Ms VAGHELA (Western Metropolitan): My adjournment matter is directed to the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services, the Honourable Jenny Mikakos.
My adjournment matter relates to the minister’s portfolio responsibility of health. The next round of the VicHealth active club grants is now open. A total of around $500 000 in funding is available for community sports clubs throughout Victoria. VicHealth has invited clubs and organisations to consider how they might access VicHealth partnership grants through innovative partnerships with organisations who qualify as official funding recipients.
Organisations from across sectors can explore which of the VicHealth partnership grants could best help deliver the maximum health and wellbeing impact and how partnerships can drive positive health outcomes for Victorians. The multicultural community across Victoria is growing significantly, and many sporting clubs in my electorate of Western Metropolitan Region have seen an increase in participation from people of different backgrounds. Women from ethnic backgrounds are also participating in increasing numbers, thanks to the This Girl Can campaign. Women should be able to be active whenever, wherever and however they choose without being judged for how they look, how good they are or how sweaty they get.
Therefore I believe that language support might become necessary as more and more people of different backgrounds join health clubs. The action I seek from the minister is that she talk with VicHealth and suggest that funding guidelines be made available in languages other than English to reach out to those residents in my electorate of Western Metropolitan Region whose first language is not English. The PRESIDENT: Mrs McArthur is going to change her action.
RESPONSE:
Ms MIKAKOS (Northern Metropolitan—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (18 February 2020):
Thank you for your interest in the VicHealth Partnership Grants and the Active Club Grants.
Nearly half of all Victorians are not doing enough physical activity to benefit their health and that is why it is so important that sporting clubs are supported to offer more opportunities to get people moving. .
As you noted the Active Club Grants support sporting clubs across the state who can now apply for grants of up to $10,000. These grants can, for example, help local clubs respond to the significant community demand for women’s sport by creating new women and girls’ teams; be used by clubs to offer social sport programs, such as modified sports for people with disability or beginners’ teams; or help with a range of costs including uniforms, equipment and instructor training.
At your suggestion, my office to met with VicHealth and discussed the issue of funding guidelines and support in languages other than English. VicHealth now provide access to an interpreting service for any potential grant applicant that wants information about the grants in a language other than English. VicHealth has updated the Partnership Grants website to reflect this service is available at https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/funding/partnership-grants.
In addition, VicHealth will offer an interpreting and translation service for any potential grant applicant that needs support to draft an application. The service will support the applicant to translate their application into English.
In future grants rounds, VicHealth has committed to providing in-language advice that interpreting services are available if assistance is required in a language other than English. VicHealth will adopt a similar approach to the Victorian Multicultural Commission and provide the advice in multiple languages.
Thank you for your tireless advocacy on behalf of the people of Western Metropolitan Region.