Diversity and inclusion

Supporting diverse communities

We have a rich history of welcoming, acknowledging and celebrating the diversity found within Victoria’s communities. This cultural diversity is also present within our organisation’s workforce and is recognised by our leadership and Board as one of our greatest strengths. 

We understand that family structures are diverse and we believe in strengthening families and supporting people from diverse backgrounds to have positive, safe and respectful relationships. We provide services that cater to community needs, including by tailoring services to meet the needs of the client groups with which we work.

We are privileged to continue contributing to many successful partnerships, joint programs and community events, to better meet the needs of our culturally and linguistically diverse communities and our vibrant LGBTIQA+ communities. 

In collaboration with many organisations across the state, we coordinate workshops, forums, meetings, networks and support groups to meet the growing needs of Victoria's multicultural community, including providing service access for both established and emerging migrant communities in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Driving cultural change across the organisation

In 2023, we established a Diversity Working Group involving staff from a cross-section of our organisation. While the needs of different groups are unique and varied, the working group aims to enhance the quality, effectiveness, inclusiveness and accessibility of our services.

Such cultural change is effected by consulting with staff with lived experience, increasing staff awareness and knowledge, providing relevant training, and providing appropriate resources, service information and services. The group also works to identify and implement employment pathways to increase RAV’s workforce diversity across all levels of the organisation.

Prioritising inclusivity, accessibility and respect

Since the inception of our dedicated Rainbow Working Group in 2018–19, respect, equality, dignity and inclusivity have been at the core of what we do. Staff from across roles, centres and levels of responsibility work to ensure that RAV’s practice is accessible, culturally responsive, safe, client-centred, inclusive and non discriminatory.

A focus of the group has been to enhance the ways in which our centres visually demonstrate that they are safe and welcoming, including through the inclusion of pride, transgender and intersex flags. In 2023, we introduced the option of pronoun badges for staff and for distribution at community events.

The group also reviews and informs updates to policies, procedures, training and practice resources with an LGBTIQA+ lens. Staff training has been provided on ‘Mediating with rainbow families’, to support practitioners to grow their skills and confidence in working with rainbow families, learn about reflective practice skills and increase their capacity for inclusive mediation.

Community liaison officers

We employ community liaison officer (CLO) positions at our centres in Greensborough, Sunshine and Melbourne. These roles are primarily responsible for developing relationships with local community groups, agencies and service providers, delivering information sessions, representing our organisation at community events and promoting referrals and pathways into our services. 

Meeting the needs of diverse communities

We facilitated and supported the following diversity and inclusion-focused activities in 2024–25:

• Became a member of Diversity Council Australia, giving employees access to practical resources and learning opportunities to support inclusive practice.
• Began developing Access Keys, which are customised, detailed guides of our service locations to improve physical and sensory accessibility for people with disability. They help to make our centres more welcoming and easier to navigate.
• Introduced a new accessibility and languages toolbar on our website, allowing visitors to customise how the site looks and sounds to suit their needs, including options for text-to-speech, audio downloads, font and colour adjustments, and translations.
• Facilitated a workshop organised by Multicultural Women Victoria on respectful relationships, the impacts of family violence and available support services. The workshop brought together community leaders from a range of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, with a focus on how they could take this knowledge back to their communities and lead meaningful conversations.
• Wear it Purple Day – Staff across RAV wore purple and hosted morning teas to mark this annual celebration of LGBTIQA+ pride, and promote safe, empowering and inclusive environments for LGBTIQA+ clients, colleagues, families and allies, both in the community and at work.
• Hosted information stall at the Midsumma Carnival and ChillOut Festival, connecting with community members and other organisations. We also continued our support of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival.
  
  

Accessing our services

We can organise interpreters on request.

Please let us know when you contact us to organise a service, if you will need an interpreter.

If you are Deaf/deaf, hard of hearing and/or have a speech impairment, we also welcome calls through the National Relay Service.

• Step 1: Call 133 677
• Step 2: Choose your access options. Visit the National Relay Service website for different call numbers.
• Step 3: When asked by the relay officer, provide the phone number of the service or centre you want to contact.