New SBS guidelines will ensure diverse voices are heard

New SBS Commissioning Equity & Inclusion Guidelines will see Australia’s multicultural and Indigenous broadcaster continuing to ensure diverse and under-represented voices are heard and leading the conversation about representation in the nation’s media, says Settlement Services International (SSI).

The guidelines, released on February 21, are part of SBS’s ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, reflecting and exploring the diversity of today’s Australia in the programs it commissions.

They are intended to build on SBS’s multicultural and multilingual content reporting each year, and its range of investments in initiatives providing pathways for creatives under-represented in the sector.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis AM said, SSI, itself a diverse, inclusive and multicultural organisation, commended the guidelines’ commitments for representation of people who identify as culturally and linguistically diverse, First Nations, people with disability, LGBTIQ+, and women, in roles on and off screen.

“As a member of the SBS Community Advisory Committee, meeting throughout the year to give advice, raise community concerns and provide feedback on programming and projects, I know that diversity and inclusion are part of the very fabric of SBS.

“SBS is an incredibly diverse organisation with deep and unrivalled connections with Australia’s diverse communities.

“I expect the new guidelines will strengthen SBS’s capacity to service the whole of the Australian community, shift public perceptions and build a sense of belonging and inclusion.”