This roundtable will provide an opportunity for the community sector to meet with Joy Burch MLA - hear her vision as the Minister for Community Services. This is a great chance to meet and hear from the new Minister, as well as to ask questions about issues of consequence to the ACT community sector.

Joy Burch was appointed in November 2009 as Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services; Minister for Multicultural Affairs; Minister for Children and Young People; Minister for Ageing; and Minister for Women.

This roundtable is targeted at Directors and Senior Managers of Community Service Organisations in the ACT.

To register please download the Registration Form (pdf: 77KB) or call on 6202 7200.

The Australian Community Sector Survey, released on 15 February 2010 by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), shows demand for community sector services in the ACT continues to grow.

"These figures show that demand for community sector supports is high, but we are being hampered in our mission to work with Canberra’s most vulnerable by inadequate funding and onerous contract requirements," commented Roslyn Dundas, Director of the ACT Council of Social Service.

Read the rest of the ACTCOSS media release (PDF 26KB) - 15 February 2010.

Read the Australian Community Sector Survey - Report 2010 - Volume 8 – Australian Capital Territory (PDF 1.15MB).

Read the full Australian report and the ACOSS media release at the ACOSS website.

As of 1 January 2010 there will be a new Award in place for Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services. This replaces the current ACT SACS Award. Download the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (PDF 253KB).

The final Award has changed from the draft version previously available. If you are currently operating on the SACS Award you will need to transition to the Modern Award from 1 January 2010. Changes to penalty rates and loadings commence transition from 1 July 2010. Classifications and wages are delayed in their implementation until 1 July 2011.

Read the factsheet Award Modernisation: What will it mean for COSS Members? Dec 2009 (PDF 49KB)

View the Australian Industrial Relations Commission Decision

The ACT Government has commenced a phase of community consultation to further the development of the draft ACT Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Strategy 2010-2014 the ACT's next Drug Strategy. The ACT Government invites individuals and organisations to consider the draft Strategy and to engage with its development by lodging a submission.

The consultation period runs from 28 November 2009 to 28 February 2010.

Find out more about the ACT Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Strategy 2010-2014

ACTCOSS has developed a submission to the 2010-11 ACT Budget Consultation urging the ACT Government to prioritise funding to the community sector and emphasising there is no room to make cuts.

Download Nothing Left to Give (pdf: 221KB)

The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) has released The Path Less Travelled: Transport and Social Inclusion in the ACT. This report examines the barriers to people in Canberra accessing transport and puts forward suggestions for change, at both a Government and community level. The report will be provided to the Department of Territory and Municipal Services as part of their review of the Sustainable Transport Action Plan and Public Transport Strategy.

Download the report The Path Less Travelled (pdf document: 272KB)

Read ACTCOSS' Media Release: All Aboard? (28 August 2009, pdf document: 15KB)

Good practice standards for culturally appropriate community services

The Cultural Awareness Self-Assessment Toolkit (CASAT) is a set of good practice standards developed to assist community service organisations improve the quality of their services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and communities and to improve the organisation’s knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

Download the Cultural Awareness Self-Assessment Toolkit (pdf: 876KB)

The 2009 HACC Sector Planning Day

ACTCOSS helped facilitate the annual Home and Community Care (HACC) Planning Day, which focussed on the changing HACC environment as HACC organisations are seeing more consumers with complex needs. The outcomes of the day are documented in the report, which is now available for download.

Download the 2009 HACC Sector Planning Day Report: Responding to Consumer Needs in an Increasingly Complex Environment (pdf: 1MB)

Each year, ACTCOSS prepares a snapshot document to give a short overview of the ACT Budget for the community sector. It is presented to people attending our annual Budget Forum the day after the Budget is released, where ACT Government Ministers have the chance to outline the effect of Budget decisions on people experiencing disadvantage and community sector organisations.

Download the ACT 2009-10 ACT Budget Snapshot (6 May 2009, pdf document: 173KB)

Read ACTCOSS' initial budget response Media Release: Government Fails to Prioritise Vulnerable People (5 May 2009, pdf document: 19KB)

The ACT Council of Social Service launched a new research report looking into how community organisations and education bodies can collaborate to help more adults in the ACT improve their literacy skills. The report identifies strategies for increasing access to literacy education and makes recommendations to governments on how to support these efforts.

Download the report On the Same Page: Towards Partnerships for Adult Literacy in the ACT (pdf document: 1.1MB)

The ACTCOSS Submission to the ACT Budget 2009-10

Each year, ACTCOSS undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the social policy and community sector issues in the ACT as part of the ACT Government's Budget process. This year's submission is now available.

You can download the ACTCOSS Budget Submission 2009-10 (pdf document: 1.46MB), or visit our Submissions & Reports webpage to download past budget submissions and a range of other policy documents.

