ACOSS develops and promotes socially and economically responsible public policy and action by government, community and business, by drawing on the direct experiences of people affected by poverty and inequality, and the expertise of our diverse member base.
Our policy agenda focuses on those issues that affect people living on low incomes and experiencing disadvantage. Our core aims are to reduce poverty and increase opportunity, connection, and participation.
As well as our core areas, ACOSS maintains an active interest in the following policy areas and supports initiatives to address the impacts of policy reform on people experiencing poverty and disadvantage.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
ACOSS’ advocacy to alleviate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander poverty and disadvantage is based on the principles of self-determination, non-discrimination and respect for human rights, respect for diversity, cultural appropriateness and community capacity building. ACOSS has also been involved in developing a set of a set of Principles for a Partnership-Centred Approach for NGOs Working with Aboriginal Organisations and Communities.
ACOSS’ recent federal budget submissions have made recommendations to increase funding to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services, especially primary and preventive health, expand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and family services and establish an employment assistance scheme that is responsive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community needs and priorities.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are disproportionately affected by poverty and disadvantage. Median incomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households are just 65% of those of non-Indigenous households. Employment rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are lower than for non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in all age groups, states and territories and remoteness areas, though the gap has narrowed slightly in recent years.
The gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous life-expectancy at birth is 12 years for males and 10 years for females. Mortality rates for Indigenous infants and young children remain 2-3 times higher than for all infants and young children.
The COAG working group on Indigenous Reform, in 2008, set a number of reforms to address this disadvantage:
- to close the life-expectancy gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians within a generation
- to halve the mortality gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and other children under age 5 within a decade
- to halve the gap in literacy and numeracy achievement between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and other students within a decade
- to halve the gap in employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within a decade
- to at least halve the gap in attainment at Year 12 schooling (or equivalent level) by 2020
- to provide all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 4-year-olds in remote communities with access to a quality preschool program within 5 years.
Human Rights and Legal Services
People on low incomes face a number of barriers in seeking access to justice.
ACOSS advocates for a fair and equitable legal system for people on low incomes. In particular, we advocate to improve access to legal services for people on low incomes and to ensure that legal and administrative decision making process are transparent and fair.
ACOSS supports national protection of human rights.