What is cultural competence?
Cultural competence is the ability of an organisation, and the individuals within it, to understand, communicate with, and effectively serve people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Detailed description
Cultural competence is the ability of an organisation, and the individuals within it, to understand, communicate with, and effectively serve people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. It encompasses attitudes, behaviours, policies, and systems that enable effective cross-cultural interaction.
Cultural competence operates at multiple levels. At the individual level, it involves self-awareness of one's own cultural assumptions, knowledge of other cultural worldviews, and the skills to communicate respectfully and effectively across cultural boundaries. At the organisational level, it involves policies, governance structures, workforce capabilities, and service delivery models that systematically account for cultural diversity.
In Australian healthcare, cultural competence is embedded in accreditation standards and service delivery frameworks. The National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards require health services to demonstrate that they meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Similar frameworks exist in aged care, disability services, and mental health.
In government, cultural competence informs Access and Equity reporting, procurement criteria for service providers, and the design of public-facing communications. Organisations bidding for government contracts in health, settlement services, and community programs are increasingly assessed on their demonstrated cultural competence.
Translation and multilingual communication are core components of organisational cultural competence, but they are not sufficient on their own. True cultural competence also requires cultural adaptation of services, workforce diversity, community consultation, and ongoing evaluation of how well services meet the needs of diverse populations.
LEXIGO supports organisations in building cultural competence through professional translation, in-culture communication, multicultural campaign development, and community consultation services.
Why it matters
Cultural competence is increasingly a procurement requirement, not just a good practice aspiration. Healthcare organisations, government departments, and funded service providers are assessed on their cultural competence as part of accreditation, contract compliance, and quality frameworks.
For organisations seeking to improve their cultural competence, professional translation and multicultural communication are practical, measurable interventions that demonstrate commitment to serving diverse communities effectively.
Related questions about cultural competence
What is meant by cultural competence?
Cultural competence is the ability to understand, communicate and work effectively with people across cultures. It applies to individuals and to organisations, covering attitudes, knowledge, skills, policies and the way services are designed.
What is a good example of cultural competence?
A common example is a health service that offers in-language information and interpreters, checks how a community prefers to receive messages, and adjusts appointment reminders and forms so they make sense to that community.
What is the difference between cultural competence and cultural awareness?
Cultural awareness is knowing that cultural differences exist and recognising your own assumptions. Cultural competence goes further and turns that awareness into skills, behaviours and organisational practices that work for diverse communities.
What is the difference between cultural competence and cultural safety?
Cultural competence describes the skills of the person or organisation providing a service. Cultural safety is judged by the people receiving the service, based on whether they feel respected and safe, and is often used in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health contexts.
Why is cultural competence important in communication?
Without cultural competence, even accurate translations can miss the mark because the message, channel or messenger is wrong for the audience. Culturally competent communication is planned with the community in mind, not adapted at the end.
How can organisations improve cultural competence?
Start with data on who your communities are, involve community members in design and testing, train staff, and build in-language communication into standard processes rather than treating it as an extra.