Murray PHN is pleased to release its annual Murray Health Report 2024. Using data and feedback from recent health needs assessment consultations, the report looks into the impact of multiculturalism in our region. 

In the 2021 census, 88,217 people reported they were born overseas and of those, almost two-thirds came from mainly non-English speaking backgrounds. The top three LGAs with the greatest number of overseas-born residents are Greater Shepparton, Greater Bendigo and Mildura. The top three languages spoken other than English are Punjabi, Italian and Mandarin.

The greatest number of permanent settlers in 2022-23 were skilled migrants (75%), followed by family (16%), and humanitarian settlers (9%). But for some people, language barriers, health literacy, cultural safety, previous trauma and stigma play a part in failing to get the healthcare they need.

Primary healthcare services, can take simple actions to support this population group, including using free interpreter services and collecting the five key data fields of country of birth, language spoken, interpreter required, ethnicity/cultural background and year of arrival in Australia.

Click here to read the 2024 Murray Health Report on Multiculturism in our region.