Wednesday, 29 July 2020
Community Contributions

#ClosingtheGap: Co-design with ACCHOs enables much needed health-care services to be delivered in ways that strengthen communities, respect culture and build capacity. Read more here.

A Koori-designed program in the Children’s Court of Victoria is providing a more effective and just response for Koori families. With potential for expansion across Victoria and Australia, it offers a step towards greater self-determination in the child protection system. Read more here.

Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) published the report Seven Years On: an Overview of Australia's Offshore Processing Policies documenting the effect of policy changes on those who seek asylum in Australia.

The report COVID-19 Coronavirus Racism Incident Report - Reporting Racism Against Asians in Australia Arising due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic has been released. Read the report here.


Social Ventures Australia (SVA) in partnership with UNSW Centre for Social Impact released the report, Partners in recovery: why charities need tailored support, which focuses on why government needs to provide support based on organisation's unique situations.

The Climate Council has developed the Clean Jobs Plan, a report which outlines how 76,000 new jobs for people in Australia can help rebuild our economy now and tackle climate change.

Commonwealth Children and Youth Disability Network (CCYDN) and the UK based organisation, Include Me TOO released a statement with recommendations to address the global impact of COVID-19 on children and young people with disability. Click to read and endorse the statement.

Community Conversations
Report: Critical Condition - the impact of Covid-19 policies, policing and prisons on First Nations communities

COVID-19 is affecting people from all walks of life, all around the world. Certain groups of people are most at risk to the worst health impacts of COVID-19 - people with chronic illnesses, respiratory conditions, the elderly, people who smoke and people with disabilities or compromised immune systems. Due to the ongoing impacts of colonisation, poverty and inequality; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have poorer health outcomes than Australia’s non-Indigenous population. As well as being particularly at risk of the worst health impacts of the virus itself, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are also disproportionately affected by some of the more punitive and restrictive COVID-19 policy responses at a state, territory and Commonwealth level.

It is these measures that this report seeks to address.

Read the full report
Not even remotely fair: Experiences of students with disability during COVID-19

Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) have collated a report which explores the experiences of students with disability in relation to the educational changes made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research evidence from before the pandemic suggests that despite a number of policy commitments and initiatives at local and national levels, there has been only limited progress in moving towards inclusive education and that children and young people with disability often fare poorly in the education system. This is despite the fact that all of the evidence suggests that inclusive education is not just better for children and young people with disability, but can have significant positive impacts for the whole classroom.

Click to read the report
Inclusive Australia needs everyday Australians to be @_somebodydifferent

Since December 2019, a different Australian each day has been sharing their story and perspectives on one of Australia’s most diverse Instagram accounts. They have come from all walks of life, geographies and diversity of experiences, skills, talents, jobs and hobbies. While they each have a unique story, what has emerged is a shared love of family, friends, fur babies and community.

It is part of a campaign to encourage Australians to diversify their social feeds and gain insight into other people’s lives so we can start to celebrate difference rather than fear it. Inclusive Australia’s research shows that one in five people experience discrimination. Creating connections is an effective way to reduce barriers and prejudices.

Inclusive Australia is calling for the next wave of contributors. Register by sending a direct messaging to the @_somebodydifferent Instagram account or emailing [email protected]

Visit the Instagram page
Mission Australia 2020 Youth Survey

Mission Australia’s Staying home: A Youth Survey report on young people’s experience of homelessness released July 2020 reveals that 1 in 6 Youth Survey respondents had an experience of homelessness. The report compares those who have no experience of homelessness to those who have couch surfed and/or had an experience in transitional housing/living in a refuge.

Read the report
Take the 2020 Digital Technology in the Not-for-Profit Sector survey

Infoxchange's annual survey is back for 2020, and there couldn't be a more important time to check in on how our sector is doing with tech.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for all – one of the biggest lessons learnt has been how important it is to have good, reliable technology so that we can keep supporting communities and making the biggest impact possible.

This survey aims to better understand how not-for-profit organisations are using technology and to recognise the areas of growth and where improvement is needed. It provides a comprehensive view of technology use across the sector including information systems, staff capability, online presence and emerging technologies.

