Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for the question. Evidence shows that around 30 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under 14 do not speak English well, competently or at all. So as part of this year's budget, we also announced an expansion of this model of learning to particularly focus on early language learning for Indigenous children. This ELLIC trial will aim to improve English literacy outcomes for ATSI children for whom English is a second or subsequent language. It will build on the success of ELLA and will provide an opportunity for children in remote Indigenous communities in particular to be exposed in different ways to the English language with the support in their Indigenous languages. Around 20 preschools across Australia will trial ELLIC, and they will have the opportunity for it to be built in native Indigenous languages, providing that exposure of English language learning to help children who otherwise struggle when they get into the school years due to a lack of English in the early years of their lives.