Recognising carers, whether to mandate the vaccine, and the way forward

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

ACOSS

Thursday is the final ACOSS Policy Webinar for the year, which will focus on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This event will provide an update on where the campaign is now, what’s coming up, and how the community sector can provide support. You will hear from Professor Megan Davis, pro vice-chancellor Indigenous UNSW, and Sally Scales, youth leadership team for the Uluru Statement reform. Register for free here.

VCOSS

VCOSS has released its 2022 Victorian Budget submission, The Way Forward. The submission makes more than 50 recommendations for change. including short-term measures to immediately help people – and the frontline services that support them – recover from the worst of the COVID pandemic, and long-term measures to address systemic challenges and entrenched disadvantage.

WACOSS

There are groups of people in the community with very low vaccination rates where historical mistrust of, and trauma associated with, our medical system and government must be acknowledged. That’s why the WA Department of Health and WACOSS are offering training to frontline workers in the community care services sector, designed to equip workers with the tools they need to have persuasive conversations with vaccine-hesitant communities and dispel myths about COVID-19 vaccines. Staff from the Department of Health will be present to answer any questions the sector might have. Find out more and register here. Interstate participants are welcome!

SACOSS

Rental affordability was top of the agenda at SACOSS’ recent AGM, with a presentation from Peter Mares, who laid bare a lot of the detail that makes the need for a substantial investment in social housing so compelling. Advocacy on the need to invest in public housing continues, with SACOSS stressing that it not only helps people into homes, but adds supply to the market to make housing more affordable – as well as providing construction jobs, economic stimulus, and public assets.

QCOSS

How are community service organisations handling the COVID-19 vaccine and whether or not to mandate it for employees? QCOSS’s recent webinar, featuring legal experts from Clayton Utz, explored what each organisation will need to consider in order to respect their employees, protect the human rights of service users and comply with the law. Read the discussion paper and watch the webinar to learn about the impacts on your organisation.

NCOSS

Following engagement and consultation with NCOSS members, other frontline services and peak organisations across the state, NCOSS has published its Pre-Budget Submission 2022-23. It calls on the NSW government to: ensure people have a safe, healthy, accessible and affordable place to call home; invest in essential support, social cohesion and job security for women by boosting recurrent baseline funding for the social services sector by 20 per cent; and embed place-based NGOs in emergency management systems to improve local emergency responses and recovery. Endorse the NCOSS Pre-Budget Submission 2022-23 today. 

TasCOSS

Volkswagen, the German vehicle manufacturer, took a huge risk in 2014 and suffered as a consequence. In this episode of the Take Me To Your Board podcast, Cameron and Bridget look into this scandal from a risk management point of view with the help of special guest Alicia Leis, partner (audit, assurance and advisory) at WLF Accounting and Advisory. Tune into the latest episode for tips on how you can improve your not-for-profit governance skills.

ACTCOSS

ACTCOSS has welcomed the introduction of legislation to the ACT Legislative Assembly that will strengthen support for the many tens of thousands of Canberrans who provide unpaid care to family members or friends who need support because of disability, chronic illness, mental illness, drug or alcohol issues, dementia or frailty due to ageing. The Carers Recognition Bill 2021 aims to recognise, promote and value the role that unpaid carers have within the ACT community. Click here to learn more.

NTCOSS

NTCOSS is pleased to present the findings from the 2021 Northern Territory Community Sector Workforce Survey. The survey gives NTCOSS the opportunity to collect and analyse data on the community sector in the NT, providing a snapshot of the different organisations operating in the region and their staff. The findings help NTCOSS identify workforce trends and inform future sector support activities. Click here to learn more about the findings.

This article was contributed by ACOSS Community Hub.