News
- Are you committed to creating a fairer society for everyone?
- Interested in working with a passionate and enthusiastic team to advocate for social justice?
- Do you have skills in policy analysis or capacity building?
ACTCOSS is seeking a Policy and Development Officer to join our enthusiastic and committed team. This position gives the successful candidate an opportunity to engage with social policy issues, and work directly with community organisations to improve their capacity. Responsibilities include a broad and engaging workload, and interaction with diverse communities, allowing you to meet and connect with people from different backgrounds and circumstances. ACTCOSS has above-award pay and conditions, and are able to offer work at full-time or part-time intensity. ACTCOSS welcomes applications from people with diverse backgrounds and life experience.
Applications close at 5pm, Monday 25 February 2008. For more information, please download the Position Description and Selection Criteria (Word Document, 36KB).
ACOSS will be holding a conference in Melbourne at the Sebel Albert Park on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th April 2008. The theme is
ing steps for a fair go for all – social inclusion policies and processes.
The conference will examine the roles of the community services and welfare sector, governments, corporates and philanthropic organisations in the emerging social inclusion agenda of Australia. The Conference will also look at the meaning and scope of social inclusion and poverty.
Please email
conference@acoss.org.au to register for the conference or download the
Registration Form.
ACTCOSS has been contacted by Homelessness NSW on behalf of StreetSmart, a philanthropic organisation that seeks donations to fund small community organisations working with homeless people, particularly from donations through restaurants. In 2007, one Canberra restaurant participated in their scheme, raising about $4,500 for distribution to homelessness projects in Canberra. ACTCOSS has been asked to promote awareness of these funds, although this round will only be able to fund a single project for $4,500, or two smaller projects for about half that.
To apply, please download the
Application Form (Word 176 KB). You can also download Streetsmart's
Grant Policy Statement (PDF, 19KB) . For examples of the types of projects funded, you can view a
List of Grant Recipients, and for more information about the program, please visit the
Streetsmart website.
Applications are due on
Friday, 29 Februrary 2008.
NATSEM has undertaken research in partnership with ACTCOSS, supported by a University of Canberra Industry Collaborative Research Grant. This project provides up-to-date date on the characteristics of low-income households in the ACT, giving us a detailed picture of low-income households in the ACT.
This could not have been done without the generous support of our contributors, including The ACT Community Inclusion Board, Communities@Work, Inanna Inc., Softlaw Community Projects, YWCA of Canberra and Gungahlin Community Regional Service.
Download
Characteristics of Low Income Households in the ACT.
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.
The ACTCOSS Submission to the ACT Budget 2008-09 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 2008-09, or visit our
Papers & Reports webpage to download past budget submissions and a range of other policy documents.
In July 2007, the Australian Fair Pay Commission made a decision to increase minimum wages. This decision also applies to payscales in most Australian awards, including the Social and Community Services (SACS) Award for the ACT. The new payscales apply from the first pay period after 1 October 2007. You can download the
new payscales (60Kb pdf) from the Australian Government's Workplace Authority.
Note that these only apply to organisations who use the SACS award as their basis for payscales. In some circumstances, the increases may not apply to organisations that have a Collective Agreement or use Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). Check with your organisation if you are not sure.
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 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.
ACTCOSS' budget analysis is now available for the 2007-08 ACT Budget in Word and PDF format. Click
here for Word and
here for PDF.
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.
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