The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) is a Victorian organisation focused on supporting young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. It provides programs, research, and advocacy aimed at fostering inclusion, addressing systemic barriers, and promoting the wellbeing and potential of multicultural youth. Anglicare Victoria is one of the state’s largest providers of child and family services, delivering programs to support children, young people, and families. It focuses on addressing social inequality through initiatives in family support, out-of-home care, and community services.
Sameera Fieldgrass Practice Leader - Centre for Multicultural Youth
Kudzi Sibanda Social Worker and Project Manager - Anglicare Victoria
The following case study is based on the I Need to Know You’re Safe framework and interviews with representatives at Centre for Multicultural Youth and Anglicare Victoria.
In February 2024, the I Need to Know You’re Safe framework was launched by CMY and Anglicare Victoria. The I Need to Know You’re Safe Framework is a culturally responsive guide designed to address gaps in family violence services for multicultural young people. It highlights the experiences of multicultural young people affected by family violence, amplifying their voices, providing intersectional, youth-driven guidance to embed lived experience into sector practice and identify ways the broader service system can improve support.
Developed under the Working Together grant provided by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), it was co-designed with young people in collaboration with the CMY and Anglicare Victoria.
The framework integrates a literature review, consultations, and capability-building resources to increase engagement with the Victorian family violence sector. It equips youth workers, family violence practitioners, and organisations with culturally responsive tools and self-reflection practices to improve service delivery for multicultural young people.
The framework is designed to support child and family services to:
The Framework was developed in response to identified gaps in service provision for multicultural young people experiencing family violence. A 2022 policy paper Better the Devil You Know Than the System You Don’t and an exploratory forum revealed unique barriers facing multicultural youth, including:
The policy paper highlighted that these barriers create heightened risks for multicultural young people, as they can feel trapped in violent situations due to limited options and inadequate support. Challenges such as mistrust, fear of harm, systemic racism, and community exclusion further hinder their ability to seek help. Engagement with services is often met with negative outcomes, including community backlash or insufficient follow-up from systems that are not equipped to meet their needs effectively.
The I Need to Know You’re Safe Framework aimed to create a framework that addressed these challenges while centring youth voices. CMY partnered with Anglicare Victoria to combine youth-informed research with sector expertise.
Development and Consultation Process
The Framework was informed by extensive consultations conducted across Melbourne and regional Victoria:
The I Need to Know You’re Safe framework establishes safety—physical, emotional, and cultural—as its central principle, addressing systemic barriers such as mistrust, racism, and a lack of culturally responsive care. It promotes collaboration between youth and family violence sectors to ensure that services are inclusive, respectful, and tailored to the needs of multicultural young people.
By improving access to culturally responsive support, the framework aims to empower young people to feel safe, build trust, and navigate systems with confidence. These outcomes are intended to enhance mental health and reduce risks of harm or homelessness.
Young people identified that establishing trust is essential but requires time and intentional effort. Practitioners highlighted the importance of systemic changes, including flexible, youth-focused service models, to effectively meet young people’s needs.
System level outcomes of the framework include:
Practical, Youth-Informed Tools for Practitioners: The framework provided actionable tools and reflective prompts grounded in youth insights, making it useful for practitioners seeking to improve their engagement with multicultural young people.
Collaborative Partnerships: CMY partnered with Anglicare Victoria to combine expertise from both youth and family violence sectors. Transparent and open communication allowed the partnership to address challenges directly, navigate changes effectively, and keep the project’s goals at the forefront.
Complementary Strengths and Knowledge Sharing: Anglicare Victoria’s expertise in the family violence space complemented CMY’s strengths in multicultural youth work. The partnership allowed for mutual learning and the integration of both organisations’ knowledge and approaches.
Commitment to Co-design and Shared Ownership: The framework’s development was informed by extensive consultations with multicultural young people. Feedback loops and iterative consultations allowed young people to meaningfully shape outcomes. Listening meaningfully to diverse young people and incorporating their voices, lived experiences, and needs significantly strengthened and refined the framework, ensuring it was both more responsive and authentically reflective of their realities.
Centre for Multicultural Youth is building on this work:
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