Skip to main content
TAFE NSW Miller campus will be closed Friday, 4 Sept. Check here for updates.
    • International
    Shortlist
    Back to:Media

    Media Release

    TAFE NSW Coffs Harbour | 19 August 2026

    alt=""

    Migrant students build disaster preparedness skills at Coffs Harbour

    ‘Learning English is about more than building language skills; it’s also about giving people the confidence and knowledge to participate fully in their new communities’
    Kylie Warner, TAFE NSW AMEP Regional Coordinator

    Almost 80 students learning English at TAFE NSW Coffs Harbour have gained valuable knowledge about disaster preparedness, recovery, and resilience through an Australian Red Cross workshop.

    With approximately 9% of households in the Coffs Harbour area speaking a language other than English at home, the workshop focused on helping multicultural communities understand how to prepare for and respond to emergencies.

    The Coffs Harbour region has experienced multiple natural disasters in recent years, including floods and bushfires, making disaster preparedness an ongoing priority.

    A group of Adult Migrant English Program students sitting at white desks in a classroom. A teacher stands at the front of the class with a red shirt and grey hair tied up in a bun.

    The TAFE NSW students who participated were migrants or refugees learning English as part of the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP). This program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. The workshop aimed to build students' practical disaster preparedness skills while addressing some of the specific challenges multicultural communities can face when accessing emergency information and support.

    TAFE NSW AMEP Regional Coordinator Kylie Warner said the workshop was a valuable opportunity for students to build knowledge that could benefit them, their families, and the wider community. “For many new migrants, knowing how to prepare for and respond to a natural disaster can be challenging. This workshop gave our students the knowledge to feel better prepared, confident, and resilient in an emergency, including how to access local community support services,” Ms Warner said.

    “Learning English is about more than building language skills; it’s also about giving people the confidence and knowledge to participate fully in their new communities.

    “Understanding how to prepare for and respond to disasters is an important life skill. Workshops like this help build TAFE NSW students’ understanding of how disaster preparedness works in Australia, so they can take that knowledge home to their families and share it with their communities.”

    Australian Red Cross Project Lead NSW Recovery Services Capacity Grant, Felicity Lochhead, said connecting with multicultural communities to encourage their involvement in disaster preparedness was important.

    “Effective disaster preparedness relies on everyone having access to information they can understand and act on. By engaging directly with culturally and linguistically diverse communities, we can help ensure people know where to find trusted information and support before, during and after an emergency,” she said.

    “Through our emergency services opportunities, volunteers can also use their language skills and cultural knowledge to help communities access support during disasters. Diverse volunteers play an important role in helping us reach more people with preparedness and recovery information when it matters most.”

    Media contact: Rob Virtue, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, 02 7920 5000.

    Email us

    Get inspired

    Keep up to date with what’s happening at TAFE NSW by reading more stories.

    Read our stories