Cultural Competence Standards

"A society where everyone, regardless of background or disability, feels welcome, included and supported"

The NSW Disability Service Act requires services to provide support to service users that is sensitive to their age, gender, cultural, linguistic and religious background. This implies that disability services across NSW need to be in a position to respond appropriately to meet specific individual needs, including needs based on culture, language or religion. This requirement applies to all standards outlined in the NSW Disability Service Standards.

For example, each statement and supporting statement in each of the standards must by necessity ensure that a service is appropriate to an individual's need, including taking into consideration their culture, language and religion in the design and delivery of a service.

Therefore all disability services in NSW need to embark on the process of making their services more accessible, their staff more culturally competent and their service delivery more culturally appropriate.

The following can be used as a starting point for any agency wishing to become more culturally competent.

Standard 1: Service Access

Break information barriers.

• For example, have service information brochures translated into community languages used in your area.

Standard 2: Individual Needs

Make your service delivery responsive to needs.

• For example, make links with ethnic community organisations and advocacy services so that they can provide support in meeting individual service users' goals and needs.

Standard 3: Decision Making and Choice

Improve service user participation in decision-making and choice.

• For example, offer the support of appropriate advocates, professional interpreters, ethnic community representatives.

Standard 4: Privacy, Dignity and Confidentiality

Collect relevant service user details.

• For example, service users' and carers' preferred language and medium of communication (e.g. audio tape, interpreter, translated information); ethnicity and country of birth; and birthplace(s) of service users' parents.

Standard 5: Participation and Integration - Agency Coordination

Make people feel more comfortable.

• For example, have posters in the office depicting people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Standard 6: Valued Status

Outreach to ethnic communities.

• For example, promote and deliver community education sessions, activities and programs.

Standard 7: Complaints and Disputes

Inform service users of their rights.

• For example, offer professional interpreters; information in appropriate languages and formats; and cultural advocates to protect rights in all complaints and disputes.

Standard 8: Service Management - Service Planning and Review

Plan for cultural diversity.

• For example, make sure your annual and strategic plans include outcomes for people from a NESB with disability.

Standard 9: Family Relationships

Build ongoing links.

• For example, actively seek and build positive relationships with the family and community of service users from a NESB to provide a more culturally supportive and appropriate service.

Standard 10: Protection of Human Rights and Freedom from Abuse

Uphold Human Rights.

• For example, actively inform service users, carers and families of their rights to a quality service free from abuse and harm including racial harassment and/or abuse. Also inform service users about the mechanisms for handling breaches if they occur.