Two in three refugees and new migrants have not heard of the Indigenous voice to parliament and three quarters of them are unaware it would involve a constitutional change.
Australians will cast their votes on the voice at a referendum later this year.
Settlement services agency AMES Australia surveyed 160 people from 30 different countries in Melbourne and Sydney about the upcoming poll.
Of the participants, 130 people were randomly surveyed and 30 others were quizzed after a half-hour session explaining the voice.
All respondents had been in Australia less than five years.
Among the random group, more than 67 per cent were either not aware or only partly aware of the voice proposal.
Three in four people said they were not aware it would mean a change to the constitution.
About half of respondents said they were in favour of the voice in order to remedy the disadvantage and discrimination experienced by Indigenous people.
The survey found the more information provided about the Indigenous advisory body, the more likely refugees and new migrants would be in favour.
Syrian refugee Norma Medawar Chamous, who became an Australian citizen earlier this year, said she would vote 'yes' at the upcoming referendum.
"Learning that Aboriginal people could not vote before 1967 was a surprise," she said.
"As the original people in this land who have been displaced by settlement, we should do more to support the progress of indigenous communities."
About 13 per cent of the random sample said they would not vote for voice.
AMES Australia chief executive Cath Scarth said the survey showed a need for improving messaging and communication to reach culturally diverse groups.
"It's important that everyone eligible to vote in the referendum understands what the voice means, what it is seeking to redress and the difference it might make in people's lives," she said.
