With the rapid ageing of postwar immigrants, people from non-English speaking backgrounds are expected to soon make up one-in-three of Victoria's elderly population.
The council's Peter Van Vliet, says many people from diverse backgrounds have to use mainstream aged-care services and their interests are often overlooked.
“We need to ensure that providers of these services are aware of the specific cultural needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Whether it's in areas like language services, their faith, nutrition. We just need to ensure that people are in comfortable environments, where they feel comfortable with the services they're receiving, and that the services are culturally appropriate,” Mr Vliet said.