Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles, announced a $15 million investment over two years for community language schools on Wednesday, August 30.
The Community Language Schools grant program aims to support students seeking to learn a language other than English.
“Languages help connect Australians to each other, and to the world. The Albanese Labor Government is committed to strengthening our social connections and facilitating the exchange of cultures by making it easier to learn a second language.” Mr Giles said.
Grants of up to $30,000 over two years will be available to eligible community language schools, enabling them to expand classes to pre-school aged children, purchase new resources, build quality learning environments, cover costs such as rent or teacher training, or provide fee-relief for disadvantaged students.
Community language schools play a crucial role in preserving cultural heritage and fostering a bond between young learners and the languages spoken by their parents or grandparents. With a history dating back to 1857, there are now more than 700 language schools operating across Australia, teaching over 100,000 students in over 85 languages.
“The younger someone starts learning another language, the easier it will be for them to pick it up, so we’ve included funding to support classes for pre-school aged children. It’s an investment in their future, in Australia’s future as a proudly multicultural society.” the Minister added.
From Friday, September 1, further information about the program, and an easy-to-complete application form will go live on GrantConnect, the Government’s grant information system, www.grants.gov.au.
Applications for the Community Language Schools Grant will be open from Friday, September 1 to Monday, October 9.
