TasCOSS recently provided evidence and recommendations to the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings. TasCoss brought to the attention of the Commission concerns about the speed and thoroughness of the Government's reforms of the child safety system and response to recommendations put forward by the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse. Read TasCOSS’s submission. The immense risks and impacts of climate change were starkly highlighted at SACOSS' Building a Climate Resilient Community Sector conference last week, and the community sector peak body is calling for urgent State Government action in response, including investment in a disaster resilience and risk reduction fund, among other measures. Today the WA Government will announce its 2022-23 State Budget. Tomorrow, joined by members of the Department of Treasury, WACOSS will host a State Budget Briefing to analyse the impact of the budget on vulnerable people, community services organisations and the broader community. Click here to register for WACOSS State Budget Briefing. The team at VCOSS have been working hard to break down the detail of the 2022 Victorian Budget. Take a look at the online 'Breaking down the 2022 Victorian Budget' hub for snapshots and full analysis. NCOSS has co-signed a Joint Letter with Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, to the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, to remove barriers that prevent people with disability from exercising their right to vote. See the Open Letter and Joint Media Release here. NTCOSS has noted that the NT Budget fails its NT community sector. NTCOSS CEO Deborah Di Natale says the Aboriginal Justice Agreement will not be able to meet its aims under a budget of $13M over four years outlined in budget papers. NTCOSS continues to call on the NT Government to significantly increase funding needed in youth support services, that help to keep children on the right track. Click here to read the full Budget response. During national Neighbourhood Centre Week, QCOSS and Neighbourhood Centres Queensland (NCQ) are jointly calling for an urgent increase in funding for NCCs. QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh said for many people experiencing vulnerability and poverty, the state’s 143 NCCs were their first port of call. Click here to read more. Canberrans living on low incomes are being hit hardest by the biggest increase in cost of living in over 20 years. More people are seeking support from ACT community sector organisations due to the rising cost of living and declining income support. These are among the stark findings of the 2022 ACT Cost of Living Report released last week by the ACTCOSS. | 
