ACT Council of Social Service Inc.
Annual Report 2013-14
ACT Council of Social Service Inc. (ACTCOSS) 3
Acknowledgement of traditional custodians 3
About ACTCOSS 3
ACTCOSS Strategic Plan 2014-18 5
Vision 5
Values 5
Roles 5
Goals 5
Measures of success 6
Focus areas 6
President’s report 8
Director’s report 10
ACTCOSS staff 12
Our evolving staff team 12
2013-14 highlights 13
50th birthday celebrations 14
Advocacy 16
Advocacy related to social policy that impacts on people living with disadvantage, vulnerability and exclusion 16
Other advocacy 17
Advocacy related to the operating environment for community-managed organisations 21
NGO operational challenges and opportunities to address these 22
Consultative advisory groups & events 23
National engagement 24
Federal Election campaign 24
COSS Networks 25
Reconciliation 26
Gulanga Program 26
Resources 26
Training 27
Engagement 27
Sector engagement 28
Broader ACTCOSS team engagement in reconciliation 29
Capability development 31
Learning & development 31
Networks 34
ACT Home and Community Care/Disability Services (ACT HACC-DS) 35
Membership engagement 41
Review & development of member services 41
Analysis of the ACT Budget outcomes 42
Constitutional changes 42
Strategic Plan 2014-2018 42
Member survey 43
Other points of engagement with members 43
ACTCOSS members 2013-14 44
Media 51
Media releases 51
Publications 53
Newsletters 53
Formal publications 53
ACTCOSS Committee 55
ISBN 978-1-921651-88-5 (Word doc version)
© ACT Council of Social Service Inc. 2014
This work is copyright. Apart from use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without the prior written permission of the ACT Council of Social Service Inc. Requests and inquiries should be addressed to:
1/6 Gritten Street, Weston ACT 2611
Ph: 02 6202 7200
Fax: 02 6288 0070
Email:
Website: www.actcoss.org.au
ACT Council of Social Service Inc. (ACTCOSS)
Acknowledgement of traditional custodians
ACTCOSS acknowledges Canberra has been built on the land of the Ngunnawal people. We pay respect to their Elders and recognise the strength and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and their ongoing contributions to the ACT community.
About ACTCOSS
The ACT Council of Social Service Inc. (ACTCOSS) is the peak representative body for both community organisations providing services and support for low-income households and for people experiencing disadvantage in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). ACTCOSS has been a voice for the ACT community since 1963. The role of ACTCOSS is to:
· Take action to achieve positive social change
· Influence the social change agenda and decision makers
· Provide support and guidance to build the social capital of people who are disadvantaged and vulnerable and the capacity of community-managed organisations
ACTCOSS is a membership-based organisation, with a diverse membership that includes other peak bodies, advocacy and consumer groups, service providers, mutual support and self-help groups, as well as individuals who share our vision and values.
ACTCOSS is a member of the nationwide network of Councils of Social Service (the COSS Network), that includes each of the state and territory Councils and the national body, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS).
Strategic direction and corporate governance of ACTCOSS is provided by the Committee comprised of respected leaders from our membership. The staff are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds and contribute their skills and knowledge to the advocacy and capability development work of ACTCOSS. This work is also sustained by the talents, expertise and commitment of numerous community-based networks.
ACTCOSS receives the largest proportion of our funding from the ACT Government Community Services Directorate (CSD). The Gulanga Program receives funding under the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) and through the ACT Government Children, Young People and Families Support Program (CYFSP), which is jointly funded by the ACT Government and Australian Government. We also receive funding from ACT Health to support ACT Home and Community Care and Disability Services (ACT HACC-DS) organisations and workers operating services within and outside of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, who provide home-based support and assistance services to people under 65 years of age.
Our advocacy and sector development are supported by financial and in-kind support from members, individual supporters and private sector organisations that share our vision and values.
ACTCOSS Strategic Plan 2014-18
Vision
Our vision is to live in a fair and equitable community that respects and values diversity, human rights and sustainability and promotes justice, equity, reconciliation and social inclusion.
Values
ACTCOSS is committed to operating in a way that reflects our values that are:
· Integrity
· Leadership
· Collaboration
· Reconciliation
· Social Justice
Roles
· Take action to achieve positive social change
· Influence the social change agenda and decision makers
· Provide support and guidance to build the social capital of people who are disadvantaged and vulnerable and the capacity of community-managed organisations*
Goals
· Standards of living: All people in Canberra can meet minimum standards of living as defined by community norms
· Human rights: Our laws, institutions and systems enable people to exercise their rights and live free from discrimination
· Support: All people in Canberra can access the right support at the right time and right intensity and duration
· Meaning, choice & control: All people can live a life that has meaning to them, in which they have choice and control over the circumstances in which they live
· Social inclusion: We are a community in which all people can live life with dignity and access the means and opportunity to participate and be included economically and socially
· Equality & fairness: The prosperity of Canberra is shared fairly, and inequality is reduced
Measures of success
· Reduced demand for services needed to reduce poverty and inequality, especially crisis and tertiary level services—because people experience less deprivation and exclusion, and there is less unmet demand
· Evidence of good returns on the human and financial investments made by people, the community and funding bodies to reduce poverty and inequality
Focus areas
· Infrastructure: Improved access to basic infrastructure—affordable housing, affordable and accessible transport and affordable utilities
· Justice & corrections: Improved justice system and reduction in the social determinants of crime
· Social determinants of health: Improved social determinants of health—with a focus on adequate income, reducing the social gradient in health and education, improving early life experiences and family capacity to support children and young people’s development
· Reconciliation: Supporting and building capability around reconciliation, to overcome the causes of division and inequality between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
· Community development: Supporting citizens affected by poverty and inequality to express their views, influence decisions that affect them, shape the service system and influence the priorities of governments
· Capacity building: Capacity building of community-managed organisations* that exist to serve the needs of people in their local community who are vulnerable, face disadvantage or who require assistance to engage with main stream organisations
· Improving effectiveness: Improving effectiveness of community-managed organisations* through support and guidance to strengthen their consumer engagement, cross and inter-sectoral partnerships, governance, financial systems, organisational strategy and human capital
· Increasing impact: Increasing the impact of work, efforts and investments in the community sector—including building effective alliances and partnerships and business planning to diversify ACTCOSS income streams
· Membership services : Exploring membership services that could provide cost savings for organisations
* Community-managed organisation: An organisation governed by citizens who provide their time and expertise because of their commitment to the vision and purpose of the organisation. Governance decisions are guided by the interests of the community.
