Our most recent 2023 Health Needs Assessment has highlighted that more than one quarter (26%) of residents are born overseas, with the top five birth countries being: India, China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. 

The south east is home to a large population of refugees and asylum seekers, with a large majority settling in Casey and Greater Dandenong.

Greater Dandenong also has the highest proportion of people born overseas in Victoria and the second highest in Australia at 63.4%

Our communities are linguistically diverse—over 220 languages are spoken across the region with Mandarin, Greek and Punjabi being the main languages spoken in the SEMPHN catchment.

SEMPHN GPs provide primary care to people from more than 250 ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Harmony Week  - “Learning to see our reflections in each other”

During Harmony Week, our diverse workforce came together at our Taste of Harmony morning tea to celebrate the gift of our diversity.

We shared stories about our different backgrounds, sampled food from various cultures in our teams and our catchment and acknowledged the Bunurong and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation, the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies on which we work. 

It was a wonderful opportunity to “learn to see our reflections in each other” and "from the image bank of others" Quinn Pawson, SEMPHN CEO.

Commissioning of services for culturally and linguistically diverse communities

A core function of SEMPHN is the commissioning of services in response to the changing priorities and needs of our Priority populations which include children, young people, LGBTIQA+ communities and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

As population profiles change, so does the need for different blends of primary health care. One of SEMPHN’s core objectives is to ensure, within our resources, that service providers are commissioned to supply the right care, at the right place and time.