ClubGRANTS review, FONGA, Cost of Living Survey, + more

4 April 2024

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Westall Primary School in Clayton, Victoria, to learn more about the Our Place program that has been operating from the Community Hub that is joined to the school. It is one of ten schools across Victoria that are using the ‘Our Place’ model, which provides education, health and wellbeing services from one location. This was the model that inspired NCOSS to support the creation of Mirrung, a similar Community Hub at Ashcroft Public School. This visit provides an opportunity to learn from the different approaches and further extend our impact.

ClubGRANTS Review Submission

Liquor & Gaming NSW is leading a Review into ClubGRANTS in consultation with The Cabinet Office and NSW Treasury.

The ClubGRANTS Review will determine whether the Scheme provides cost effective benefits to local communities, including whether the taxation arrangements are appropriate, whether the regulatory framework remains fit for purpose, and whether the administration of the Scheme meets contemporary standards.

NCOSS has made a submission to this review, calling on the NSW Government to overhaul the scheme and refocus it on people living with low incomes and experiencing disadvantage, including those experiencing gambling harm. Our submission further recommends retaining local decision making and increasing governance and accountability mechanisms to enhance the value of the scheme to the community. Read our full submission.

Homelessness NSW Conference

At the end of March, Homelessness NSW held a conference that brought together academics, practitioners, advocates, and peak bodies. NCOSS policy lead Francesca Cathie attended on behalf of NCOSS and reported that there was a strong focus on preventing homelessness and making it rare, brief, and non-recurring.

Following that conference I met with the new CEO of Homes NSW Rebecca Pinkstone. We discussed how Homes NSW is going to work with the sector to improve the experience for social housing tenants and about the urgent need to provide more social housing.

Regional Members Meeting

On Tuesday, NCOSS hosted the April NCOSS Regional Members Meeting, which included sessions with Rebecca Pinkstone (Homes NSW CEO) and Tara Moriarty (Minister for Regional NSW). The sector clearly has high expectations of Homes NSW, but there is immense good will and a strong desire to work together to vastly improve the housing system in NSW. Members made it clear that the sector expects the Government to prioritise substantial increases in social and affordable housing stock.

The discussion with the Minister focused on the unique needs of the regions; understanding the Government’s approach to supporting regional NSW; and the sector’s expectation that various departments and agencies must work together in communities, rather than in silos. NCOSS will continue to engage with the Minister to push forward on these priorities.

The next regional forum will be held in person in Dubbo on 22 May.

FONGA

Just a reminder that the Forum of Non-Government Agencies is on tomorrow at 10am. Scroll down for full details on how to join the meeting online. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Can you share our Cost of Living in NSW survey? NCOSS wants to get a better understanding of the impact of cost-of-living changes on low-income households and those living below the poverty line from across NSW.

Please share this link to ensure we get a range of responses from across NSW. https://lnkd.in/gkXgdwZD. It will take about 15 minutes to complete the survey.

This year, we are shining a spotlight on low-income households with dependent children aged 0-15 to understand their challenges when it comes to dealing with cost-of-living pressures. If your service works with children and families and it is interested in participating in one of our focus groups, please email advocacy@ncoss.org.au for more information. We are recruiting for these groups and they will be held in April.

We're asking our members to participate in our survey about your NCOSS membership.

This survey will gather information about what you value about NCOSS and what we can do better to encourage more organisations to become members. Our goal is to gain a deeper understanding of what is important to you, so that we can better serve your needs.

We are being assisted by Alison Plant, Director of ASK Insight, to review the membership program and your survey responses will go directly to her. NCOSS will not see individual responses or results in a form that will identify respondents.

Thank you to those of you who participated in our focus groups over the past month. As a result, we gained valuable insights into what we may be able to offer as part of our memberships in the future.

We appreciate you filling out the survey today. It should take 5 minutes to complete.

The Tenants’ Union of NSW are excited to announce a brand new workshop - Renting First Aid. The workshop builds confidence in community workers, helping them to support people new to renting or experiencing problems during their tenancy.

The New Renters Kit is the main resource for the workshop, but we’ll also draw your attention to a wide range of other resources that can help you in your work.

We’ll be running the workshop online and in-person at various times throughout the next year. See below to book for the next Renting First Aid workshops:

· 15 May 2024 (online)

· 25 June 2024 (in-person)

If you would like to chat about training for community workers or community groups, please get in touch at commed@tenantsunion.org.au.

The NSW Government is introducing portable long service leave for community services workers.

This means workers will be able to access paid long service leave based on how long they have been employed in the sector, rather than how long they have worked for a single employer.

A draft of the bill is now available for public consultation and is due to close on 30 April 2024.

We strongly encourage NCOSS members and friends to have their say in the development of this legislation. NCOSS will be providing a submission to government as part of this process, and we will keep you all updated on how members can provide input.
Portable long service leave for community services | Have Your Say (nsw.gov.au)

A Sector in Crisis was released on March 25. The report paints a vivid picture of a sector in crisis and identifies the key drivers of this crisis. Centres are struggling to respond to increasing demand for their services because funding has failed to keep pace with demand. Inadequate funding and staff shortages mean reduced capacity to deliver much-needed services.

This results in a chronic cycle of increased demand, higher numbers of people turned away, mounting unmet need and staff burnout and turnover. The problems are particularly acute in regional and remote areas. Ultimately, people and communities bear the harm this cycle causes.

Read the report here: https://clcs.org.au/sots/

Culturally Responsive Trauma Informed Practice
Yamurrah
21-22 May, Penrith
$1,200-$1,700 | Register here:

Culturally Responsive Trauma Informed Practice 2 Day Training for non-Aboriginal Workers - Byron Bay - 22 - 23 Apr - CRTIP-N003 - Yamurrah

This training will give you foundations for working within a culturally responsive trauma informed framework. Content covers neurobiology, Aboriginal worldviews, trauma informed care and worker wellbeing. Includes 2 full days training and access to 1 online review session and coaching.

Working Women Centre Grant
Closing Date: 10 April 2024

This grant opportunity will establish and fund working women’s centres in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

Working women’s centres are not-for-profit organisations that provide holistic trauma-informed services. This includes free information, advocacy, advice and assistance to women on workplace issues, including workplace entitlements and rights, gender issues, cultural diversity, discrimination and sexual harassment.

For more information, visit the grant information page.

Building Digital Skills Grants
Closing Date: 5 April

Building Digital Skills grants help organisations to deliver free Be Connected digital literacy programs to older Australians in their community.

Building Digital Skills grants of up to $10,000 help organisations to support older Australians 50+ through free digital mentoring sessions. A range of resources and support materials are available to help organisations to deliver this program, including the the learning courses available on the Be Connected Learning site.

For more information, visit the grant information page.