CaLD communities raise awareness of scams and employment rights

In March and April, ECLC collaborated with CaLD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) community leaders and topic experts to present tailored, free, online, plain-English information sessions for people living in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to raise awareness of scams and employment rights.

In late 2020, ECLC met with the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) to discuss strategies to empower CaLD communities in the east. At the meeting, VMC expressed its concern on many areas of law that were an issue for many CaLD community members, in particular scams and employment rights as the VMC had seen a rise in these issues in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

A working group to develop information sessions was formed including the Council on Ethnic Issues (CCOEI), ECLC, Indian Care, Services Australia, the Australian Taxation Office, Bounce – Refugee Youth Mentoring Program, Centre for Holistic Health, Fair Work Ombudsman, and the Migrant Information Centre.

More than 120 community leaders, workers and CaLD community members joined the session on What you need to know about scams in March and heard from Services Australia, the Australian Taxation office, and ECLC. Participants learned how to identify and avoid being scammed.

Following the successful scams session, more than 50 community leaders, workers and community members joined the session on What you need to know about your employment rights in April and heard from the Fair Work Ombudsman, Services Australia, the Australian Taxation office, and ECLC. This session covered:

• National Employment Standards and minimum wages;
• Awards and agreements at the workplace;
• Common issues at the workplace and your rights as an employee;
• Independent contracts and sham contracting;
• Your rights and obligations when you are receiving government payments; and
• What you need to know when working with Australian Taxation Office.

ECLC’s Manager Partnerships and Community Development Jacinta Maloney said the keen interest and participation in these online sessions showed that community-led activities are more targeted to community needs and therefore more likely to raise awareness.

“We know that scammers are getting more cunning every day and employment legislation is getting more complex to keep up with our quickly changing world.

“But this complexity can be challenging for CaLD communities where English is not their first language. This is on top of the issues faced when people don’t know where to start to find key and relevant information,” said Jacinta.

Watch ECLC’s video on common types of scams: