ACOSS Reports & Submissions
Indigenous
October 2012
This report shows that poverty in Australia remains a persistent problem with an estimated 2,265,000 people or 12.8% of all people living below the internationally accepted poverty line used to measure financial hardship in wealthy countries.
It is the most comprehensive picture of poverty in the nation since 2006 and shows that people who are unemployed, children (especially in lone parent families), and people whose main source of income is social security payments, are the groups most at risk of poverty.
The report is also available in accessible HTML: Poverty in Australia Report
To find out more about how the research was conducted, read Poverty in Australia: New Estimates and Recent Trends - Research Methodology.
The above report is an updated version of the original 2012 release; this update includes an extra chaper on people with disabilities living in poverty.
Australian Community Sector Survey 2013
August 2012
We need YOUR help!
Did you know that there is only one major survey about our sector?
The ACOSS Australian Community Sector Survey (ACSS) is an annual survey of community services across Australia. It is used extensively in the media, in advocacy, by policy makers, policy analysts and academics. It is used to identify issues for our sector and the people we work with.Previous Australian Community Sector Surveys are available here.
One of the most important issues that we report on each year is how many people are being turned away from services and where there is unmet need.
The credibility of the survey rests on a good response rate from a wide range of organisations across the country.
We need you to complete the survey, giving us the best possible information about your client base, your organisation's sustainability and staffing. It takes a while, but it is vitally important.
You can complete the survey online or download a paper version that you can use to get input from a number of staff. Please note that will need to complete this manually or to complete in one go and then print out - this version will not save as a PDF form.
All responses are kept confidential. If you have any queries call ACOSS on 02 9310 6200 or email policyintern@acoss.org.au
Make sure our voice is heard!
May 2012
The initial ACOSS briefing on the 2012-13 Federal Budget. This briefing does not offer extensive comment on the merit or otherwise of these measures. The paper provides a general background on the Budget surplus, revenue and expenses, a table of ACOSS proposals that were announced in the Budget, and an outline of the key measures in ACOSS' major policy areas.
January 2012
ACOSS Submission to Senate Community Affairs Committee: Social Security Legislation Amendment Bill 2011.
This bill, if passed, proposes to further extend compulsory income management to recipients of government payments who are referred by State and Territory regulatory authorities. It also proposes to extend compulsory and voluntary income management to recipients of social security payments in five new regions outside the NT on referral from child protection authorities or Centrelink social workers on the grounds of ‘vulnerability’; and to extend the suspension for parents of certain income support payments whose children are not enrolled or regularly attending school under the SEAM measure to additional communities in the NT.
ACOSS recommends that these measures be opposed, and outlines the reasons in this submission.
August 2010
ACOSS' Election Platform outlines key priorities to build a fair Australia which ensures people on low incomes are not excluded because of social or economic disadvantage. We are calling for commitments from our political leaders on issues including: Work and income support; Affordable Housing; Oral health; Indigenous; Tax; Climate change; and measures to Strengthen the Community Sector.
August 2008
ACOSS's submission to the NTER Review evaluates the progress of the NTER in enhancing the protection of children in Indigenous communities. In providing this submission, ACOSS seeks to ensure that actions taken to respond to the complex issues around child sexual abuse are evidence-based, appropriate and effective and respect the human rights of Indigenous people. The submission provides an overview of the NTER measures, highlights intended and unintended impacts, and identifies priorities for a longer term community development strategy.
August 2007
The following proposals to protect children in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities have been developed by the Combined Aboriginal Organisations (representing Aboriginal organisations in Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Katherine) and community sector organisations from across the country.
August 2007
This submission addresses the NTER measures including the proposed system of income management. It also addresses the proposed system of child protection and school attendence income management trials across Australia.
December 2006
In November 2006 the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations released a discussion paper entitled Indigenous Potential Meets Economic Opportunity, on the future role of the Community Development Employment Program (CDEP) and various Indigenous and mainstream employment assistance programs in assisting Indigenous people in major urban and regional centres to obtain employment.
May 2006
A joint and open letter to the government conveying concern at conditions within some Indigenous communities in Australia. While it is imperative that children be protected from harm, solutions to the alarming levels of abuse in Indigenous communities cannot be addressed by the legal system or the child protection system alone. In moving forward, ACOSS and its members encourage the Government to invest in addressing the causes, as well as the symptoms, of these problems in Indigenous communities.
