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Newsletters

MCSCA has a regular e-newsletter that shares multicultural news and issues, details of upcoming events and useful information by and for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in Central Australia.

Strategic Plan

MCSCA’s latest Strategic Plan runs to the end of 2024, and was developed with funding support of the NT Government.

Our Strategic and Operational Goals are:

  1. To act as the umbrella organisation for migrant issues in Central Australia and to raise the profile and importance of the sector’s contribution to the local economy.
  2. To broaden the funding base to ensure sustainable operation and greater utilisation of the office space available.
  3. To prepare and implement a communication strategy for MCSCA incorporating communication with members, stakeholders and awareness-raising with the public.
  4. To ensure good governance and improve the financial capacity of MCSCA.
  5. To ensure effective work program delivery and reporting.

Download a copy of MCSCA’s Strategic Plan.

Annual Reports

MCSCA’s Annual Report is presented each year at its Annual General Meeting. Our most recent annual report is here:

2023 – 2024 Annual Report

Migrant Research Project

Multicultural Community Services of Central Australia (MCSCA) undertook this project with funding from a Regional Economic Development Fund grant, administered by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (formerly Department of Trade, Business and Innovation). Research for the project was undertaken by Dr Benxiang Zeng, an independent consultant, between July 2020 and June 2021.

The need for this project has arisen from several factors:

  • Increasing requests to MCSCA for information on the needs and aspirations of the migrant community from a range of service providers, government and other stakeholders.
  • Lack of readily accessible and relevant data from alternative sources other than the 2016 Census, which provides more generic data.
  • The need to be able to ensure that Alice Springs can continue to attract and retain migrants in order to boost our population and meet current and future employment needs.

This report proposes some general recommendations for future action:

  • It is recommended that government agencies, service providers and MCSCA work collaboratively to establish a regular consultation mechanism between migrants, government agencies and other service providers.
  • It is recommended that the Northern Territory Government (NTG) provides extra support to MCSCA to create a service coordination mechanism. This mechanism would include development of a migrant service strategy and annual working plans, as well as service delivery coordination.
  • It is recommended that a housing assistance program for migrants is established by the NTG, as a special category of its ‘Affordable Housing Scheme’. This program would specially target newly arrived migrants to provide short-term accommodation solutions.
  • It is recommended that the NTG leads an initiative to work together with the Commonwealth Government to explore better pathways for qualification recognition.
  • It is recommended that MSCSA seeks funding to run a series of workshops and information sessions to raise awareness of discrimination, racism and workplace bullying associated issues.
  • It is recommended that the NTG and Alice Springs Town Council work collaboratively to secure resources to provide or build a permanent space for migrant communities to host various activities to celebrate cultural diversity.
  • It is recommended that the government reviews its policies and programs in relation to the attraction and retention of migrants, fully consulting migrants and the broader communities in the review process and appreciating public perceptions and word-of-mouth.
  • It is recommended that the Alice Springs Town Council, in conjunction with local migrant service organisations such as MCSCA and other stakeholders, develops a multicultural policy for Alice Springs. This policy is underpinned by the concept of Alice Springs as a ‘Welcoming Town for Migrants’.
  • It is recommended that the NTG supports regular studies on migrants in the NT and Alice Springs to track changes and trends to inform government decision making, industry development, service delivery and local community development.
  • It is recommended that the NTG further engages with migrant business owners to support the sustainability of migrant businesses in Alice Springs/Central Australia, including support in finding and retaining skilled employment, providing accessible and targeted business management training, providing advice and support to grow existing migrant businesses, and supporting engagement with existing networking and information sources and opportunities.

The full research project can be downloaded here.