An Anti-Racism Framework: Experiences and Perspectives of Multicultural Australia Key Findings from the Survey The online survey was distributed between 13 November 2023 and 17 May 2024. It was designed to be simple and to provide an anonymous, complementary set of data to the consultations. Out of the 465 people who replied to the survey, 411 included valid entries. The level of engagement with the survey was higher than initially expected and added an important set of data that complemented and reinforced the findings from the consultations. The analysis below was restricted to the valid responses only. Regarding the demographic profile of respondents (see Attachment B for further details), the survey included optional questions around age, gender, location, place of birth (Australia or overseas), and belonging to a faith or religious group. The analysis indicated that: • 72 per cent of respondents were between 26-54 years old; • 66 per cent identified as women, 29 per cent identified as men, with 5 per cent either identifying with other gender identities or opting for not identifying; • Whilst the majority was born overseas (56 per cent), there was a significant participation of people born in Australia (42 per cent); • All states and territories were covered, with larger participation of respondents from New South Wales (22 per cent) and Victoria (21 per cent), and the lowest ones from Northern Territory (2 per cent) and Tasmania (1 per cent); • 51 per cent identified as belonging to a faith or religious group. 24 An Anti-Racism Framework: Experiences and Perspectives of Multicultural Australia The only proposed question was qualitative and had two components: What do you want to tell the Australian Government about racism in Australia, and how it can be addressed? Respondents varied in how they addressed the question, including a mix of experiences with recommendations in their answers. After identifying the most common themes (see Table 1 below), the responses were coded. As shown in Table 1, the majority of them dealt with racism in institutions, including schools, workplaces, sport clubs, and were classified under systemic racism. Among these responses, a key point raised was the need for policies and procedures across institutional settings to combat and prevent racism. Many expected the Government to take leadership in anti-racism policy reforms, setting a crucial, high-level example to follow. A few responses acknowledged that only reform at the highest institutional levels would bring about changes at the social and community level, while others drew attention to the importance of other leaders, such as executive members of organisations, for leading change. Various respondents mentioned the harmful and negative impacts of misrepresentation in public spheres, including by politicians and the media, which contributed to stereotyping and negative views of multicultural communities. A range of responses identified public and political discourse about migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers as particularly divisive, and some identified the use of anti-migrant rhetoric as a common political tool in Australian politics. Respondents also referred to the idea of strengthening and building a sense of community amongst different cultures in Australian society as a way to combat misrepresentation. Suggestions included celebrating and making differences visible in a positive and human-centred way. These suggestions were classified under participation and representation. A number of responses spoke to themes of justice and the legal system, in relation to reporting and responding to racism. Many noted the limitations of avenues to report racist incidents and offenders, while others urged the establishment of anti-racism legislation to prevent incidents of racism. The survey also recorded various comments recognising racism against First Nations people. They ranged from placing First Nations people’s marginalisation as evidence of historical racism in Australia, to recognising that multicultural communities experience racism, but not ‘as bad’ as First Nations people. As with the consultations, the context of the Voice referendum may have contributed to a higher visibility of concerns around racism against First Nations. Table 1. Main themes from survey Systemic racism 161 39% Education and training 79 19% Participation and representation 69 17% Justice and the legal system 57 14% Racism against First Nations people 33 8% Unclassified/various 11 3% Racist commentary 1 0% TOTAL 411 100% When commenting on how to address racism, the expectation that the Government would lead anti-racist initiatives was the most common theme. Similarly to the consultations, there was high emphasis on education and training, including in schools and workplaces. As highlighted below, the concept of education referred to more than cultural competency. Respondents mentioned the need for education about racism and anti-racism, as well as an awareness of how to report incidents of racism and be an ally of those experiencing racism. There were various comments around anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, which given the time of the survey, were likely to reflect the increasing concerns with the war on Gaza, its negative impacts on the Jewish and Muslim communities. A considerable number of responses called for education to address and prevent racism, not only for individuals but also for service providers to enhance their cultural safety. Hospitals and other healthcare settings, for example, were identified as requiring widescale cultural and anti-racism training to reduce medical bias and discrimination. Others suggested that early education about racism, and building racial literacy across Australian society, would be a crucial anti-racism reform. 25