New Four Year Govt Contracts for NFPs

Not for Profits working in the Federal Government’s Family Support Program will be offered four year contracts as part of newly announced funding arrangement.

The Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has announced a $1.5 billion commitment to the Family Support Program over the next four years.

“The Government [has] heard the sector’s concerns over funding uncertainty and in response will offer providers four year contracts from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2018,” Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Julie Collins said.

“Services will be recontracted giving organisations and their employees the funding certainty they need to plan ahead and invest in long-term improvements to benefit families and children.

“This will enable providers to employ staff on longer term contracts, invest in staff training and development, commit to infrastructure investments and plan their service delivery over the longer term with confidence,” she said.

The Minister said the commitment to fund community organisations over the next four years followed consultations with the community services sector where the issues raised included the need for longer-term funding certainty, reduced red tape, more support for new approaches to working with families and greater integration of services.

The Family Support Program provides early intervention and prevention services to more than 800,000 Australians a year.

The Minister said the new arrangements would also cut red tape by simplifying funding agreements and financial acquittal arrangements.

This would include introducing a single streamlined reporting system for all providers, phased in from 1 July 2014; immediately abolishing the Partner Agency Survey and abolishing the Annual Service Report and six?monthly Performance Reports from 1 July 2014 as well as the Vulnerable and Disadvantaged Access Strategy (VADCAS) reporting requirements.

Details of the changes are available here.