The research will examine experiences from people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Griffith, Wagga, Young and Albury.

Professor Julian Grant and Dr Jessica Biles from CSU's School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health will be doing the research.

Professor Grant said previous research showed that people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds had poorer access to healthcare.

"We know in previous pandemics around the world, racism has increased and it's prevented people from accessing healthcare in a timely manner," Professor Grant said.

"I can only bare witness to [racism], I am a white woman but as a white woman, I can help other white people shine a light on it."

Multicultural Council of Griffith president Carmel La Rocca said so far, no complaints about racism stemming from COVID-19 had been heard, however pandemic had led to some experiencing anxiety.

"Because of the way the government has given out information, it feels quite confusing and things are different from state to state," Ms La Rocca said.

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For some refugees, the anxiety about the virus had brought back memories of previous trauma.

"The general community is very anxious, people don't know whether to shake hands or how close they can be to others," she said.

Ms La Rocca said events like the Multicultural festival and Harmony Day had helped break down barriers between different cultures in Griffith.

Professor Grant said by investigating barriers to healthcare, more could be done to reduce and remove them for future pandemics.

"We can't get rid of or change the population-based measures, but there may be ways that we can adapt the information to target the needs of particular community groups and reduce the racism people experience," she said.

"By combining analyses of racism, health access and equity using COVID-19 restrictions, our research will identify important information to inform healthcare policy and practice for the current COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics."

The findings of the research are expected to be presented at the end of the year.