President’s report
Jenny Kitchin, Director of Community Services, Anglicare ACT
This has been another year of activity, productivity and self-reflection for ACTCOSS.
Our last AGM was the catalyst for much thought about effective member involvement in ACTCOSS’ work and I would like to thank all of you who gave us feedback both verbally and in written form about changes we needed to make. We hope that the constitutional and procedural changes we have made have improved how we operate as a representative organisation.
It was a year of grappling with a Federal Budget that gave all of the COSSes around the country cause for concern and soul searching as to how best to advocate for community services and disadvantaged individuals. This was where our complementary work with ACOSS has been and continues to be vital.
Our policy forums provided us with opportunities to explore in more depth with our members some of the key issues in a variety of human services areas. A critical one was on youth unemployment which generated fruitful discussion about how best to support students to transition from school to work in the current climate. Through our Director, staff and Committee members, alliances and partnerships have been formed with many agencies and peak bodies and this work continues to strengthen.
We have continued to enjoy a strong and robust relationship with Ministers in the ACT Legislative Assembly who have worked willingly and with interest with us. Likewise, with key people in ACT Government directorates we have maintained strong and productive partnerships providing advice and information whenever we believe it can influence key decisions and positive social change.
We are privileged to have Susan Helyar as our Director who consistently brings to the position great insights, strategic thinking, energy, optimism, successful networking and lateral thinking. Despite it being a personally difficult year for her she has shown enormous resilience, strength and commitment to the agency and we thank her for that. The whole ACTCOSS staff team have worked together to support each other and strengthen the organisation throughout this year. The ACTCOSS staff continue to produce quality work. They are great advocates in their own roles and for our organisation and I thank each of them for what they do.
The ACTCOSS Committee has been strong in its views, robust in its discussion and resourceful in its support for ACTCOSS. Members come from a range of peak bodies, service providers and individual members and have been invaluable to Susan and I in being able to reflect on directions and issues for ACTCOSS. I thank each and every one of you for your time and commitment to the Committee’s work. I also thank the Executive who have been invaluable in their direction and support. Thanks also to the Nominations Sub-Committee who have given considered thought to the skills, knowledge and experience needed in the Committee and how we can best recruit these.
We look forward to another year ahead of fruitful and robust discussions and activity with all of our members and partners.
Director’s report
Susan Helyar, Director, ACT Council of Social Service Inc.
In 2013-14 the ACTCOSS team, in consultation with our members and guided by our governing Committee, identified how we could better focus and more finely tune our efforts so we could maximise our influence on policy settings, program design and funding administration. This approach is essential in an increasingly difficult operating environment for community managed organisations in which:
· Inequality is growing, increasing the risk of deprivation and exclusion
· Entitlements previously considered reasonable in a wealthy community—such as access to adequate income when not earning income from work—are under threat
· Access to finance, volunteers, members and philanthropic support is constrained
· Wages in the community sector are relatively low, and work is often part-time and temporary
· Funding bodies seek reduced costs for service provision and increased accountability about the impact of funding provided
· Federal funding bodies seek to constrain the work of community organisations on systemic advocacy
Our Strategic Plan for 2014-2018 shows where we believe our efforts should be focused and our resources deployed.
In order to deliver on our Strategic Plan we have continued to strengthen our relationships and better leveraged resources from within our membership, from our national network of Councils of Social Service, from other peak bodies and from other industries. Some examples of this include: more proactive dialogue with members during ACT Budget week to inform our assessment of the Budget outcomes; collaboration with the COSS Network on advocacy to the Federal Minister for housing on the urgent need for continuation of funding to services operating under the National Partnership Agreement on Housing and the National Affordable Housing Agreement; and building a sponsorship relationship with the OAMPS Insurance broker.
We have also worked to more clearly articulate our policy positions, so our members and the decision makers we seek to influence have a better understanding of the issues we are most concerned about, the evidence that informs our advocacy and the changes we want to see. In 2013-14 we worked on our position statements on justice and corrections, and essential infrastructure. In the coming year we will be working on the social determinants of health, reconciliation and organisation capacity, effectiveness and impact.
This work has only been possible because of the leadership of our members, the commitment of our staff and the support of funders. With the loss of any one of these three components our work would be impossible. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the important work of ACTCOSS.
On a personal note, I want to say thank you to the Committee, staff, funding partners, COSS colleagues and ACTCOSS members who provided support to me and to the ACTCOSS team when I had a health matter that took me away from work for an extended time this year.
In reflecting on the efforts and achievements of the past twelve months it is clear that the two key imperatives that have driven ACTCOSS decisions over five decades continue to be both relevant and compelling:
· Reducing inequality, poverty and exclusion
· Supporting citizens and community organisations to express their views, influence the decisions that affect them, shape the service system and influence the priorities of government
ACTCOSS staff
Director:
· Susan Helyar
Deputy Director:
· Wendy Prowse
Gulanga Program:
· Keith Brandy
· Julie Butler