Multicultural Grants

In reply to Mr PISONI (Unley) (28 July 2015). (Estimates Committee B)

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers): I have been advised:

The Multicultural SA Grants Program budget will increase in 2015-16 to $3 million annually. This is a result of the announcement by the Treasurer, in the State Budget, that an additional $8 million will be allocated over the next four years to support multicultural and ethnic community organisations.

In response to this significant increase in funding, the Multicultural SA Grants Program will be re-configured into three main funding streams to support a broader range of activities and opportunities for multicultural and ethnic communities.

These are:

the Multicultural Infrastructure Grants that will provide capital funding to multicultural and ethnic community organisations for the construction of minor infrastructure projects, or the upgrade, extension or enhancement of existing infrastructure;

an expanded Festivals Program that will support a larger number and range of cultural festivals and events. Organisations will be able to receive 12 month or multi-year funding, offering greater security and red tape reduction; and

the Stronger Families, Stronger Communities Program that will provide one-off funding to address priority needs and issues within our higher need and at-risk culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Of the $3,229,000 budget allocated for the Multicultural SA Grants Program and core funding in 2015-16, a total of $958,893 has been committed thus far in core funding, one-off grants, major festivals and other activities.

A list of committed expenditure to date (as at 20 August 2015) for the 2015-16 Multicultural SA Grants Program is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 – Multicultural Grants Program – Funding Breakdown 2015-16