Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW

What Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW does

Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW (ECCNSW) is a non-profit peak body founded in 1975 that advocates for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities across New South Wales, Australia. The organization represents more than 300 member groups, including ethnic community organizations, multicultural service providers, and regional ethnic communities' councils, and is led by CEO Mary Karras with a staff of 19. ECCNSW delivers government-funded programs in six priority areas: aged care advocacy, disability inclusion, family and domestic violence prevention, environmental sustainability, active citizenship, and community wellbeing.

ECCNSW's service delivery is built around in-language community engagement rather than a unified technology product. Casual bilingual staff conduct information sessions across metropolitan and regional NSW in languages including Arabic, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu, Dinka, Dari, Indonesian, Nepali, and Thai. The organization also produces multilingual audio and video podcasts (Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic, Vietnamese) and partner-delivered programs such as Hear and See Me: Speak My Language (with Vision Australia, Deaf Australia, and Vision Australia Radio), the Football NSW Multicultural Settlement Program, and culturally tailored bowel screening education. Past programs such as the Waterless Wok (2005-2009) demonstrate quantified environmental and community impact.

Revenue is generated primarily through government grants from the NSW Government via Multicultural NSW, the Commonwealth Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, and other departments, supplemented by membership fees. The organization is independent and governed by a Board of Directors, and all community-facing services are delivered free of charge. The 50th anniversary was marked with a Gala Dinner in May 2025 at Le Montage, Lilyfield.

Name

Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW

Legal name

Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW

Website

https://eccnsw.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW (ECCNSW) is a non-profit peak body, founded in 1975, that advocates for culturally and linguistically diverse communities across NSW, Australia, representing 300+ member groups and delivering bilingual government-funded programs in aged care, disability, family violence, and community wellbeing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: ECCNSW receives funding from government sources including the NSW Government through Multicultural NSW, Commonwealth Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, and various government departments to deliver community programs and advocacy services.
2. Membership Fees: ECCNSW has a membership base open to organisations and individuals who uphold the principles of multiculturalism. Membership is available to ethnic community groups, multicultural providers, and regional ethnic communities' councils.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ECCNSW is the peak body for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in NSW, providing advocacy, representation, and government-funded community programs. It delivers in-language services in areas including aged care advocacy, disability inclusion, family and domestic violence prevention, environmental sustainability, civic participation, and multicultural settlement support. Its programs serve individual CALD community members directly and a network of 300+ member ethnic community organizations, funded primarily through government grants and membership fees.

Product overview

ECCNSW operates as a community organization offering programs and services rather than a unified technology product platform. Its key offerings include the Hear and See Me: Speak My Language program (delivering accessible podcasts for people with sensory disabilities from CALD backgrounds), the Energy Advocacy program (supporting CALD energy consumer rights), health education initiatives like bowel screening programs, and community sports programs through Football NSW partnerships. The organization also provides multilingual podcasts, podcasts in Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, and Vietnamese, and publishes guidelines and research reports. Programs are typically funded by government agencies and delivered in partnership with community organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hear and See Me: Speak My Language Program
• Energy Advocacy Program An advocacy program supporting CALD communities' rights to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy, including guidelines and research on engaging CALD energy consumers in energy policy and regulatory engagement.
• Promoting Awareness: Culturally Tailored Education on Bowel Screening and Colonoscopy A health education program funded by Cancer Institute NSW to improve bowel cancer screening awareness among CALD communities through culturally tailored, in-language education.
• Football NSW Multicultural Settlement Program A free football program for newly arrived migrants, refugees, and CALD community members supporting social inclusion, wellbeing, and community connection through sport, with two streams: MSP (ages 4-11) and MYSP (ages 12-25).
• ECCNSW Membership Membership open to organisations and individuals who uphold the principles of multiculturalism, providing access to a collective advocacy voice, capacity building, resource sharing, and representation in government policy.
• Aged Care Advocacy Program Program supporting older migrants to gain independence, learn new skills, and access supports through government and non-government advocacy across NSW.
• Family and Domestic Violence Prevention Program Program working with CALD men to change behaviour and attitudes towards domestic violence, and supporting victims through culturally appropriate intervention, including coercive control lived experience videos in multiple languages in partnership with NSW Police.

