Developing suitable designators for a multicultural society

Abstract

Australia has traditionally used two methods to identify and measure multicultural phe­ nomena related, in particular, to possible disadvantage. The most widely used method has been to categorise people as being of Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) or English Speaking Background (ESB) on the basis of their migrant status and first language, or the migrant status and first language of their parents. The second method was to categorise people on the basis of their country of birth. There has been growing concern about both methods, and particularly the suitabil­ ity of NESB as a multicultural measure. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is working, in collaboration with other government agencies, to develop new and more relevant methods to measure social, cultural and economic disadvantage in Australia's multicultural society. 1. Australia's multicultural society Australia's post-war migration policy has resulted in a population of wide cultural diversity. The multicultural nature of contemporary Australia has led to an in­ creasing demand for statistical measures to assist governments and other bodies in policy making, service delivery, access and equity initiatives, and to monitor the well-being of Australian society in general. In particular, statistics to detect and measure disadvantage experienced by certain cultural groups are required. The 1947 Census showed that one-tenth of Australians had been born overseas, and of these, 81 % had been born in main English speaking countries. At the 1991 Census, one-quarter had been born overseas, only 42% of whom were born in main English speaking countries. This change was accompanied by increasing diversity of the birthplaces represented in the Australian population. The United Kingdom and Ireland, historically Australia's major source of settlers, remain the most common source of immigrants although their combined contribution has been reduced significantly: 73% in 1947,42% in 1961,31% in 1991(Australian Social Trends, 1994 (1 D.