Councils of social service gear up for jobs and skills summit
31 August 2022 at 2:31 pm
All the latest news from the Councils of Social Service of Australia.
Achieving and sustaining full employment should be a guiding framework of the Jobs and Skills Summit and white paper process according to a joint policy paper released this week by ACOSS, the BCA and the ACTU. While the Albanese Government’s commitment to full employment is encouraging, success is by no means assured, and the paper lays out a series of policy recommendations, for consideration as part of a wider full employment strategy. Click here to read the full response.
The 2022 QCOSS Conference will bring together Queensland’s community services sector from September 6 to 8, to explore Power and Politics of the Care Economy, with a fantastic range of sessions on topics such as the future role of the care economy in Queensland, advancing gender equality, the Path towards Treaty, and the implementation of the Human Rights Act 2019 across the community services sector. Click here for more info and to register.
SACOSS has released a new report as part of its advocacy for safe drinking water for all. The ‘Basic Level of Service’ report suggests that a human rights framework be applied to the provision of a basic level of safe and reliable drinking water, presenting on the report at the Voices for the Bush Conference in Alice Springs earlier this month. Find out more here.
The Victorian Government has announced a plan to match newly trained community service workers with a decent job to kickstart their careers. VCOSS CEO Emma King says the social sector is under immense pressure, especially following the COVID pandemic. Click here to learn more.
NCOSS is looking for someone who wants to see NSW free from poverty and disadvantage, and who has the right skills and experience to lead our Policy & Advocacy team in working towards making that vision a reality. The role is a key direct report to the CEO. Read more and apply by clicking here.
It was tremendous to see so many of our valued members at TasCOSS’s annual community services industry lunch with Tasmania’s Premier, the Hon Jeremy Rockliff MP. It was insightful to hear from the Premier about his Government’s priorities, what motivates him, and opportunities where together we can improve outcomes for Tasmanians experiencing vulnerability. A big thank you to our event partner St.LukesHealth for your ongoing support in delivering this important event.
ACTCOSS has welcomed the Robodebt Royal Commission as an important step to getting answers, accountability and better social security protections following this appalling abuse of power. Dr Emma Campbell, ACTCOSS CEO said: “ACTCOSS’s peak body, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) led the campaign to end Robodebt and to achieve justice for those impacted, including thousands of Canberrans.” Click here to read the full response.
The State Government has provided $1 million of funding for WACOSS to allocate to state-funded community service organisations for additional cleaning costs incurred in preventing or stopping the spread of COVID-19. The application process is simple and online. There’s little paperwork involved, and organisations are reimbursed within two weeks. Click here to learn more.
NTcommunity is a free online directory for community members to access community services in the NT, helping people find the organisations and support they need. NTCOSS has been working with Territory Families, Housing and Communities since late 2017 to develop an online directory for all Territorians. This has been a phased project that included migrating a paper-based NTCOSS Directory, which was produced annually for over 15 years, to online and then designing and developing a stand-alone NT wide services directory. Click here to access NTcommunity and learn more.
