Why public health practitioners and researchers must stop using the term ‘culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)’

Davoud Pourmarzi; Linda Murray; Tehzeeb Zulfiqar; Guddu Kaur; Anna Olsen

doi:10.1071/PU25003

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 35(3)

Why public health practitioners and researchers must stop using the term ‘culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)’

Davoud Pourmarzi ^A ^* , Linda Murray ^B , Tehzeeb Zulfiqar ^A , Guddu Kaur ^A and Anna Olsen ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, 62 Mills Road, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.

^B College of Health, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.

^C School of Medicine and Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: Davoud.pourmarzi@anu.edu.au

Public Health Research and Practice 35, PU25003 https://doi.org/10.1071/PU25003

Submitted: 23 January 2025 Accepted: 11 June 2025 Published: 21 August 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Sax Institute. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

The term ‘culturally and linguistically diverse’ (CALD) is used in Australia to describe some groups of migrants. Implicitly, the term defines ‘others’ who are ‘different’ to the dominant normative Australian. The use of the term as standard language in health literature and public discourse has increased dramatically over the past decade. Australians who are labelled as CALD have argued that the term affects their sense of belonging to the Australian community. As public health researchers and practitioners, we must minimise potential risks of harm, maximise health benefits and ensure the rigour of our data collection, analysis and reporting methods. We argue that we must refrain from continuing to use this concept and that there is no need for a new label to categorise some members of our diverse Australian population as ‘others’.

Keywords: diversity, equity, ethics, inclusive language, migrants, public health, refugees, social cohesion.

References

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics. Characteristics of recent migrants. Canberra: ABS; 2019. Available at https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/characteristics-recent-migrants/latest-release [cited 17 June 2025].

2 Pham TTL, Berecki-Gisolf J, Clapperton A, O’Brien KS, Liu S, Gibson K. Definitions of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD): A Literature Review of Epidemiological Research in Australia. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 18(2): 737.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

3 Sawrikar P, Katz I. How useful is the term ‘culturally and linguistically diverse’ (CALD) in Australian research and policy discourse? Social Policy Research Centre; 2009. Available at https://apo.org.au/node/17673 [cited 17 June 2025].

4 Marcus K, Balasubramanian M, Short S, Sohn W. Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD): terminology and standards in reducing healthcare inequalities. Aust N Z J Public Health 2022; 46(1): 7-9.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

5 Adusei-Asante K, Adibi H. The ‘Culturally and Linguistically Diverse’ (CALD) label: a critique using African migrants as exemplar. Australas Rev Afr Stud 2018; 39(2): 74-94.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

6 Scanlon Foundation Research Institute. ‘Why call me that?’ Reflections on labels in a diverse nation. 2023. Available at https://scanloninstitute.org.au/publications/essays/reflections-on-labels [cited 8 December 2024].

7 Udah H, Singh P. ‘It still matters’: The role of skin colour in the everyday life and realities of black African migrants and refugees in Australia. Australas Rev Afr Stud 2018; 39(2): 19-47.
| Google Scholar |

8 Hatoss A. Where are you from? Identity construction and experiences of ‘othering’ in the narratives of Sudanese refugee-background Australians. Discourse Soc 2012; 23(1): 47-68.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

9 Udah H. Searching for a place to belong in a time of othering. Soc Sci 2019; 8(11): 297.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

10 Bhopal R. Spectre of racism in health and health care: lessons from history and the United States. BMJ 1998; 316(7149): 1970-3.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

11 Link BG, Phelan JC. Conceptualizing stigma. Annu Rev Sociol 2001; 27(1): 363-85.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

12 Williams DR, Lawrence JA, Davis BA. Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research. Annu Rev Public Health 2019; 40: 105-25.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

13 Cheung-Blunden V, Dechesne M, Miodus S, Dixit S, Hyun RN. Sources of anti-immigrant sentiments in Western democracies: A contextual approach. Curr Opin Psychol 2022; 47: 101432.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

14 Abdi I, Tinessia A, Mahimbo A, Sheel M, Leask J. Is it time to retire the label “CALD” in public health research and practice? Med J Aust 2025; 222(5): 220-2.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

15 Library of the Canadian Parliament. Race and Ethnicity: Evolving Terminology. 2022. Available at https://hillnotes.ca/2022/01/31/race-and-ethnicity-evolving-terminology/ [cited 17 June 2025].

16 The United Kingdom Government Office for Equality and Opportunity. Why we no longer use the term ‘BAME’ in government. 2022. Available at https://equalities.blog.gov.uk/2022/04/07/why-we-no-longer-use-the-term-bame-in-government/ [cited 17 June 2025].

17 Australian Bureau of Statistics. Standards for statistics on Cultural and Language Diversity. A set of statistical standards used to collect all necessary information for consistent measurement of cultural and language diversity in Australia. Canberra: ABS; 2022. Available at https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/standards/standards-statistics-cultural-and-language-diversity/latest-release [cited 17 June 2025].

18 National Library of Medicine: National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubMed. Bethseda, MD: NLM; 2025. Available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ [cited 17 June 2025].

19 Google. Google Trends. 2025. Available at https://trends.google.com/trends/ [cited 17 June 2025].

20 Australian Human Rights Commission. About Constitutional Recognition, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice, Founding document of the nation. Sydney, NSW; 2024. Available at https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice/about-constitutional-recognition [cited 17 June 2025].

21 National Archives of Australia. The Immigration Restriction Act 1901. 2024. Available at https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/immigration-and-citizenship/immigration-restriction-act-1901 [cited 17 June 2025].

22 Ford CL, Airhihenbuwa CO. Critical race theory, race equity, and public health: toward antiracism praxis. Am J Public Health 2010; 100(S1): S30-5.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

23 Staszak J-F. Other/otherness. In: Kobayashi A, editor. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Vol. 1. Elsevier; 2008. pp. 1–7.

24 Mayes C. White Medicine, White Ethics: On the Historical Formation of Racism in Australian Healthcare. J Aust Stud 2020; 44(3): 287-302.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

25 Routen A, Lekas HM, Harrison J, Khunti K. Intersectionality in health equity research. BMJ 2023; 383: 2953.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |