Navigating the ideological tide

Abstract This paper examines if and how policy discourses about social service provisions to multicultural communities are affected by the so-called backlash against multiculturalism, which began in Europe and the UK, and how this backlash has influenced Australia. Ideological approaches to social policy changes are often implicit, manifesting through long-term shifts in public discourses. This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of public and policy documents referencing service provision for multicultural communities from 1996 to 2021. The analysis finds that since the 1996 election of the Howard government, Australian public discourse on diversity governance has increasingly emphasised mainstreaming as an approach to diversity governance. These mainstreaming discourses are ideologically expressed in inclusionary and exclusionary forms that either over-emphasise or normalise Australia’s ethno-cultural diversity. Findings also show dissonances between public discourse and policy on this mainstreamed approach, which can have a detrimental impact on intersectional communities facing marginalisation and inequity.