Australia is one of the world's most culturally diverse nations — with over 300 languages spoken and nearly half of all Australians having at least one parent born overseas. Grant funding for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities supports a wide range of services: in-language health and legal information, ethnic community organisations, refugee settlement and integration, multicultural arts and cultural preservation, and the building of social cohesion across communities.
Mainstream services often fail CALD communities:
- Language barriers preventing access to information and services
- Cultural differences in health-seeking behaviour, service expectations, and stigma
- Distrust of government and formal services (particularly for refugee communities)
- Lack of culturally safe practice in mainstream organisations
- Discrimination and racism in service contexts
- Religious and cultural practices not accommodated
CALD-specific funding creates services that genuinely reach diverse communities rather than nominally accessible but practically inaccessible mainstream alternatives.
Department of Home Affairs — Settlement Engagement and Transition Support (SETS)
The SETS programme funds organisations to provide settlement services to migrants and humanitarian entrants:
- Information and orientation
- Employment pathways
- Social connections
- English language support
- Community development
Community Settlement Services Scheme
Smaller-scale settlement support at community level.
Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)
Government-funded English language tuition for eligible migrants — delivered through registered providers.
Multicultural Affairs in DHA
Grants for multicultural community organisations, intercultural dialogue, and social cohesion programmes.
Fostering Integration programme
Addressing discrimination and building inclusive communities.
Each state has a multicultural affairs unit with grant programmes:
State funding tends to focus on community capacity, cultural events, and intercultural dialogue.
Many local councils have multicultural or community grants programmes that fund:
- CALD community events (cultural festivals, food and culture)
- Migrant community group activities
- In-language information distribution
- Community interpreting
- Settlement support for newly arrived residents
CALD health funding
CALD communities face specific health challenges:
- Lower rates of cancer screening (due to language barriers and cultural factors)
- Higher rates of certain chronic conditions (diabetes, cardiovascular disease in some communities)
- Mental health stigma (particularly in East Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern communities)
- Trauma from refugee experiences (PTSD, complex trauma)
Key funders include:
- State health departments (CALD health programmes)
- PHNs (Primary Health Networks) — some CALD-specific tender opportunities
- NHMRC and health research funders (CALD health research)
Mental health for CALD communities
CALD communities are significantly underrepresented in mental health services relative to need:
- Foundation House (Victoria) — refugee mental health
- Transcultural Mental Health Centre (NSW)
- Queensland Transcultural Mental Health Centre
- In-language mental health programmes
Refugee settlement
In addition to SETS funding above, philanthropy funds refugee settlement:
- UNHCR Australia
- Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (Melbourne)
- Refugee Council of Australia
- STARTTS (NSW) — trauma recovery
Refugee community organisations (RCOs)
Refugee communities establish their own organisations — RCOs providing peer support, advocacy, and community cohesion. Funding for RCOs:
- Settlement grants
- Community capacity grants
- Multicultural grants
Employer engagement and employment
Refugee employment is a growing focus:
- Refugee employment programmes (see separate guides)
- Employment mentoring for CALD communities
- Credential recognition support
The Scanlon Foundation
Australia's major funder of social cohesion research and multicultural community investment — Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion, community projects.
Foundation for Young Australians (FYA)
Youth employment and futures — includes young people from CALD backgrounds.
Ian Potter Foundation
Multicultural arts, settlement, and community building.
Myer Foundation and Sidney Myer Fund
Arts, social cohesion, and community investment — includes CALD arts and community.
Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation
Melbourne-based; multicultural community grants.
In-language services
Information, counselling, legal advice, and social support delivered in community languages:
- Health information campaigns in target languages
- In-language mental health counselling
- Legal advice for visa and family law matters
- Financial counselling and welfare rights in language
Community capacity building
Strengthening ethnic community organisations:
- Organisational governance support
- Community worker training
- Financial management capacity
- Grant writing and fundraising skills
Cultural events and expression
Social cohesion
Programmes building connections across cultural communities:
- Interfaith dialogue
- Intercultural sport
- Community conversations on diversity and belonging
- Youth intercultural programmes
CALD women's programmes
CALD women face intersecting disadvantages:
- Domestic violence in culturally specific contexts
- Isolation (particularly for recently arrived women)
- Employment barriers
- Safety programmes and women's support groups
Community leadership
CALD programmes work best when communities lead them — show genuine community governance and lived experience leadership, not service-provider-driven programmes delivered to communities.
Language and cultural authenticity
Demonstrate that your team includes bilingual staff, bicultural workers, or community members with lived cultural experience. Translation alone is insufficient — cultural brokering requires genuine insider knowledge.
Intersectionality
CALD communities are not monolithic — a Somali refugee in regional Australia faces different challenges to a second-generation Chinese-Australian in Sydney. Show that your programme understands the specific community it serves.
Data on unmet need
CALD funding is competitive; show that your target community is underserved by existing services. Use community consultation, existing data, and lived experience testimony.
Partnerships
Strong applications partner with mainstream services and ethnic community organisations — showing that you complement rather than duplicate the existing ecosystem.
Tahua's grants management platform supports multicultural organisations and CALD funders — with programme participant tracking, language cohort data, community reach measurement, and the tools that help multicultural funders demonstrate impact across Australia's diverse communities.