Michael Daley and Labor will make $44 million available to multicultural communities across NSW to help community organisations and local councils support their communities.

The $44 million Multicultural Infrastructure Fund will help communities build, upgrade or repair aged care facilities, as well as providing facilities for young people, including sporting facilities, building or maintenance of community halls, and making facilities more accessible to older people and to people with a disability.

Labor will ensure that a portion of this funding is allocated to rural and regional NSW.

Communities will be able to apply for this money through an open and transparent process for multicultural communities across NSW.

Labor will help newer multicultural communities to apply for these grants. Many new communities may not have the same capacity to apply for grant programs as communities that have been in NSW for a long time.

This assistance will include programs that help communities understand how to access all the sources of funding that are available from local councils, the NSW Government and the Federal Government, how to establish the proper legal structures and financial arrangements needed to apply for government funding, and provide training for grant applications, auditing, and compliance.

Labor will increase funding for community language schools by $70 per child, so each language school gets $200 for every child that attends. Labor’s plan for community language schools will help children from multicultural communities to have a quality education in both English and their community language.

Michael Daley and Labor will also invest $6 million to expand the Celebrating Diversity grant program to provide increased funding for multicultural festivals and events, and for projects that celebrate multiculturalism and bring communities together.

Labor will also make it easier for multicultural community festivals to get approved, and will allow event organisers with an established record to get multi-year approvals for events. This will provide organisers with certainty and allow them to plan for the long term

“We know multicultural communities across NSW need help with aged care, with their community halls and gathering places, with sports facilities, language schools, and their wonderful festivals.

“These are the sorts of things that keep our communities strong, which is why Labor is backing our multicultural communities with funding, not just words.”

NSW Shadow Minister for Education Jihad Dib said: “NSW Labor’s unprecedented investment in community language schools will lead to the opening up of opportunities for our children, and a stronger multicultural NSW.”

NSW Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism Sophie Cotsis said: “Michael Daley and Labor have listened to multicultural communities across NSW. This package gives communities the chance to get help from the government on the things that matter most to them.

“Labor will also work with new communities so they can apply for the grants they need and not get left behind.

“Whether its aged care, or sporting facilities, community halls, languages or festivals, Labor has a plan to help communities across NSW.”