The Albanese Government’s Federal Budget 2026-27, handed down on 12 May 2026, presents a mixed picture for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. While there are welcome investments in skills recognition, language-based health programs and migrant worker protections, there are also concerns about the trajectory of settlement funding and reforms to the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP).
At Interlingual, we work every day at the intersection of language, settlement and access to services. From this perspective, we welcome the Government’s continued recognition that language is critical infrastructure for a multicultural Australia — but we believe more must be done to ensure CALD communities are not left behind as the migration system tightens and settlement supports are reshaped.
Federal Budget 2026: A Tighter Migration Landscape
The Budget confirms that the permanent Migration Program will be set at 185,000 places in 2026-27, down from 190,000 in 2025-26, with around 132,200 places (71.5%) allocated to skilled migration. This reflects a continued tightening of migration settings that began after the post-pandemic surge.
Net Overseas Migration is forecast to decline to 245,000 in 2026-27 and 225,000 by 2027-28. For Interlingual and the broader CALD services sector, this means a continuing — though slowly moderating — demand for in-language support across health, legal, education and government settings.
Spending on multicultural affairs and citizenship will be set at $301.1 million in 2026-27, a 3.6% reduction on actual spending in 2025-26, although still 35.2% above last year’s original Budget allocation. This signals that multicultural investment is being normalised at a higher baseline, but the downward trajectory in forward estimates remains a concern.
Skills Recognition: A Welcome Win for Skilled Migrants
One of the most positive announcements is the $85.2 million over four years allocated to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to reform skills recognition for overseas-qualified workers. This includes:
- $45.6 million to streamline qualifications recognition for migrant construction workers — a sector facing critical skills shortages amid Australia’s housing crisis;
- $32.9 million to support overseas-trained nurses, including for English language assessments;
- $6.7 million for a National Skills Passport pilot to make qualifications more portable.
For thousands of skilled migrants whose qualifications are currently underutilised, this is a meaningful step. Interlingual sees the human cost of this every day: engineers driving rideshares, nurses working as aged-care assistants, teachers stacking shelves. Faster, fairer recognition — supported by quality certified translation of overseas qualifications — is essential to unlocking this talent.
“Language is critical infrastructure for a multicultural Australia — and skills recognition is the bridge that turns migrant talent into national capability.”
Interlingual
AMEP Reform: Promising Direction, Important Caveats
The Government has confirmed that, following the December 2025 Budget, the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) will be redesigned to better target those most in need. Budget Paper No. 2 indicates AMEP will be refocused on learners with the lowest English proficiency and greatest barriers to participation, with stronger pathways into employment, training and further education.
Interlingual supports a stronger, more outcomes-focused AMEP. English proficiency is one of the most significant predictors of long-term economic and social participation for migrants and refugees. However, we share the sector’s concerns — echoed by peak bodies — about narrowing eligibility too far.
Our concern
AMEP has been a foundation of Australia’s settlement model for nearly 75 years. Tightening eligibility risks excluding migrants who do not meet a narrow definition of “most in need” but who still cannot effectively access healthcare, schools or employment without English support. Until that need is met, professional interpreters and translators remain indispensable — and demand on TIS National, state-based interpreting services and private language providers will only grow.
Refugees, Settlement and the Humanitarian Program
Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program remains at 20,000 places — the level set in 2023-24 — despite record levels of forced displacement globally. Combined funding for Refugee, Humanitarian, Settlement and Migrant Services is $910.9 million for 2026-27, $48.8 million higher than last year’s allocation but $207.7 million below estimated actual spending in 2025-26.
Settlement funding at a glance
More troubling, forward estimates project further reductions: $750.9 million in 2027-28, $720.1 million in 2028-29, and $733.2 million in 2029-30. We share the sector’s concern that this trajectory will erode the quality of settlement services, including the language and cultural supports that determine whether a new arrival merely survives or genuinely thrives.
On the positive side, the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) will be embedded with $3.5 million over three years (and $1.2 million ongoing), and the Economic Pathways to Refugee Integration (EPRI) program receives a further $7.7 million in 2026-27.
Health, Social Cohesion and Workplace Protections
The Budget allocates $10.8 million over two years to continue the Health in My Language program, providing community-led health literacy for refugee and migrant women — a clear acknowledgment that language access is health access. Our healthcare language services team sees this need every day in clinics and hospitals across the country.
$27.0 million over two years has been allocated to educate migrant workers about workplace safeguards, protections and migration-law compliance. For these messages to land, they must be delivered in language, in culture, and through trusted channels — a role Interlingual proudly plays alongside community organisations and unions.
Following the December 2025 Budget, the Government will invest $691.3 million over five years in social cohesion measures — including support for multicultural community organisations, anti-racism initiatives and faith-based community grants. In a period of geopolitical tension, this is a vital signal that Australia continues to value its multicultural identity.
Wins and Concerns at a Glance
✓ Wins for CALD communities
- $85.2M for skills recognition reform
- $10.8M to continue Health in My Language
- $27.0M for migrant worker protections
- $691.3M (over 5 yrs) for social cohesion
- CRISP and EPRI programs continued
! Areas of concern
- Settlement funding declining over forward estimates
- Humanitarian intake static at 20,000 places
- AMEP eligibility may narrow too far
- Multicultural affairs spend down 3.6%
- Risk of gaps in regional language access
Federal Budget 2026: What This Means for Interlingual and Our Clients
For Australia’s language services sector — and for Interlingual specifically — the 2026-27 Budget reinforces several realities. Demand for high-quality NAATI-certified interpreting and translation will remain strong, particularly in health, legal, employment and government services.
Skills recognition reform will significantly increase demand for certified translation of overseas qualifications, transcripts and professional documents. We are already scaling our capacity in this area to support migrant nurses, engineers, tradespeople and other professionals.
The continued investment in social cohesion, health literacy and migrant worker protection underscores the need for culturally and linguistically responsive communication — not just translation of words, but translation of meaning, context and trust. This is exactly the work Interlingual was built to do.
At the same time, the slow tightening of settlement and AMEP funding means more pressure will fall on community-based services and private providers to fill the gaps. We will continue to advocate — alongside FECCA, the Refugee Council of Australia and other peak bodies — for a settlement system that treats language as a right, not a privilege.
A Call for Long-Term Vision
The 2026-27 Budget contains genuine commitments — particularly in skills recognition and social cohesion — that should be acknowledged and built upon. But the longer-term trajectory of settlement and multicultural funding is heading in the wrong direction, even as Australia’s CALD population grows and diversifies.
Interlingual urges the Government, the Opposition and the Parliament to take a long-term view: to treat language access, settlement support and skills recognition as core national infrastructure, not as discretionary line items. The benefits — economic, social and democratic — are well documented by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Home Affairs.
For our part, Interlingual remains committed to providing the highest standard of NAATI-certified translation and interpreting services across Australia — supporting migrants, refugees, government, business and community to communicate, connect and thrive in any language.
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Interlingual provides NAATI-certified translation and interpreting across health, legal, skills recognition, settlement and government — in more than 190 languages, Australia-wide.
About Interlingual — Interlingual is a leading Australian provider of NAATI-certified translation and interpreting services, supporting government, business and CALD communities across the country. For media enquiries or to discuss this analysis, please contact our team.