You can also download a summary of the ACTCOSS Budget Submission Recommendations (pdf document: 126KB).

The MBA is a collective agreement intended to improve conditions and wages of ACT community sector workers, improve organisations’ ability to recruit and retain staff, pass on ACT Government indexation to workers and establish a collective voice on sector-wide issues including funding.

ACTCOSS and the Australian Services Union have compiled list of Frequently Asked Questions about the ACT Community Sector Multiple Business Agreement (MBA).

• Download the MBA Frequently Asked Questions Factsheet (pdf document: 214KB)
• Download the Proposed Draft MBA (pdf document: 361KB)

In February 2009, ACTCOSS released a research report providing important information about the expenditure patterns of low income households in the ACT. The report was produced by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM). The report follows the 2007 launch of Characteristics of Low Income ACT Households which demonstrated that some groups are at greater risk of living on low incomes.

We would like to thank the organisations that provided financial support to this research, including the ACT Community Inclusion Board, Communities@Work, Softlaw Community Projects, YWCA of Canberra, Inanna, Gungahlin Regional Community Service, Woden Community Service and Lifeline Canberra.

Download the report Expenditure of Low Income Households in the ACT (pdf document: 1.14 MB)

The ACTCOSS Conference 2008: Community Sector Futures was held on 4-5 September and was a great success. Information about the Conference, including the speakers' PowerPoint presentations and Program, can be found on the Conference page.

Winners of the Community Sector Awards were announced at the ACTCOSS Diversity Ball on 5 September, and are listed on the Conference page.

In the lead up to the 2008 ACT election, candidates and political parties will be setting out their priorities for Canberra's future. "The Fairness Challenge" alerts candidates of the current and future needs of people in our community who experience disadvantage.

"The Fairness Challenge" is our call to the parties and candidates in the ACT Election to commit to a fair and equitable future for Canberra. "The Fairness Challenge" contains goals, targets and strategies to achieve social justice and developing community services, based on research and consultation with community organisations.

Download the The Fairness Challenge (pdf document: 732 KB).

ACTCOSS and the AJC are working to stimulate a re-conceptualisation of crime prevention as social support, with a particular focus on early intervention. The project aims to engage with the reasons for Indigenous over-representation in the justice system, identify existing mainstream and Indigenous crime prevention and diversion initiatives in the ACT, highlight gaps in service provision and areas of unmet need and make recommendations for change.

Download Circles of Support: Towards Indigenous Justice - Prevention, Diversion and Rehabilitation.

ACTCOSS has completed a project on finding solutions to the challenge of maintaining the viability of community organisaions. Discussion of the issues and options is a first step in developing a strategic direction for the sector.

Download the final report Finding Solutions: Towards the long-term viability of the ACT Community Sector

Three options papers were prepared during this project. They focus on three key issues of concern: sharing services, funding, and workforce development.

Paper 1: Shared Services - Issues and Options
Paper 2: Funding - Issues and Options
Paper 3: Workforce Development - Issues and Options

Stories from the Narrabundah Longstay Park

In conjunction with Softlaw Community Projects and the ACT Government, ACTCOSS has helped produce a book on the lives of the residents of the Narrabundah Longstay Park. Last year, the homes of park residents were threatened by the purchase of the site by a developer, but the ACT Government stepped in to negotiate a deal to protect there homes.

To order a copy of the book, please download the order form.

In 2004, the ACT Government launched the ACT Social Compact. The Compact is a statement of understanding about the relationship between the ACT Government and the community sector. Three years on, the concern has been raised that some organisations and agencies are not aware of its ongoing application for working together.

You can download a copy of the Social Compact, or visit the Strategic Policy and Community Engagement webpage on the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services website for more information.

In Anti-Poverty Week 2007, ACTCOSS launched research conducted by NATSEM, in partnership with the University of Canberra and ACTCOSS, which provides detailed information on the composition of ACT households that are in the lowest 20% national in terms of household income.

We would like to thank the organisations that provided financial support to this research, including the ACT Community Inclusion Board, Communities@Work, Softlaw Community Projects, YWCA of Canberra, Inanna, Gungahlin Community Regional Service, Woden Community Service and Lifeline Canberra.

Download Characteristics of Low-Income ACT Households.

In June 2007, ACTCOSS released a research report that explores the extent to which the community mental health system is linked and integrated into a broader social service system.

Download the No Wrong Doors Report.

You can also browse the extensive collection of reports and policy documents on ACTCOSS' Papers & Reports webpage.

The September 2006 updates to the Referral Guide are available here.
The original release is available here.

The ACTCOSS Strategic Plan sets out our vision, values and priorities for the period 2006-2008.