Quantifiable outcome

• The Waterless Wok program engaged 848 Asian style restaurants, with 169 installing waterless wok stoves, resulting in 82% water consumption reduction and 212 million litres annual water savings.
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Multicultural NSWcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Multicultural NSW is the state government agency supporting ECCNSW. They collaboratively launched the Settlement Hub and operate the Stronger Together Festival and Event Grants Program.
• ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Collaboration with ECCNSW Bilingual Educators to develop the 2026-2028 ICAC Strategy on Communications and Engagement with CALD communities.
• Wollongong City CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Partner in the Waterless Wok program alongside NSW Government Climate Change Fund to help Asian restaurants reduce water usage through education and installation of waterless wok stoves.
• Vision AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in the Hear and See Me: Speak My Language program to deliver audio and video podcasts featuring people with vision impairment from CALD and First Nations backgrounds, providing evidence-based advice and lived experience stories.
• Deaf AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in the Hear and See Me: Speak My Language program to deliver accessible information for Deaf people from CALD and First Nations communities through video podcasts in Auslan.
• Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and AgeingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunder and partner for the Hear and See Me: Speak My Language program under the Commonwealth Government's Information, Advice and Referral Program.
• NSW Department of Planning, Industry and EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for Energy Advocacy program to assist CALD communities with energy policy and regulatory engagement.
• University of New EnglandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner leading the EFERVE national study on radicalisation in educational settings, funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs.
• Macquarie UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in the EFERVE study bringing expertise in sociology of education, criminology, international security, and neuroscience.
• Football NSWminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver the Multicultural Settlement Program providing free football programs for newly arrived migrants, refugees, and CALD communities to support social inclusion and wellbeing.
• NSW PoliceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to promote coercive control lived experience videos in multiple languages to address family and domestic violence in CALD communities.
• Vision Australia RadiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Hear Me, See Me - Speak My Language Program to capture and share stories of people with vision loss from CALD communities through radio and podcast content.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Centre for Multicultural Youth: Victoria-based specialist organisation supporting multicultural young people; comparable to ECCNSW in CALD youth settlement and inclusion programs (e.g. ECCNSW's Football NSW Multicultural Settlement Program), though regional to Victoria.

Broad incumbents

• NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS): NSW peak body for community welfare organisations; comparable to ECCNSW in operating jurisdiction, government advocacy, and member-network model, but serving the wider social-services sector rather than exclusively CALD communities.
• Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS): National peak body for the broader community welfare sector; overlapping mission with ECCNSW around CALD social wellbeing and government policy influence but operating across all populations rather than multicultural-specific issues.

Direct peers

• Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia (FECCA): National peak body for Australia's culturally and linguistically diverse communities; directly comparable as the federated umbrella of which ECCNSW is the NSW member, performing equivalent advocacy and policy representation functions at federal level.
• Settlement Council of Australia: National peak body for settlement services, directly comparable to ECCNSW in advocacy and program delivery for newly arrived migrants and refugees, with overlapping member organisations and government relationships.
• Refugee Council of Australia: National peak body for refugees and asylum seekers, delivering advocacy, policy input, and community programs to a constituency substantially overlapping with ECCNSW's CALD migrants and refugees segment.
• Multicultural Youth Affairs Australia (MYAN): National peak body for multicultural youth, directly comparable to ECCNSW in CALD-focused advocacy, government engagement, and community programs, with overlapping membership of multicultural service providers.

Regional players

• Community Languages Australia: National community-language schools peak body; comparable to ECCNSW in representing ethnic community organisations and advocating on language and cultural issues, though focused on community-language education specifically.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ethnic-communities-council-of-nsw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW