This thesis describes the evaluation of a program to employ bilingual staff in case management positions in community mental health services in Melbourne, Australia. A literature review showed that no previous research in Australia had investigated the impact of bilingual staff on clients of mental health services. While research conducted in the USA shows that ethnic matching (matching clients and clinicians on the basis of language or ethnic background) increases service use, its impact on outcome domains such as social functioning remains uncertain. (For complete abstract open document)