Labor has promised to invest a further $25 million in Australian Community Language Schools, as the competition for migrant voters intensifies in the lead-up to the federal election.
Around 600 of the schools operate with government support across Australia, offering after-hours education for 90,000 students in 84 languages.
The schools support young Australians — primarily from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds — to learn or maintain a language other than English.
The Labor policy would set aside $5 million in dedicated funding to support the uptake of specialist Asian languages through to Years 11 and 12.
The policy is aimed at increasing fluency among students regardless of their background, promoting employment and economic opportunities with regional neighbours.
"We live in the greatest country in the world, and that is in part due to the people and their cultures from all nations on earth who call Australia home," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"We're supporting more Australian families to stay close to their culture."
According to Community Languages Australia, schools currently receive funding through the Australian Government’s School Language Program, with some additional support provided by state and territory governments.
Other running costs are passed on to parents through school fees, while many schools engage in fundraising efforts to support classes.
Albanese's announcement follows efforts by both the major parties to engage with migrant communities, who make up large blocs of voters in outer-suburban seats in Victoria and New South Wales, where cost-of-living stress is being acutely felt.
There are 182 community language schools, close to a third, in the crucial state of Victoria, where the prime minister will campaign on Saturday.
Labor will launch the policy this morning in the seat of Chisholm, held by MP Carina Garland, on a 3.3 per cent margin, one of the government's most marginal seats in Victoria.
28.9 per cent of residents in the seat have Chinese heritage, with a majority of residents born outside of Australia, according to 2021 census data.
The Coalition campaign has also spent considerable time meeting multicultural voters from a variety of backgrounds.
In the campaign's opening weekend, Opposition leader Peter Dutton pledged $225,000 in funding for the Brisbane-based Chinese Museum of Queensland, before promising $25,000 to increase security at the Al Madinah Masjid Mosque in Western Sydney.
At press conferences, Dutton has often spoken of Australia as a "net beneficiary" of the "migrant story" in response to questions about the Coalition’s promised 25 per cent cut to permanent migration, which is part of its housing affordability platform.
