Portfolio — 16 June 2026

Assistant Minister Julian Hill and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Anne Aly announced $7.7 million to extend the Economic Pathways to Refugee Integration program (EPRI) for a further 12 months [TA-260616-home-fa74960b2863]. The extension keeps alive a program that has supported more than 3,400 participants and 130 businesses since inception, delivering skills development, mentoring, work placements and employer connections to refugees and humanitarian migrants who face barriers including lower English proficiency and limited local networks [TA-260616-home-fa74960b2863].

The funded activity spans retail, hospitality, care, logistics and business services; Community Corporate's Refugee E3 Project — run in partnership with Woolworths, IKEA and Accor — is one of the employer-led models the program sustains [TA-260616-home-fa74960b2863]. The ministers' framing is notable: the announcement positions the program as serving dual workforce interests, meeting employer demand for job-ready workers while advancing settlement and integration outcomes for new Australians.

That dual framing situates an immigration and multicultural affairs program squarely within the employment and labour-supply conversation, a cross-portfolio signal worth tracking as the government continues to develop its workforce strategy.