting with the local community, such as with newly arrived migrants or refugees, has great benefits for everyone. It provides a voice for people with migrant or refugee backgrounds in the decision-making process. It can improve the quality of your programs by providing useful insights to tailor programs to the needs of the local community. The Centre for Multicultural Youth has a useful resource about consulting with migrant and refugee youth. Click here to read more.
• Translated resources: You can consider providing resources that promote your sport in multiple languages. This will make it easier to communicate your message to people who do not speak English or for whom English is a second language. The Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health (CEH) runs a health translation service that provides a range of resources translated into multiple languages. Sport organisations can contact CEH to discuss adding resources to the directory.
• Translation services: The Australian Government’s Multicultural Access & Equity program delivers the national Translating and Interpreting Service. This service includes a 24-hour phone interpreting service which in most cases is free non-English speakers. Click here for more information.
• Review policies and procedures: Review your constitution, membership rules, member protection policy or other policies to remove discriminatory clauses or unfair language and protect the rights and representations of your members regardless of their race or religious beliefs. Ensure you use feedback gathered through consultation to inform any policy changes or new policies.
• Facilities: Ensure your facilities, including your office building, are accessible for people from diverse backgrounds who have a disability and that your club has female friendly changeroom facilities. In addition, think about what signage you can provide to help people from diverse backgrounds feel welcome. This could include common signage translated into other languages.
• Be understanding: Inappropriate language or other forms of discrimination may or may not be intentional. Regardless, certain actions or behaviours can cause offence or be discriminatory. Remember that people need to be educated about inclusive practices and behaviours, and this may take time for your organisation’s leaders to embed in your culture.
• Work in partnership within your sport: Evaluation of the State Sport Association Participation Program found that inclusive environments are best supported when there is a strong partnership between national and state sport organisations. In addition, state bodies such as Cricket Victoria and Tennis Victoria found that empowering clubs and volunteers to be inclusive of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds was a key success factor in increasing participation in their respective sports and creating inclusive environments.

Sporting organisations develop policies to communicate appropriate behaviour, protect the rights of members and visitors and set expectations around standards of behaviour. To ensure your policies include the needs of people from diverse cultural backgrounds you should talk to members, participants and community groups. The feedback they provide will be useful for the development of your policy.

If you would like external support to develop your policies you can speak to your affiliated State Sporting Association, Local Government, a Regional Sport Assembly or a State Sport & Recreation Body (such as the Centre for Multicultural Youth).

The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) can assist in consulting with migrant and refugee youth. Their website also includes a page dedicated to case studies on cultural inclusion in sports programs. Click here to read more.

Uniform Policies 

In some cultures, women and girls’ dress codes are modest. A flexible uniform policy allows appropriate dress codes for multiple cultural and religious beliefs.

Consider the following approach when developing guidelines or policies about flexible uniforms at your club:

• Recognise that in circumstances where religious and cultural beliefs conflict with the standard dress code, that modification to the standard uniform will be accommodated where possible (e.g. where safety and other playing requirements can be met).
• In addition, wherever possible consider flexibility in uniforms to encourage the participation of women and girls from CALD backgrounds. This may include, but is not limited to:

• less restrictive, body hugging attire.
• the wearing of traditional head scarf.
• the wearing of leggings or tracksuits to cover legs.
• the wearing of long sleeve top to cover arms.

A useful resource is the Government of Western Australia’s Multicultural Female Uniform Guidelines. Click here to read more.

Policy Development 

How to develop your policy

Vicsport recommends clubs and associations take the following steps through the development of their guidelines and policies. Each is explored in more detail further in this document:

• Consult widely
• Write the policy
• Circulate the draft policy for feedback
• Finalise and approve the policy
• Communicate the policy
• Set a date for review

A clear and well-planned process will ensure that your organisation develops a thorough policy that contributes to a strong and vibrant culture at your organisation.

Policy Development Step 1: Consult widely

Engage with a broad cross-section of individuals involved in your organisation. This may include committee members, volunteers, players, and parents. It may also include your local council and respective State Sporting Association.

Consultation provides an opportunity for people involved in your club to become aware of the issues you are trying to address. An additional benefit of consultation is increased ownership of the policy as members feel they have contributed to positive change in the club. For policies relating to children (such as child safety and protection), it is important to also involve members aged under 18 in the consultation process.

Step 2: Write the policy

When writing a policy, you should consider:

The impact or change you want to achieve and the input and feedback you received during step 1.

How this policy may link with any policies in place or being developed by your State Sporting Association. Are the key areas of the policy consistent with any existing policies? You may consider using existing policies as a template for the new policy draft.

Step 3: Circulate the draft policy for feedback

When you have finalised the policy, circulate a copy to members for feedback. Where possible, seek feedback from your State Sporting Association. You could also consider approaching other local sport clubs, or clubs in your league or association, to find out if they have similar policies in place. Usually, sporting organisations are willing to share resources.

Step 4: Finalise and approve the policy

Collate the feedback gained through the review process and update your policy draft. Once your policy has been finalised, you will need to identify who is required to approve it (committee or members). This should be outlined in your club’s constitution. Any approval that occurs at committee or member meetings should be minuted and recorded for future reference.

Step 5: Communicate the Policy

Once approved, communicate your new policy throughout your club on an ongoing basis. You may consider doing this through:

• Website
• Social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Sport/Team Apps).
• Newsletters (hard copy and emailed).
• Direct emails to your members.
• Displaying throughout your sport’s facilities.

Step 6: Set a Date for Review

Once your policy is finalised and communicated to your members, set a date for the policy to be reviewed every two years and ensure it is updated accordingly.

Policy Examples 

There are many great examples of inclusion policies in Victorian sport:

• Surf Life Saving Australia's Inclusion & Diversity Statement
• Netball Australia's Inclusion Policy
• Gymnastics Australia's guidelines for the Inclusion of Transgender and Gender Diverse People
• AFL national vilification and discrimination policy
• The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is a great resource for more information. It also has a complaints hotline.
• Your State Sporting Association and National Sporting Organisation’s member protection policy will outline the processes for dealing with complaints and issues in your sport.
• Play by the Rules is a great resource for sport organisations. They have a range of resources, templates and online modules to help your organisation be more inclusive.

Further Information 

For more information check out:

• Regional Sports Assemblies can provide expert support across regional Victoria.
• The Centre for Multicultural Youth has a range of resources useful for sport leaders.
• The Victorian Multicultural Commission provides information about grants, population and migration statistics and events.