Mental Health Careers Strategy: Strengthening CALD workforce representation
Client:
Cox Inall Ridgeway and Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Project:
Mental Health Careers Strategy
Industry/sector:
Business
Date of execution:
September 2023
Services:
Communication strategies, community engagement and public relations
At a glance
Cultural Perspectives provided strategic consultancy to support the diversification of Australia’s mental health workforce by improving engagement with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities. Working alongside Cox Inall Ridgeway and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, we ensured that campaign content, creative and engagement strategies were culturally informed, accessible and representative.
From stakeholder consultations to targeted outreach, the project produced a set of promotional resources informed by cultural insights, which enhanced the visibility of CALD communities in mental health career pathways.
Subject matter
Mental health workforce, recruitment and multicultural engagement.
Demonstrated expertise
CALD consultation, demographic analysis, campaign strategy, public relations, recruitment outreach and stakeholder engagement.
Project description
Objectives
This strategy sought to address existing gaps in CALD representation across the mental health workforce. Cultural Perspectives was engaged to:
Ensure campaign assets reflected diverse community perspectives and were culturally appropriate
Identify engagement barriers and enablers to inform campaign refinement
Support the recruitment of CALD talent for campaign visibility and credibility
Enhance outreach efforts through stakeholder relationship building and resource dissemination.
What Cultural Perspectives delivered
Video resources – Including two short testimonials and one 60-minute webinar featuring CALD talent. Cultural Perspectives recruited talent to authentically reflect community diversity
Stakeholder eDM – Designed, translated and distributed via Mailchimp to over 800 multicultural organisations to amplify campaign reach
Evaluation report – A comprehensive summary of key insights, consultation themes and recommendations to inform future CALD recruitment strategy.
Key activities
Phase 1 – CALD strategic consultancy and talent recruitment
Recruited three CALD professionals for video testimonials and webinar features
Advised on content formats and cultural nuances to ensure campaign resonance.
Phase 2 – Community consultation (two rounds)
Delivered six consultations with peak CALD bodies
Conducted five consultations with priority community cohorts, based on demographic analysis
Developed customised consultation tools and facilitation materials.
Phase 3 – Stakeholder engagement
Created a bespoke stakeholder list of multicultural and mental health sector organisations
Designed and deployed an email campaign highlighting the campaign’s resources.
Key outcomes
Enhanced visibility of CALD professionals in mental health careers through media assets
Expanded the Department’s reach and trust within CALD networks
Stakeholder eDM outreach reached over 800 organisations, boosting campaign credibility and community access
Consultations surfaced critical insights on representation gaps, recruitment motivators and messaging formats preferred by diverse communities.
Cultural Perspectives’ role was central to ensuring community voices were integrated into campaign development, resulting in a more inclusive, data-informed and accessible mental health workforce campaign.
IAP2 spectrum of public participation
Above: The Mental Health Careers Strategy fell within the consult phase of the IAP2 spectrum of public participation.
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