Wednesday 4 August 2021 | National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day | Homelessness Week

Community Contributions

The Uluru Statement from the Heart campaign is looking for support to convince the Prime Minister to agree to a referendum on a constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice to Parliament. A referendum would allow the Australian people to vote and decide, not the government and it can’t be taken away at the whim of the government like previous legislation. This is a crucial time in the Uluru Statement from the Heart campaign for a constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice - send a message to your local member by clicking here to access the letter generator.

The 2022 Young Carer Bursary will be open from the 16 August 2021 – 30 September 2021. The Young Carer Bursary helps young carers under the age of 25 who are currently studying or training, or will be in 2022. The program offers 1,000 bursaries to the value of $3,000 each year. Click here to learn more.

A new Mission Australia report reveals that young people who said COVID-19 was their biggest issue in 2020 were most concerned about the impact of the pandemic on their education, experience of isolation and mental health. The young people hardest hit by these issues were those living in Victoria, and 17-year-olds were most likely to say their education was severely impacted by COVID-19. Click here to read more.

The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia (FECCA) is inviting multicultural community groups to apply for funding to conduct their own communication activity on COVID-19 aimed at keeping their communities safe. Click here to learn more.

To mark one year on from when the National Agreement on Closing the Gap was signed by all Australian governments and the Coalition of Peaks, the Coalition of Peaks reflects back on the progress and achievements made, and what more we have to do. Click here to read the overview.

Women & Leadership Australia is offering professional development scholarships to women across the community sector. To encourage more women to step into leadership roles, WLA is offering scholarships for three leadership development courses. Apply by 10 September or find out more by clicking here. 

Expressions of Interest open for agencies across Australia to apply for $750,000 in flexible funds thanks to the DV Impact Cash Transfer Pilot Project. Agencies can receive up to $30,000 in a brokerage project for clients to access between $1,000 and $5,000. Agencies providing case management or counselling will work alongside clients to identify their individual financial pathway to move on from the impacts of domestic, family and sexual violence. Click here to apply online.

Community Conversations

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day- 4 August 2021
Proud in culture, strong in spirit

Children’s Day has been run annually since 1988 and is the initiative of SNAICC – National Voice for our Children. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day (Children’s Day) is a national day dedicated to celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

The theme for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day 2021 is: Proud in culture, strong in spirit. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities have provided love and care for their children, growing them up strong and safe in their cultural traditions, for thousands of generations. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, safety, wellbeing and development are closely linked to the strengths of their connections with family, community, culture, language, and Country.

"When children sit, look at the sea that goes with the story, they capture all this message – it is not by accident when we teach our children about the land, about the sea, about the dance." – Rosemary Gundjarranbuy, Yalu Marnjgithinyaraw as part of Interplay Project, Ninti One

Learn more and get involved

Homelessness Week: 1-7 August 2021

In Australia there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night. Homelessness Week aims to raise awareness of the impact of homelessness on Australia via national and local community events, including providing information on the importance of housing as a solution and educating communities on how they can make a difference. You can support this week by:

  • Checking out the great local events in your area on the Homelessness Australia website
  • Joining the Everybody's Home campaign for a better, fairer housing system for everyone
  • Signing this petition calling on the Prime Minister to make an urgent investment in social housing to help women and children can escape domestic violence, and build new lives
Click here to learn more about Homelessness Week

Charity leaders come together at Parliament House

Charity leaders came together at Parliament House to call on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to immediately withdraw regulations that target and shut them down for advocating on behalf of the communities they represent on matters of public interest.

The Morrison Government’s amendments to Governance Standard 3 of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) Regulations, sponsored by Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar, give the Charities Commissioner extraordinary powers to deregister a charity.

Learn more

A third of premature deaths avoidable

The Salvation Army is hoping this National Homelessness Week (August 1-7) will draw attention to the alarming reduction in life expectancy of those without stable housing.

New research has shown being homeless multiplies the risk of early death between three and seven times, to an unacceptable national average of 50 years. Even more distressing, a third of such premature deaths have been found to be preventable, the result of illnesses that are amenable to treatment.

“These alarming statistics reveal what we have seen in our work with the homeless over the years and that is that secure and safe housing is literally a lifesaver,” Dr Jed Donoghue, The Salvation Army’s General Manager of Homelessness says.

