Community Language Program

2025 funding round now open.

Application deadline 4:00 pm on Tuesday, 4 March 2025.

OMI’s Community Languages Program supports the community language sector in Western Australia by providing access to:

• grants for new and established community language schools to support
• the Community Languages Collection at the State Library of WA
• funding to Community Languages Western Australia (CLWA) to deliver: 
  • development support administration and operational costs. 
  • a free professional learning program
  • the Community Language Schools WA website.

OMI is now accepting applications from community language schools for funding in the 2025 school year.   

Download the Funding Guidelines and the Application Form:

Eligibility to apply for a Community Language Program grant in 2025 

Applications will be accepted from CaLD community associations that can demonstrate their organisation meets OMI’s definition of a CaLD community association. Demonstrating this requires the applicant to provide evidence such as: 

1. Certificate of Incorporation  
2. Constitution or Organisation Rules  
3. List of current organisation board members and the positions held  
4. Details of the organisation’s current membership  
5. Date of the next annual general meeting.

Please contact a member of the OMI’s Funding Team to discuss and confirm your organisation is eligible to apply.  

To qualify for a Community Languages Program grant, the applicant must provide school documentation that demonstrates how language lessons are conducted at your community language school such as: 

1. A copy of the school’s curriculum or teaching program (in English) 
2. Examples of lesson planning 

A representative from OMI may also arrange to visit the school to determine eligibility.

Community ​​Lan​​guage Program grant categories

OMI’s Community Languages Program grants funding has two categories to support community language school administration and operations.

Per Capita grants assist with the costs of operating the school. The per capita amount is up to $120 per student. The full grant amount is based on the number of students enrolled in the school year.

New School grants provide one-off funding of up to $4,000 to new schools to support the administrative costs of setting up the school. To apply for a New School grant, a school must demonstrate it has been operating for more than three months but less than one year.

Reporting for 2024 funding

Community language schools that received a Community Languages Program grant in 2024 must submit a Final Report 2024 - Community Languages Program with your 2024 student attendance records. This report was due on 31 January 2025. Applicants that have outstanding reporting requirements are not eligible to apply for OMI funding until all reporting requirements have been met.

All reporting should be submitted to communitylanguages@omi.wa.gov.au

Community Languages Professional Support Program (CLPSP)

The Community Languages Professional Support Program (CLPSP) (previously known as the Pathways to Improvement Program (PIP)) will be introduced in 2025. The CLPSP will provide sector support and development activities that cater for the needs of individual schools.

The CLPSP will be delivered as targeted and enhanced sector support, maintaining quality professional learning, development and training (through CLWA) for community languages schools, moving away from an evaluation of current practices. The CLPSP will maintain a focus on the quality of teaching and learning in community language schools and appropriate support services to assist in achieving quality outcomes. 

Schools that wish to receive a Community Languages Program grant from OMI will be required to participate in the CLPSP sector support and development activities throughout the year. 

The CLPSP will be delivered by Community Languages Western Australia (CLWA). For more information on the sector support and development opportunities available in 2025, please visit CLWA’s website. 

Community Languages Western Australia

Community Languages WA (CLWA) is recognised as WA’s peak body for community languages sector in WA. CLWA’s website is a destination for information, resources, networking and collaboration for community language teachers and administrators.

Community Languages Collection

The State Library of W​estern Australia (SLWA) houses an extensive collection of teaching materials and resources for more than 40 languages. The collection has been made available to language teachers, particularly those from the community languages sector, through OMI.

The Community Languages Collection comprises a range of hard copy, digital, audio and visual resources that can be used in classes or in the development of lesson plans, ensuring students are receiving the best possible language education.

The State Library of WA has also developed teacher resources for use by community language teachers. The Community Languages Collection is available at the State Library of WA, Perth Cultural Centre, 25 Francis Street, Northbridge.

Templates

The following templates may be useful for your school's administration, and to submit with your funding application or final report where requested:

Useful links

• Community Languages Western Australia Inc. 
• Australian Human Rights Commission: Child Safe Organisations — National Principles
• Department of Communities — Working with Children Check
• Child safeguarding
• Safer WA for Children and Young People​
• Community Languages Australia​
• School Curriculum and Standards Authority​
• School Curriculum and Standards Authority FAQs​​
• Modern Language Teachers' Association of Western Australia​
• The State Library of Western Australia Community Languages Collection
• The State Library of Western Australia — Sharing our diverse heritage​