Cost of Living report released | Child Protection Week

6 September 2024

FOOD OR MEDICINE? AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE

Today NCOSS released our new cost-of-living report, titled Impossible Choices: Decisions NSW communities shouldn’t have to make. It is tough reading.

In short, the capacity of low-income households and those living below the poverty line to meet their essential living costs with their available income has worsened year-on-year. There was a sharp increase in financial pressure in 2023 and that pressure has been sustained.

Rising interest rates, increased rents, and the rising costs of groceries, transport and utilities, are forcing people to make sacrifices that put their safety and wellbeing at risk. The ripple effects of these sacrifices are profound, causing increased stress and tension within households, affecting relationships, mental health and wellbeing, and child development outcomes.

No one should be forced to choose between paying for food or medicine - but that is exactly what is happening for low-income households across our state.

Single parents are some of the hardest hit in our community. Our research shows that nine in ten single parents on low incomes have gone without essentials in the past 12 months. Five in six couldn’t afford to put quality meals on the table for their children.

Childhood education is being impacted, with one in five households from low incomes delaying commencements because of cost. That means children are not getting the start in life that they deserve, which further entrenches intergenerational disadvantage.

But there are levers both the NSW and Commonwealth Government can pull to level the playing field and make sure that every member of the New South Wales community is given the opportunity to thrive.

In response to this report, we have developed recommendations in consultation with NCOSS members. They include calling on the Commonwealth Government to lift all income support payments and ensure adequate funding for NSW emergency food relief services to genuinely meet community need.

To ensure our young children are not left behind, we advocate universal access to early childhood education and the implementation of a universal school food program in NSW. Let’s make sure that every child has decent quality food every day so they can learn, grow, and thrive.

Housing is a human right and governments at all levels need to use their power to improve housing stability. We encourage the New South Wales government to build on their recent commitment to grow the number of social and affordable houses and commit to a target of 10 percent of all NSW housing to be social and affordable.

We need to make NSW rental increases fair and reasonable and urgently implement no grounds evictions for all lease types.

Without this support, there is a danger those on low incomes will spiral into even more precarious circumstances, leading to greater loneliness and isolation, a decrease in mental and physical health and an inability to access the financial and educational opportunities they deserve.

Want to know more? Please access the full report and the complete suite and recommendations here.

9 September 2024. 12:45 pm - 1:30 pm

NCOSS has released it’s annual cost of living research - Impossible Choices: Decisions NSW communities shouldn’t have to make – and is holding an online session for NCOSS members who were not able to attend our presentations at FONGA on 2 August and the Regional Members Meeting on 6 August 2024.

In this session, we will:

Share the key findings from the research, including data analysis by geographical location
Outline key insights and recommendations

The aim is to help NCOSS members understand how the research can be used to influence program delivery, policy design and advocacy efforts.

Please RSVP to the online session here.

NCOSS held a regional forum in Taree in November last year and Dubbo in May with participation from across the social service sector.

Reports from these forums aim to put a spotlight on the challenges for and strengths of place-based social service delivery in regional NSW, and inform sound policy based on research, lived experience, and sector expertise.

The reports capture and amplify the voices of social service providers, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), government agencies, and staff at local councils. We have heard from local politicians, CEOs, senior managers, community members, and workers with lived experience of poverty and disadvantage in regional NSW.

We encourage you to read the full reports with all the rich information and insights presented by speakers and shared by participants on the day. The Summary Reports highlight some of the critical issues for the sector and the communities they work with.

People Places Partnerships – Mid North Coast Taree 2023

Keeping Communities Safe – Western NSW Dubbo 2024

If you're a young First Nations person living in NSW, you can enter the NCOSS art competition.

The winning design will be featured on the front cover of our annual report this year. Plus, the winning artist will be paid $2500 for the use of their work.

As we reflect on the results from last year's referendum on the Voice to Parliament, we're thinking about what comes next. We'd like you to reflect on the theme: 'Towards Self Determination".

The competition closes on Friday, 13 September, 2024. For all of the details, please visit the NCOSS website.

Good Things Australia have released a brand new research report ‘Understand AI literacy and digital inclusion: How we can use AI for Good’.

The report is the result of significant consultation and research, and is part of the Digital Sisters: AI for Good program supporting refugee and migrant women to build their understanding and use of AI, run by Good Things in collaboration with Microsoft and Telstra.

