Victoria is one of the most multicultural places in Australia. We celebrate people from over 300 different backgrounds, who speak more than 290 languages, and follow over 200 different religions.
Diversity is one of our biggest strengths. However, the Victorian Government knows that not everyone has the same experiences of our health system. That’s why we have created a Multicultural Health Advisory Committee to make sure the voices and ideas of multicultural communities inform health priorities and guide improvements.
The Committee is led by the Parliamentary Secretary for Women’s Health, Kat Theophanous MP. It brings together community leaders, health experts, and representatives from key organisations to guide government policies, programs, and services for multicultural communities.
The Committee will also contribute to important health and mental health plans, like the Department of Health’s Multicultural Health Action Plan and the Diverse Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing 10-Year Framework (2025–2035).
It also supports other government strategies and projects that focus on multicultural communities, including emerging priorities from Victoria’s Multicultural Review.
Current MHAC members
Chair
Parliamentary Secretary for Women’s Health, Kat Theophanous MP
Deputy Chair
Dr Shaymaa Elkadi
Members
- Arun Thomas
- Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis
- Dr Umber Rind
- Dr Vitor Rocha
- Josh Nguyen
- Rana Ebrahimi
- Tigist Kebede
- Vedran Drakulic
- Yue Hu
Standing members
- Farah Farouque - Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria (ECCV) representative
- Judy Tang Victorian - Multicultural Commission (VMC) representative
- Dr Shereen Labib - Local Public Health Unit (LPHU) representative
- Gavin Halge - Victorian Refugee Health Network (VRHN) representative
The Victorian Government is committed to ensuring that government boards and committees reflect the diversity of the Victorian community. The current Advisory Committee has more than 50% women. It also has representatives from multicultural and multifaith communities who are:
- Aboriginal
- LGBTIQA+
- regional Victorians.
The current term for this Committee will expire at the end of 2028.
Find out more about the members
Deputy Chair
Dr Shaymaa Elkadi (she/her)
Dr Shaymaa Elkadi is an accomplished executive and non-executive director with over 15 years of experience in the health, mental health, justice and family violence sectors. Dr Elkadi is a strong multicultural community advocate with extensive expertise in refugee and asylum seeker health and wellbeing. Dr Elkadi has served on boards including Neami National, Women’s Health Victoria and VACRO (Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders).
Members
Vedran Drakulić OAM (he/him)
Vedran is an accomplished Executive Leader with a strong interest in philanthropy, health, and humanities. Vedran was inducted into the Victorian Multicultural Honour Roll for his contributions as an advocate for multiculturalism, social cohesion, and refugee support. Vedran brings expertise in refugee and asylum seeker health and has served on boards including the VicHealth Foundation and AMES (Adult Multicultural Education Services) Australia.
Rana Ebrahimi (she/her)
Rana brings over 20 years' experience in public policy and community engagement both in Australia and internationally, leading refugee protection, health, and gender-based violence programs. Rana brings expertise in multicultural youth advocacy and has served on a number of boards including the Commonwealth Government’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Health Committee and Refugee Education Australia.
Yue Hu (she/her)
Yue is an experienced leader in transcultural healthcare, bringing over 13 years of experience in language services and workforce capability building and development. Yue is a certified Mandarin interpreter with expertise in health translations and digital communications and has led strategies to integrate culturally responsive practices into health service design and delivery. Yue has extensive experience advising on healthcare safety, quality, health research and clinical governance.
Tigist Kebede (she/her)
Tigist is an experienced Senior Counsellor and multicultural community leader, having worked across hospital, community, and forensic based settings. As the Founder of Pola Practice, she is committed to improving equitable access to mental health support for multicultural communities. Tigist has served on boards including the African Communities Advisory Committee for the Victorian Government and was awarded as a finalist for the Victorian African Refugee Awards.
Josh Nguyen (he/him)
Josh is a Clinical Psychologist and a PhD Candidate at the University of Melbourne, specialising in LGBTQIA mental health, youth and adolescent mental health and suicide prevention. Josh is the founder of the Asian Mental Health Professional Network in Australia and has advised the Victorian Government on mental health reform strategies for consumers, families and carers.
Dr Umber Rind (she/her)
Dr Umber Rind is a proud Aboriginal Badimaya woman and General Practitioner with over 20 years of experience across hospital, general practice, obstetrics and gynaecology practice. Dr Rind has a strong record of working with multicultural communities, including establishing a culturally safe GP clinic for Aboriginal children and families at Bubup Wilam Aboriginal Child & Family Centre, and has served on boards including the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights, Women of Colour Australia, and the Islamic Council of Victoria, bringing an intersectional lens to health and community leadership.
Dr Vitor Rocha (he/him)
Dr Vitor Rocha is an internationally trained General Practitioner, who is proudly queer, Latino, and lives in regional Victoria. Dr Rocha brings expertise across LGBTIQA+ health, primary health and palliative care. Dr Rocha has served on several boards including Palliative Care Tasmania and the Thorne Harbour Health Multicultural LGBTIQA+ Advisory Committee.
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis AM (she/her)
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis is a Melbourne-based General Practitioner, and a leading women’s health expert, advocate, policy advisor and health writer. Associate Professor Simonis has strong governance expertise cultivated through Board roles including the Melbourne Academic Centre for Health and University of Melbourne’s Teaching Health Clinics and Primary Care Council.
Arun Thomas (he/him)
Arun is an experienced Non-Executive Director and Registered Nurse with expertise in clinical governance, aged care and regional healthcare. Arun has lived experience as a multicultural community member living in regional Victoria. Arun has served on several boards including inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence and Stawell Regional Health and is committed to improving health outcomes for multicultural communities in regional and rural areas.
Standing members
Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria representative - Farah Farouque (she/her)
Farah is an experienced Executive and multicultural community leader with expertise in social policy, strategic communications, advocacy, multicultural affairs, justice, and law. Farah is the Chief Executive Officer Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria (ECCV) and has served on a number of boards, including the Commonwealth Multicultural Health Advisory Group, the advisory board of The Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, and The Social Studio, a social enterprise steering pathways in fashion and design for young people from multicultural communities.
Victorian Multicultural Commission representative - Dr Judy Tang (she/her)
Dr Judy Tang is a Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commission, and a Clinical Neuropsychologist and advocate for multiculturalism and LGBTIQA+ communities with expertise in mental health, ageing and health research. Dr Tang and has served on boards including the Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council, a national body that advocates for the rights of multicultural LGBTQIA+ people and communities.
Local Public Health Units (LPHUs) representative - Dr. Shereen Labib (she/her)
Dr Shereen Labib is the Medical and Epidemiology Manager at the Gippsland Region Public Health Unit, and has over 30 years of experience in epidemiology, public health and paediatrics both nationally and internationally. Dr Labib has extensive experience working with multicultural communities in regional Victoria and has served as the Deputy Chief Health Officer in the Northern Territory.
Victorian Refugee Health Network (VRHN) representative - Gavin Halge (he/him)
Gavin is the Program Coordinator at the Victorian Refugee Health Network, leading work to improve health service access and responsiveness for people from asylum seeker and refugee backgrounds. Gavin has held senior leadership and management roles across community mental health, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and migration services. Gavin brings expertise in refugee and asylum seeker health and is committed to improving health outcomes for multicultural communities through advocacy and collaboration.
Reviewed 11 February 2026