Wednesday 22 June 2022

Community Contributions

Disability advocacy organisations from across the country have united to call for change in a recently released report about the experiences of people with disability who are frequently forced to appeal decisions made by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The report seeks to highlight the unjust "David and Goliath" dynamic people with disability experience opposite the NDIA at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). Read the report.

Experts from The Australian National University (ANU) have raised alarm bells about the "economic apartheid" facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and are calling for an urgent, nation-wide strategic approach to ensure their economic self-determination. Click here to learn more.

Reconciliation Australia, the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, and the BHP Foundation have proudly announced the winners of the 2022 Indigenous Governance Awards. The Awards share and promote success from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations around Australia. Click here to learn more.

A community partnership between oOh! Media and Infoxchange will help connect Australians with the services they need, when they need them most. The partnership will drive awareness of Ask Izzy, a mobile website that allows members of the community to search for support services for issues including homelessness, mental health and domestic violence. Click here to learn more.

Community Conversations

Refugee Week 2022 (19-25 June)

Refugee Week is Australia’s peak annual activity to inform the public about refugees and celebrate positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. Refugee Week provides a platform where positive images of refugees can be promoted in order to create a culture of welcome throughout the country. The ultimate aim of the celebration is to create better understanding between different communities and to encourage successful integration enabling refugees to live in safety and to continue making a valuable contribution to Australia.

This year's 2022 theme is Healing. Australia and the rest of the world have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hit the reset button on how we behave. The importance of human connections has been underscored by the pandemic and such lessons can help in so many ways.  Mainstream and refugee communities alike can draw upon shared hardship to heal wounds, to learn from each other and to move forward. Healing can occur through storytelling, through community and also through realisation of our intrinsic interconnectedness as individuals.  

Click here to learn more and participate

Next Steps to Improve Australia’s Settlement and Integration of Refugees

The Coordinator-General for Migrant Services recently released the discussion paper: ‘Next Steps to Improve Australia’s Settlement and Integration of Refugees.’ Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) have submitted to the discussion paper, inviting bold change that leverages the knowledge, skills, and experiences of the sector.

The submission makes 27 recommendations in total, of which 10 have been identified as priority recommendations. Some of the recommendations are broad – such as having greater clarity in the principles and outcomes underpinning services; while others are much more specific, such as broadening the eligibility criteria to access settlement services.

SCoA's submission is informed by extensive consultation, including a meeting of its CEO Collective and three roundtables hosted over the course of May. The submission also draws upon consultations over the past 24 months, such as ongoing co-design of a vision and roadmap for settlement services, 220 one on one meetings, and research with over 1500 new arrivals.

Click here to read the submission in full

Men’s Health Week 2022: Building Healthy Environments for Men and Boys

In the 2022 Men’s Health Week, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), draws attention to the importance of improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, across Australia.

The Aboriginal community-controlled health sector has made vast changes to outreach, education, and engagement with men, providing a wide range of preventative and early intervention, and culturally sound men’s programs that address critical social and emotional issues that some men face.

Donnella Mills, NACCHO Chair, states, ‘Our goal is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males to live longer, healthier lives and we urge them to visit their local Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services more often to discuss their health.’

Click to learn more
 

Community Sector Events

  • This new political context brings enormous opportunities for those campaigning for systemic change – but there are a whole generation of campaigners who have never advocated for policy change under a federal Labor government. Australian Progress have pulled together two rapid response offerings to help make the most of current opportunities and quickly reorient strategies in the new context. Click here to register for the Winning Reform in the New Political Context (24 June) webinar, and click here to register for the Winning Policy Advocacy Workshop (10 August)
  • COTA Australia recently conducted a survey to understand the areas where people want more information and a say in influencing the design of the new Support at Home Program. COTA Australia will be hosting several online discussions focused on the new Support at Home Program and gathering and refining questions you want responded to by the Department of Health - Multiple dates, starting 27 June 2022 - Click here to learn more and to register
  • The National Youth Disability Summit is a three-day, fully online conference, designed by and for young people with disability to have a real say about the future futures. At the Summit, attendees will hear Keynote Speeches and Panel Discussions, and there will also be Workshops and Networking Sessions for participants to be actively involved. This summit is proudly hosted by Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) - 5-7 July 2022 - Click here for more information and to register

Community Sector Resources

  • The Refugee Council of Australia makes a number of resources available to those who wish to join in celebrating Refugee Week each year. These include resources for events, or simply to learn more about refugees and their experiences. Click here to access this year's resources and participate in Refugee Week 2022
  • 2022 NAIDOC Educational Resources are now available. Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu educator Shelley Ware has authored this year’s NAIDOC education resource. Curriculum-aligned for primary and secondary students, this resource features NAIDOC-themed activities, discussions and clips which help teachers embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into classrooms, year-round. Click here to access the resources.

