The Northern Beaches has always been home to a diverse multicultural community.

To ensure the region remains a place where people from multicultural backgrounds feel welcome and can participate in community life, Council has developed a plan for their greater inclusion in future decision-making.

Council will put the plan on public exhibition for six weeks from mid-January to the end of February. In this time, there will be further engagement with the multicultural and broad communities.

The draft Championing Diversity – Multicultural Inclusion Plan 2029 was developed in close co-operation with more than 500 community members, who told Council about their experiences living, working or visiting the Northern Beaches.

Council’s Championing Diversity Plan provides the direction and guidance to ensure that Council systems and processes can support the unique needs of those who speak community languages.

It will mean local multicultural communities will have a seat at the decision- making table and are able to be active and engaged members of our community.

Council wants to acknowledge and preserve the Northern Beaches as a place where people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds live together and have a shared sense of belonging, feel safe and can celebrate and share their unique culture.

This is essential for the long-term viability of our region and our capacity to remain a socially sustainable Northern Beaches.

Council has recently published on its website a directory which lists all the local support services for people from multicultural backgrounds.