SWAHS is the place of settlement for people from over 120 countries with 60% of residents born overseas SWAHS currently receives the largest number of refugees of any Area Health Service in NSW.

• Throughout their lifespan refugees and people with a refugee-like-background encounter the full range of physical, mental and social health issues encountered by the general population.
• 64.8% of residents speak a language other than English (LOTE) at home (ABS Census, 2001). This compares with 34% of people in Sydney as a whole and 24% of people in NSW speaking a LOTE. The major languages spoken other than English are the Chinese languages (mainly Cantonese), Arabic, Turkish, Vietnamese and Tamil. 24% of residents born overseas spoke English "not well" or "not at all".
• Auburn is also a major site of settlement for refugees with 42% of migrants settling here entering Australia as humanitarian entrants.
• The creation of a Multicultural Health network provides an opportunity for building on existing local expertise, which can be used to create new models of service delivery for a culturally and linguistically diverse society.

• What do I do? I have a client who does not speak English.

Contact the interpreter service on 02 9840 3456 or email them on hcis@wsahs.nsw.gov.au

• I need some materials translated into another language

Contact the Multicultural Health Communications Service on Link or contact The Multicultural Health Network Central team, Western team or Eastern team to discuss your translation needs.

• How can I encourage client from a specific CALD to access and use my service?

Talk to your local Multicultural Health Network team. Central team, Western team, Eastern team. LINK

• Our service see many clients from CALD backgrounds and we would like to learn more about delivering health services to a diverse community.

The Multicultural health network can offer a range of staff development services you can contact your local Multicultural Health Network team. Central team, Western team, Eastern team.