Read more and take the survey
 
Community Sector Events
  • Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance (ADIA) invites you to join a panel discussion, chaired by David Spriggs (Infoxchange), around Digital Inclusion and COVID-19 and community organisations working to bridge the digital divide - 30 July 2020 - Click here to register

  • Centre for Community Welfare Training (CCWT) are running Key Practices for Accountability online course to help build effective accountability relationships with staff and clients - 12 August 2020 - Click here for more information
  • Emergence: Our stories in the next decade will be the theme for a series of events and collaborations over the next 18 months culminating in the next National Community Legal Centres Conference in August 2021 - Click here for more information
  • Emergency leaders for Climate Action and Climate Council Presents: A National Response to the Bushfire Crisis: Recommendations - 29 July 2020 - Click here for more information and to register
Community Sector Resources
  • Have you watched In My Blood It Runs yet? Download Children's Ground discussion material to stimulate important conversations after a screening
  • In light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak at St. Basil’s Aged Care facility, FECCA reiterated health directions and listed key practices to follow as well as helpful resources. Click here for more information
  • The Workplace RAP Barometer (WRB) is a survey to monitor reconciliation at the workplace level and in organisations with a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) - Click here to read more about Workplace RAP Barometer 2020
  • Centre for Social Impact have developed two new fact sheets addresing financial wellbeing in the context of COVID-19, as well as using the Social Progress Index to identify vulnerabilities in our community. Take a look at the fact sheets here
COSS Corner
The latest news from State and Territory Councils of Social Service

Tonight NTCOSS is holding its 2020 NT Election Leaders Debate in the leadup to the Territory Election.  It is sold out, but you can watch it online via livestream at the NTCOSS Facebook Page. Also this week, is the release of the quarterly Cost of Living Report that continues to paint a picture of high power bills, high food costs, high transport costs and for many, real hardship. 

NCOSS and Health Consumers NSW are conducting a survey of people’s experience of the cost of health care in NSW. If you or anyone you know has had to delay seeing a GP, specialist, dentist or other health care provider because of cost, we want to hear your story. Stories will be de-identified and included in a report about health care costs in NSW.

SACOSS will hold the Energy, Water and Telco Conference on Tues 24 Nov 2020. The theme is ‘Waged Poor Households’ and builds on two key pieces of original research: SACOSS 2019 report ‘Working to Make Ends Meet’ focuses on low-income workers and energy bill stress, while our soon to be released report covers telecommunications affordability and waged poverty.

WACOSS spoke out about a move by Perth’s Crown Casino to introduce cashless payments enabling people to buy gaming chips at the casino’s gaming tables. Dr. Jennie Gray, Deputy CEO said the change could have terrible consequences for people struggling with problem gambling, where the opportunity to interrupt addictive behavior is crucial.

ACTCOSS joined other housing advocacy groups to welcome announcements by the ACT Attorney General, Gordon Ramsay MLA, that the eviction moratorium for COVID-19 impacted residential tenants has been extended for three months to 22 October 2020. However we stressed that more action is needed. 

In this week’s video update, QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh talks about the upcoming changes to the JobSeeker coronavirus supplement and JobKeeper scheme. We also welcomed an announcement on targeted bill relief from the Queensland Government.

VCOSS joined with Working for Victoria to deliver funding to 59 organisations including Anglicare, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Jesuit Social Services, Uniting, Foodbank and a range of migrant resource operations – supporting 1,100 jobs.

NTCOSS calls on the full funding and delivery of Stage 1 & 2 of the Aboriginal Justice Agreement in the next term, including establishing an alternate custody model and reintroducing community courts. Aboriginal Territorians are over-represented in the criminal justice system both as offenders and victims. Read more about the 2020 NT Election Aboriginal Justice here.

Members in the Media
Coalition urged to end delays for struggling parents as childcare fees reintroduced

Goodstart Early Learning has warned families worried about the reintroduction of fees and that applying for the government’s temporary financial hardship support “can take a while so apply as soon as you can”

Read more
‘Disbelief’ at single mum cuts

Single mothers will lose their ‘true safety net’ when the Coronavirus Supplement is cut by $300 a fortnight from September, explains Terese Edwards, CEO of the National Council of Single Mothers and their Children

Read more
Warnings of poverty, homelessness spike as JobSeeker cut

The JobSeeker COVID supplement will drop by $300 a fortnight and could be cut even further after Christmas, while JobKeeper will shift to a two-tiered system of reduced payments - Toni Wren, executive director, Anti-Poverty Week, discusses on RN Breakfast

Listen here
 
Member Tweets

"It is essential we all take the lead from those with lived experience, walking beside or even behind those with first-hand experience of racism and forced displacement."

Shankar Kasynathan writes about racism during the pandemic and efforts to help: https://t.co/OVPadoBN7e pic.twitter.com/IWWpSBSMBY

— FECCA (@iFECCA) July 27, 2020
Click here to see full tweet
 
We respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the country on which we work, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.

We recognise the right of all First Peoples around the country to self-determination.

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