POSITION PAPER Contemporary issues surrounding CALD communities in Queensland Gino Orticio, School of Cultural and Professional Learning, Queensland University of Technology 30 June 2015 There is growing research-based evidence on the concerns faced by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Australia, with particular interest in the state of Queensland. These issues ranges from mental health and physical health, labor and employment, education, domestic violence as well as other socio-cultural dimensions.  Mental health. Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety of migrant women have been identified [1, 2] which point to cultural and linguistic issues in maternity care [3-5]. Psychosocial issues like psychological trauma were also reported amongst resettled refugees [6, 7]  Physical well-being. Physical health is also a growing concern. These include obesity [8, 9] and alcohol-related problems [10, 11] among first generation migrants of CALD background. There is reported increase in the health burden of hepatitis B among migrants and refugees in Western Australia [12-14]. Among refugee children, there is a strong Dzmoral and public health imperative to provide appropriately resourced, culturally competent and comprehensive health care to address (their) wellbeingdz [15]. The practice of female genital mutilation must also be stopped [16]. Apart from the above concerns, issues on cultural and language gaps exist in medical care [14, 17-20] despite cases pointing that blended or culturally appropriate health care evoke positive health outcomes and patient satisfaction among CALD migrants [21].  Labor and employment. Unemployment and the ability of speak English impact the demoralization among people with CALD backgrounds [22]. More so, even those who speak functional English language experience underemployment, non- utilisation and disparity of their qualifications [23]. More importantly, disparity of treatment and unfavourable labour practices is still an occurrence among temporary migrant workers [24].  Education. Better university practices and more civic and community-based dynamisms must address issues faced by international students which include language support, personal safety, financial support systems while studying as well as jobs and social integration [25, 26]. In addition, psychosocial support for children with CALD and refugee backgrounds has been identified as they enter the Australian school system [27-29]. There is also a need to address the digital divide among migrants with refugee backgrounds [30] through inclusive pedagogical approaches  Women. Domestic violence among newly-arrived migrant women is still a continuing occurrence [11, 31-33]. There must be improved efforts to investigate serial sponsorship of women for repeat sponsorships point to a high level of perpetration of domestic violence. [33]  Ageing. There is growing evidence of social isolation among elder migrants in some CALD communities [34]. Intergenerational and gender role family conflicts is also identified as an emerging issue [9] Admittedly, the above items are not an exhaustive one for space and time constraints limit its further articulation. Collaborative research with the academe, NGO, community organisation and other stakeholders will provide more articulation and specificity to these current concerns. Nonetheless efforts to address these must be supported not only of its evidential as well as moral justifications, but also of ramifications of costly allocations of future resources within both state and federal levels. It is recommended that initiatives within the general CALD community (whether they be formally organized, burgeoning or disparate) must recognise and urgently identify pathways within their own sphere and resources. This is to address specific concerns which they deem important and integral to their own community. General, peak body organisations or efforts to this direction should be able to prioritise these evidence-based concerns while being introspective in the cultural complexities of various CALD communities and formal ethnic organisations [35] vis-à-vis the social realities of the day. REFERENCES 1. Neale, A.S. and A.P.F. Wand, A perinatal emotional-health group for migrant women: lessons learned. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 2015. 8(3): p. 289-299. 2. Shafiei, T., R. Small, and H. McLachlan, Immigrant Afghan women's emotional well-being after birth and use of health services in Melbourne, Australia. Midwifery, 2015. 31(7): p. 671-677. 3. 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