Water reform, renting rules, and taking action to end deaths in custody

All the latest news from the Councils of Social Service of Australia.

ACOSS

On Thursday, the 30th anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, ACOSS members met virtually to hear from Change the Record co-chairs Cheryl Axleby and Antoinette Braybrook.

Change the Record is encouraging supporters to take action in order to end deaths in custody. For more information visit Change the Record.

TasCOSS

Tasmanians have consistently told us that in order to live a good life they need to be able to afford the basics, have a healthy body and mind, and a place to call home. This is why TasCOSS’s 2021 State Election priorities focus squarely on the need for more jobs, affordable housing and improved health outcomes for all Tasmanians. Find out more about TasCOSS’s election priorities here. 

SACOSS

SACOSS has told the Productivity Commission’s National Water Reform inquiry that action is needed to address issues of water quality, reliability and cost in regional and remote SA communities, highlighting that a lack of attention to this critical issue results in ad hoc and reactive solutions – a problem likely also faced in other states. See here for more information.

ACTCOSS

ACTCOSS has written to the ACT chief minister to call for the prioritisation of investment in the community sector to improve gender equity outcomes, deliver services to those most in need and create more jobs. ACTCOSS highlighted that the community sector had been largely overlooked in the ACT’s economic recovery plans. ACTCOSS also reacted to a proposed significant increase to electricity prices as a result of increased feed-in tariff payments to renewable energy providers, calling on the government to implement measures to protect Canberrans on low incomes impacted by this price increase.

QCOSS

Water billing can be confusing. Bills are sent to landlords and are not always passed on in full to tenants. QCOSS is hosting a series of webinars to explain the rights and responsibilities of tenants and their landlords with water charges. This session is ideally suited to community sector workers and tailored to the needs of tenants. Register here and access our range of energy and water resources here.

WACOSS

WACOSS convened a group to provide coordination and advocacy support to providers as they navigate supporting people in the lead up to the ending of the state emergency period (evictions and rental increase moratorium) on 28 March 2021. This work culminated in a sector briefing, in collaboration with Shelter WA and moratorium working group members. This online forum attracted many diverse community sector stakeholders. Watch a recording of the briefing here.

VCOSS

More than 130 changes to Victoria’s renting rules came into effect this week. It’s a lot for renters to get their heads around, and community sector workers will play a critical role in helping their clients understand their new rights and how to assert them. To help the sector help Victorians, VCOSS’s Karen Taranto has laid out the 10 key changes community sector workers need to understand. Read them here.

NCOSS

NCOSS and NSW Legislative Council Parliamentary Inquiries Workshop is a well-regarded learning event (now back face-to-face) that will be held at Parliament House, Sydney. This workshop is for people working in policy, advocacy or management in the New South Wales community sector, whose work potentially involves taking part in parliamentary inquiries. It is free to attend, but numbers are limited. Click here to reserve your space. 

NTCOSS 

The Territory government in partnership with NTCOSS and Refuel Creative have delivered a new one-stop-shop website which will assist over 1,600 Territorians visiting the site per month. There are 22 service categories and hundreds of organisations currently listed in the directory including support for everything from: accommodation and housing, alcohol, drugs and other dependencies, domestic, family and sexual violence employment and training, financial support, and many more. Click for more information.

This article was contributed by ACOSS Community Hub.