Multicultural Australians have hit out at the federal government after it launched a review into policies affecting their lives without notifying them.
Their concerns are so grave that some community groups have launched their own consultation to feed into authorities', just weeks out from a deadline closing.
The 2021 census showed more than half of Australians were either born overseas or at least had one parent born overseas, making Australia a majority-migrant nation.
The federal government cited that statistic when it announced a "multicultural framework review" on February 23.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, the review aims to ensure policies "advance a multicultural Australia", support "cohesive and inclusive multicultural society", and are "fit for purpose in harnessing the talents of all Australians".
Members of the public were invited to make submissions on the review's draft terms of reference, to define the scope of the review, how it should work and the kinds of issues it should consider, before March 19.
One of the proposed functions of the review is to consider the effectiveness of existing federal frameworks and policies impacting multicultural communities.
'Disappointed and perplexed'
Community advocate and organiser Tharini Rouwette has been reaching out to multicultural communities to alert them to the open submissions, having only learned about the review after a friend tagged her in a social media post.
"I've reached out to organisations in Western Australia, New South Wales, here in Melbourne and even here in Canberra," she said. "People aren't aware."
A page — available only in English — on the Home Affairs website, acts as the only resource communities can rely on to get more detail.
"Communities don't necessarily understand government terminology such as terms of reference," Ms Rouwette said.
She said she believed March 19 was not enough time for communities to provide meaningful input to the government.
She has voluntarily organised her own consultation sessions with multicultural communities, in the hope of compiling all their ideas into one big submission.
Among her consultation attendees is the chairperson of the African Australian Advocacy Centre, Noël Zihabamwe.
He told the ABC he was surprised to hear about the review through word of mouth.
"It is not well advertised, and they could have done more to advertise this because this is very important," he said.
"If we had enough time, we could have mobilised many community members and leaders so that the input we send captures all the issues."
Amir Salem, the long-serving president of the Australian Egyptian Forum Council, said he was disappointed by the review's rollout and call for action.
"Why does the government want to hush-hush the review?" he said.
"This raises more questions than answers."
Mr Salem said he supported a multicultural review but highlighted the importance of involving the multicultural communities early on.
He also raised concerns about who would be appointed to lead the review.
"The minister should not be the person in charge," Mr Salem said.
"There must be an independent person with a good reputation and neutral attitude at least with experience and expertise in this area."
The ABC asked the Department of Home Affairs if it was conducting, organising, or funding any consultations before the deadline.
A spokesperson said: "It wouldn't be appropriate to pre-empt the substantial review."
"The call for submissions was for submissions on the terms of reference only," the spokesperson said.
"Submissions for the substantial review will be announced in due course."
The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia is the national peak body representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and is funded by the Department of Home Affairs.
It said: "We have held a consultation round with our members and aim to consult with more stakeholders next week with the short time available to provide useful feedback on the draft terms of reference."
It has also confirmed that besides the Home Affairs website page, no information has been disseminated in language.
How will it work?
A panel led by a member of the Australian Multicultural Council will be tasked with producing a final report with recommendations to the federal government and a final report to Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles by the end of December 2023.
A government spokesperson defended the department's outreach to communities.
"The draft terms of reference was distributed through the department’s website, Community Liaison Officer Network, and directly to relevant state and territory ministers and key stakeholders such as the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia as well as the Australian Multicultural Council (AMC)," they said.
Mr Giles will also appoint a reference group to support the panel, which will include "people with lived experience in supporting multicultural communities" and other "government stakeholders".
A government source has also told the ABC the department was considering holding in-language roundtables as part of its consultation.