This research is critical to our mission of closing the digital divide so no one is left behind. The Digital Sisters: AI for Good initiative includes creating inclusive learning materials and supporting 20 network partners and their Digital Mentors to support hundreds of women in their community to keep up with emerging technology.

You can read the report here.

This year, Anti-Poverty Week in Australia will run October 13 to 19. One in eight people in Australia and one in eight children experience poverty.

Anti-Poverty Week supports the Australian community to increase understanding of poverty and to take action collectively to end it. Poverty exists. Poverty hurts us all. We can all do something about it. It is one of hope not despair.

We invite you to join the campaign and take action by signing the pledge and the petition. We also ask that you take action by hosting an activity, especially during Anti-Poverty Week, 13-19 October 2024.

We welcome any events that draw attention to the impact of poverty and ways to act to end poverty in Australia. See our comprehensive list of Ideas for activities.

Make sure to tell us about your activity so we can add your event to our calendar or submit your event or activity HERE.

Attachment Theory and Aboriginal Children, Families and Communities

FACSIAR
17 September, online

Free | Register here

In this webinar, Dr Paul Gray and Ash Wright will speak on their thoughts and findings about the misapplication of Western developmental constructs such as attachment theory on Aboriginal children.

They will discuss their paper that makes the case that applying non-Indigenous constructs and understandings of child development contribute to enduring inequities.

Past, Present and Future
Domestic Violence NSW
18 & 19 September, Surry Hills
$254 - $1128 | Register here

'Past, present and future’ will be an amazing two days of sharing, learning and networking that brings the sector together in a common purpose of connecting and discovering.

With a great line up of subject matter experts, speakers, panelists, and people with lived expertise, we will lean into our history with stories from the front lines. We'll look at the issues we're facing today and look forward to what the future could hold.

Navigating Boundaries and Difficult Conversations
LEAD
30 October, Rooty Hill Novotel
$55 - $90 | Register here

In community services, where the lines between professional and personal lives often intersect, it’s easy for boundaries to become blurred. The very qualities that make you a compassionate and nurturing service provider can also leave you susceptible to blurring, especially when coupled with fatigue. Establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries is crucial for the safety and respect of both you and your clients.

Lesbians Incorporated Grant
Closing Date: 21 September 2024

Lesbians Incorporated has established a Community Grants Program to give out $20,000 in grants (grant funding is up to $2000 per successful application) per round in 2024.

To be eligible for funding, projects must demonstrate that they:

meet an identified social, cultural, educational, health, welfare, recreational, personal development or legal need of the lesbian community;
target discrimination against lesbians and/or aim to improve the civil rights and/or status of lesbians within the general community;
aim to improve the access of lesbians to programs, services, activities and opportunities available to the general community;
aim to increase the vocational training and/or employment opportunities of lesbians.

For more information, please visit the grant information page.

Pride Foundation Australia Small Grants
Closing Date: 18 November 2024

The Small Grants program supports projects proposed by individuals and or organisations and or communities who would otherwise be limited by the constraints of other funding programs.

The maximum grant has been increased to $1000 in 2022 and there will be more grants awarded (if successful) each round. The project needs to directly or indirectly assist, involve and benefit LGBTQIA+ people and promote positive social outcomes and mental health in the community.

For more information, please visit the grant information page.

Some of the latest from our Jobs Board:

Community Hub Manager (Moruya) - Anglicare - VIEW JOB

Team Lead, Community Health Promotion (Hunter) - ACON - VIEW JOB

Creating Futures Justice Program Manager (Sydney) - WEAVE - VIEW JOB

Alcohol and Other Drugs Community Service Worker (Lilyfield) - WHOS - VIEW JOB

Direct Services Child & Adolescent Counsellor (Sydney Wide) - NSW STARTTS - VIEW JOB

Home Care Check In Project (Newcastle) - Senior Rights Service - VIEW JOB

Family Counsellor CALD Experienced (Inner West Sydney) - Jannawi Family Centre - VIEW JOB

Team Leader, Family and Domestic Violence (supporting male victim/survivors) (Pendle Hill) - SAGE Community Services - VIEW JOB

NCOSS gives its members the opportunity to share their stories, research, resources, events and more through NCOSS eNews. If you have something to share with the sector, send through a short blurb (50-70 words), image (250 x 250px) and relevant links to info@ncoss.org.au.

We will endeavour to add it to an edition of NCOSS e-News (goes out every fortnight on Thursday morning). Deadline for content is 5:00pm on Monday, the week of publication. The next deadline is Monday, 16 September 2024.