COSS Corner

The latest news from State and Territory Councils of Social Service

SACOSS has released its full State Budget Analysis, following our recent annual Post-Budget Breakfast with the Treasurer. Held only days after the state Budget was handed down, the popular Breakfast event provided an opportunity for the sector to hear about budget measures directly from SA Treasurer Stephen Mullighan. Panellists Mark Henley, Natalie Wade, Fran Baum and Cheryl Axleby provided a range of thoughtful perspectives, and the Treasurer also took questions from the floor. We look forward to continuing some of the conversations from this informative event.

QCOSS welcomes important social reforms and investment announced in Queensland's state budget, but says it is extremely disappointed there was no additional funding for one of the state’s biggest issues – the housing crisis. QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh congratulated the government on its record health spending, including record funding for mental health and to build more hospitals. McVeigh welcomed the restoration and increase to Neighbourhood and Community Centre funding, which was cut ten years ago. Click here to read the full response.

This fortnight, ACTCOSS held the ACT Government to account after public housing tenants were given a 48 hour deadline to prepare for a formal hearing to argue why they should not be forcibly relocated. ACTCOSS welcomed the Fair Work Commission’s announcement of an increase to the minimum wage, recognising the vital efforts of frontline workers throughout the Pandemic and the need to fully fund this raise. ACTCOSS also welcomed the ACT Government’s commitment to drug law reform, and called for a new Social Planning Unit that better reflects the needs of vulnerable people in the ACT Planning System review.

The announcement of an 11.88% increase to electricity prices next month is a further blow to Tasmanian electricity customers, with household budgets already under pressure from rising prices and falling real wages. TasCOSS were pleased however, to see the Tasmanian Government’s recognition of the strain this price increase will place on the most vulnerable with the announcement of an increase in the electricity concession, a bill credit for concession card holders, and the timely removal of aurora+ product fee which is a barrier to 90,000 Tasmanians accessing the benefits of better understanding and managing power usage. Read TasCOSS’s full response. 

With EOFY just around the corner, the DropIN Solutions team, a WACOSS social enterprise, is ready to take on new projects to help community service organisations drive their vision and purpose. DropIN Solutions offers logo design, annual report design, website development, video editing and marketing solutions. They understand the community service sector and the challenges they experience, and are able to deliver professionally packaged materials on a tight budget. Have a look at some of their latest designs.

Non-government organisations (NGOs) that do the heavy lifting during times of crisis need adequate resourcing to cover the growing administrative load they carry. Commissioned by NCOSS and conducted by Ask Insight, the High Cost of Doing Business report puts forward practical, common-sense steps – identified in collaboration with our participant organisations – that funding bodies can take to lessen the administrative and management overload and support the sustainable provision of essential services. Click here to learn more.

Victoria is on an absolute winner with its new $9 billion early childhood package, according to VCOSS. The Victorian Government has announced it will make kinder free for three-year old children, introduce a fully funded “pre-prep” year, and build and operate 50 new childcare centres offering high quality, affordable and accessible care. The wide-ranging package will be phased in gradually from 2023. “This is a big, bold and transformational reform package,” VCOSS CEO Emma King said. Click here to learn more.

More than $800,000 will be dedicated to amplifying the voices of young people, with NTCOSS to receive $170,000 in grant funding each year for the next five years to deliver the NT Youth Voice Project. The project will strengthen the ability of young people to have their say in the development of policies and strategies that impact them directly. Click here to learn more.

Members in the Media

More Australians seeking food relief amid rising cost of essentials

Features Foodbank Australia CEO Brianna Casey

Read here

Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys' use of facial recognition technology on unsuspecting customers raises concerns

Features CHOICE consumer data advocate Kate Bower

Read here

Cost of living and superannuation gap leaves many migrants in Australia struggling to retire

Brotherhood of St Laurence mentioned

Read here
 

Feature Tweet

Happy #RefugeeWeek2022

To all who've come to Australia for safety and a new life, we say welcome.

You belong, you make us richer, and you're the future.

Check out refugee week events here: https://t.co/vAd81HGXrf pic.twitter.com/mouuuyMRlo

— FECCA (@iFECCA) June 19, 2022
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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