Read more about the findings
 

Community Sector Events

  • Australia's criminal justice system is not working. It is failing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is failing women and people with mental illness or disability. And it is failing Australian taxpayers, costing over $110,000 per prisoner each year. The evidence is clear, and change is needed now. Join this UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion and the Justice Reform Initiative for this webinar in conversation with Debbie Kilroy (Sisters Inside), Keenan Mundine (Deadly Connections), Mindy Sotiri (Justice Reform Initiative) and Verity Firth on what needs to happen to turn the tide of our criminal justice system - 5 August 2021 - Click here to register

  • Australian Progress are excited to invite you to the launch of Passing the Message Stick - the culmination of a two-year message research and narrative shifting project to find the messages needed to build public support for First Nations self-determination and justice. Join an event and hear first-hand the results of Passing the Message Stick and how you can apply the lessons to your advocacy or ally-ship - 9 August, 11 August, and 13 August 2021 - Click here to learn more and register
  • People from refugee and migrant communities of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in Australia have experienced major social, economic, physical and mental health issues associated with COVID-19 but many have not benefited from the Federal Government’s changes - to Medicare legislation for subsidised access to medical care and advice via telehealth - in response to the pandemic. In this impact2021 webinar, a panel of academics and practitioners will share insights from their work which aims to make health and technology systems more culturally and linguistically inclusive, including community-based approaches to research and evaluation - 11 August 2021 - Click here to register

Community Sector Resources

  • Are you an Australian not-for-profit who needs to increase (or build) your digital capability to better deliver your services and support your team? Do you want technology to help not hinder you? If so, Infoxchange's Digital Transformation Hub is for you. The resource brings together practical guides, technology discounts specifically for not-for-profits and tailored advice to help you create an even greater impact. You can self-assess where your organisation is at with easy to use guides. In addition, there are articles, videos, training and third-party references related to specific areas to help with targeted capabilities. Click here to access and learn more.

  • To help people understand their rights during the current pandemic, Australian Human Rights Commission has developed the COVID-19 and human rights information page. In addition to this, the Commission has released further information regarding rights and mask-wearing requirements, to help people understand what is required of you and what you can expect of others. 
  • Good Things Foundation launched the Digital Nation Australia 2021 report, which compiles the latest research on digital inclusion in Australia into the one place. Click here to access the Lockdowns highlight digital divide amongst Australians media release, and you can click here to find the full report.

COSS Corner

The latest news from State and Territory Councils of Social Service

TasCOSS's latest Policy Conversation had a great turnout with representatives from more than 40 organisations present to witness a rich discussion on the value and challenges of the term ‘vulnerable’ and its use in the community services industry. Special thanks to Dr Catherine Robinson (Anglicare Tasmania’s Social Action Research Centre) for her time, expertise and passion. The session was recorded and is openly available here. You can also read up on some of the key takeaways from the session.

In response to high demand, NCOSS have released additional spots for the upcoming NCOSS/DCJ 'Evidence Talks' Training. In this FREE online series, we will 'go back to basics' and relearn concepts around “evidence-informed practice”, from spotting quality evidence to revisiting Theory of Change. We will also learn more about the DCJ Evidence Portal in preparation for its expected launch in September/October. Click here to register today.

QCOSS is excited to announce its 2021 Conference for the community services sector, exploring the Power and Politics of the Care Economy. The QCOSS Conference will hear from a range of keynote speakers and will examine the future role of the care economy in Queensland, advancing gender equality, the Path towards Treaty, and the implementation of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) across the sector. Early-bird tickets are available now.

100 Families WA - a unique, Australian-first research project spearheaded by WACOSS, seven not-for-profit agencies, UWA and a community advisory group comprising people with lived experience of entrenched disadvantage - are launching their final report this Friday 6 August, 2021. The project’s goal was to create an evidence base to inform the community, service sector and governments on how we can work together to address entrenched disadvantage.

Disability advocates have called on the federal government to increase income support for people with a disability by at least $50 per week. The call was made in an ACTCOSS submission to the federal inquiry into the purpose, intent and adequacy of the disability support pension. ACTCOSS acting chief executive Craig Wallace said introducing a disability and illness supplement of $50 per week would mean the government recognised the additional costs faced by people with disabilities. Read more here.

