Community Engagement Newsletter – 4 September 2026
Thank you for your ongoing support and contributions to the community. The Community Engagement Network has collated this newsletter of important information from across the Australian Government that may be of interest to yourself and members of your community.
Please feel free to share content from this newsletter with members of your community, but in the interests of ensuring the information remains accurate, please do not make any alterations to the content
In this fortnight’s edition, you can find information on the following:
News & Updates
· Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) ballot – Successful applicants have 120 calendar days left to apply
· What is the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA)?
· Bureau of Meteorology “Know Your Weather, Know Your Risk”
· WE SWIM grants open for multicultural communities – Applications close 24 September 2026
· Services Australia factsheet – Information and help about aged care services
· Small Business Showcase – Tips, tools and training to find your way in the workplace
Upcoming events
· Webinar: Hiring International Graduates – Visa pathways options – 10 September 2026
Other information
· Useful information in your language
· Contact Us
· Other useful links
News & Updates
Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) ballot – Successful applicants have 120 calendar days left to apply
The Pacific Engagement Visa ballots have been drawn. If you have been selected in the ballot, you have 120 days to apply. Remember – being selected in the ballot does NOT mean you have a visa. If you have been randomly selected in the ballot, you will get an email from us at the email address you gave in the ballot registration.
Don’t forget:
· Apply for your visa on or before the ‘apply by’ date in your Notification of Selection letter.
· When you apply, include all eligible family members who want to come with you in your application. You cannot add them later (unless they were born after you apply but before a visa decision).
· Tell us if you’re pregnant before your application is decided, otherwise your newborn baby’s visa status may be affected. Remember to update us once your baby is born.
· Include all the documents or information we ask for, if you can.
· Provide proof of a job offer from an Australian employer.
Further details for the next PEV ballot period will be published on the departments website. Visit our website for information on how to apply:
What is the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA)?
The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) provides safeguards for people who need help with their visa by regulating the registered migration advice profession in Australia.
If you need immigration assistance, make sure you’re using a registered migration agent or a legal practitioner.
Learn more about OMARA and how to find a registered migration agent here:
What is immigration assistance?
Only certain people can help you with your visa application. This help is immigration assistance. Immigration assistance is when a person uses knowledge of, or experience in, migration procedure to assist with visa applications or other visa matters by:
· preparing, or helping to prepare a visa application or other document
· advising about a visa application or visa matter
· representing in, or preparing for, proceedings before a court or review authority in relation to a visa matter.
If you appoint someone to give you immigration assistance, they must be:
For more information, see:
Who can help you with your application?
Bureau of Meteorology “Know Your Weather, Know Your Risk”
The Bureau of Meteorology’s (BOM) annual Know Your Weather, Know Your Risk campaign runs from 24 August to 27 September, helping Australians prepare for the upcoming high-risk weather season. The campaign aims to increase community awareness and improve preparedness for natural hazards across the country.
This initiative is particularly valuable for people who are new to Australia, helping them better understand local weather and climate risks to stay safe and informed.
The campaign flyer which is attached to this newsletter, provides an overview of the initiative, links to hazard knowledge centres, downloadable infographics and videos about natural hazards, and guidance on setting up warning notifications through the
WE SWIM grants open for multicultural communities – Applications close 24 September 2026.
Applications are now open for WE SWIM Multicultural Community Water Safety Program, a $5 million initiative funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts under the Water and Snow Safety Program and led by Royal Life Saving Society – Australia.
Saving lives, removing barriers and building belonging, WE SWIM responds to a sobering fact: people born overseas account for one in three drowning deaths in Australia.
Grants ranging upto $100,000 are available across WE SWIM Place-Based Partnerships, Community Programs and Pathfinder Programs, supporting refugees, recently arrived migrants and multicultural communities to access swimming and water safety education.
Royal Life Saving Australia is looking to fund local councils, multicultural and settlement organisations, water safety bodies, aquatic centres and swim schools. Fundable activities can include swimming and water safety lessons for children, youth and adults, support for employment pathways for young people at local pools, and activities that seek to remove barriers to swimming and water safety, and build belonging around water.
Program snapshots, ideas and examples, funding guidelines and resources can be found on the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia website
WE SWIM | Royal Life Saving Society – Australia
or by making an enquiry to weswim@rlssa.org.au
Services Australia factsheet – Information and help about aged care services
Services Australia have recently published the new translated ‘Information and help about aged care services’ factsheet.
This factsheet provides information about:
· What an Aged Care Specialist Officer (ACSO) does.
· How customers can speak with an ACSO.
· Where to find more information about My Aged Care and ACSOs.
It’s available in 21 languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Croatian, Dutch, Fijian, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Polish, Sinhalese, Spanish, Tagalog, Turkish and Vietnamese.
You can find this factsheet at
servicesaustralia.gov.au/information-and-help-about-aged-care-services-translation or search QC 62046 on the Services Australia website.
All translated resources are available at
servicesaustralia.gov.au/yourlanguage
or search QC 25811). To find the resources for a particular language, please select from the language list in the left margin.
Small Business Showcase – Tips, tools and training to find your way in the workplace
Are you a small business employer? If so, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has created a virtual hub to help you find useful information and resources to help you meet your workplace obligations.
On FWO’s
you’ll find useful information on:
· the latest news for small businesses
· hiring and paying employees
· right to disconnected
· how to keep the right records
· free courses and Employer Advisory Service
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s Small Business Showcase page can be also translated into 37 languages. Simply click on the Translate button on the page to view the content in your preferred language.
Webinar: Hiring International Graduates – Visa pathways options – 10 September 2026
The Department of Home Affairs, through its Business, Industry and Regional Outreach (BIRO) network, is pleased to share its upcoming skilled and workforce visa webinar for September 2026. The free webinar is designed to help employers better understand how to employ international student graduates in Australia, and about the skilled visa options available to businesses seeking to hire or sponsor overseas workers in Australia.
· Webinar details: Hiring International Graduates: Visa pathway options
· Date: Thursday, 10 September 2026
· Times:
o NSW – 11:00–12:00
o VIC – 11:00–12:00
o ACT – 11:00–12:00
o TAS – 11:00–12:00
o QLD – 11:00–12:00
o SA – 10:30–11:30
o NT – 10:30–11:30
o WA – 09:00- 10:00
To register to attend the “Hiring International Graduates: Visa Pathway Options” information session and learn more about visa pathways available to international graduates. click here:
https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1626174
