The Australian Government’s is launching a national $31 million Covid-19 vaccination campaign to raise the public’s awareness.
As part of the public information campaign an additional $1.3 million will be provided for peak multicultural organisations to help reach culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
The government’s goal is to make immunisation available to everyone in Australia in the safest and most effective way possible reaching as many people as possible.
As part of this program, Australia is extending free access to Covid‑19 vaccines to all visa-holders in Australia including refugees, asylum seekers, temporary protection visa holders and those on bridging visas. People currently residing in detention facilities will also be eligible, as well as those whose visas have been cancelled.
This follows a major roundtable held last week involving more than 50 community leaders to discuss a more comprehensive roll-out plan, including communication activities and community engagement strategies, in partnership with multicultural specialist agencies and, with advice from the national CALD Communities COVID-19 Health Advisory Group.
The campaign will reach Australians through a range of channels including regular website updates, social media, health professionals and community and grass roots organisations, networks, and the media.
It includes advertising in 32 languages across radio, print and social media, and will extend to communities that are harder to reach through traditional channels.
Messages will target specific multicultural groups to ensure everyone in Australia has a full understanding of the vaccination program.
Many people working in sectors such as aged care will be in the first groups to be vaccinated and are from CALD communities, and it is critical that they receive translated information that is culturally appropriate.
Translated resources have been developed for multicultural communities, including radio and print editorials, a video development guide for community leaders to film their own videos, in-language web content, social media posts, posters, and newsletter articles. The Department of Health’s vaccine hub also has a translation button for 63 languages available on its website and on mobile devices.
The Government is also working with SBS to finalise short videos explaining the vaccine rollout in more than 60 languages, and with the Migration Council of Australia to produce an animated vaccine explainer in 29 languages. These products will be provided to multicultural peak bodies and networks and available online.
*As more information becomes available through expert medical advice and complete data sets from clinical trials, the Department will provide timely updates through its multicultural channels.