SA NGOs and non-profits in the health and community services sectors are warmly invited to register for FREE upcoming, in person workshops on reducing and managing climate risk and emergencies for their organisations and clients. Presented by SACOSS and Red Cross, there are multiple sessions available in the Adelaide metro area targeting different parts of our sector. Find out more and book.

NTCOSS recognises there is still have a long way to go in getting the NT vaccinated. The recent lockdowns in Darwin and Alice Springs reinforce how easily things can change. NTCOSS urges people in the NT to book in now for your vaccine: https://coronavirus.nt.gov.au/stay-safe/COVID-19-vaccinations

The Victorian Government is cutting funding to the state’s social service groups and frontline charities, in a move that will lead to job losses and service cuts. “This is an absolute body blow to those organisations which supported Victorians through the worst of COVID,” VCOSS CEO Emma King Said. Read the media release here.

Members in the Media

Housing crisis threatens middle Australia

At least 650,000 new social homes are urgently needed as the nation's affordability crisis creeps towards middle Australia, St Vincent de Paul Society says. Vinnies' national council president Claire Victory believes the great Australian dream is fast moving beyond the reach of minimum income earners, placing pressure on a limited, overheated rental market.

Read here

Frydenberg to assess COVID payments amid JobSeeker complaints

People who have lost fewer than eight hours aren’t eligible for the payments, along with anyone who receives Government income support payments like JobSeeker or Youth Allowance.

However, advocates including the Australian Unemployed Workers Union and the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) have noted that the maximum weekly JobSeeker payment is $310.40. 

Read here

NDIS bill to make information easier to share could harm privacy of participants, advocates say

People with Disability Australia president Sam Connor is worried that making it easier to disclose information about NDIS participants without having to ask them first will backfire.

She fears the changes could be used to restrict choice for people in the scheme.

“[The changes] have the potential to cause harm, to make us less safe and to have serious unintended consequences for NDIS participants that our privacy rights and other rights … will be breached,” Connor told a Senate committee on Monday.

Read here
 

Feature Tweet

Help our kids celebrate #NATSIChildrenDay on 4 August!

To showcase the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and our connection to mob, family and kin, we have produced a new TVC.#ProudInCulture #StrongInSpirithttps://t.co/SuBa0NheZU

— SNAICC (@SNAICC) July 12, 2021
Click here to see full tweet
 

ACOSS Members Jobs Board

Foundation for Young Australians are recruiting:

These are all identified roles for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

First Nations Director
Full-time | Location flexible
$105k-113k pa | Click here
The First Nations Director will have a leading role in putting our First Nations Strategy into practice, working closely with young First Nations mob and communities to build and unlock their power to transform the future. We're looking for a campaigner, activist, advocate or organiser who has experience running projects with community. This person will be working across FYA including with the Advocacy and Campaigns team, Capacity Building and Strategic Projects on exciting initiatives.
2 x First Nations Program Officers
Part time or full-time, 18 month contract | Location flexible
$65k-75k pa | Click here
This is a learning and development opportunity - the Program Officers will be working closely with the First Nations team to coordinate campaigns, movement building and programs in community with young mob. We're looking for someone passionate about building the power of young mob, with experience or interest in working with community on place-based and national projects, ideally someone who loves facilitating and doing training with mob. The Program Officers will be getting coaching, training and guidance and gain experience in campaigning, media, government relations, strategy, project management and more.
General roles
FYA is also looking for two exceptional individuals to join the Movement Building team as Training Lead, to deliver a nine-month long place based program in Melbourne’s West, and Wellbeing Project Lead,  to create an environment of safety, nourishment, and care  for young people leading hard, game-changing and important work to heal injustice and transform the future. 

Last but not least, FYA’s social enterprise YLab is searching for a nurturing individual with a strong track record of empowering young people to deliver creative co-design projects to become it’s new Learning and Community Lead. 

If you are interested in joining FYA, or know someone who would be a great fit for any of the roles, please click here or email [email protected]

Applications close August 4 at 6pm AEST

 

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.

Please consider the environment before printing this email.
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