Anglicare released a special update to its Rental Affordability Snapshot, detailing almost 77,000 rental listings across Australia, and found that affordability has deteriorated since March – and that JobSeeker is the only thing keeping many renters afloat. Read the update here.

50,000+ people have accessed a five module online pandemic training course for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and health practitioners to help protect remote Australian communities from coronavirus outbreaks. Learn more here.

TRIGGER WARNING (suicide): This World Suicide Prevention Day (10 Sept), Lifeline will call on Australians to help send a clear signal to those who are struggling, by asking people to participate in their virtual Out of the Shadows event. Click here for more information.

Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) and Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA) welcome changes to the Adult Migrant English Program, including the introduction of measures to enhance social cohesion through the extension of the English language teaching program for migrants. Read more here and here.

Good Things Foundation published a report on 'Reinventing digital literacy support in a crisis', which includes information on the impact of COVID-19 on community-based digital inclusion programs. Read the report here.

Digital Springboard is a community-based learning program by Infoxchange, which works to address identified digital skill gaps to ensure no one is left behind in today’s digital world. Learn more here.

A coalition of national housing and homelessness peak bodies have released their pre-Budget Submissions to the Federal Government with one united call - invest in social housing as economic stimulus. The Social Housing Acceleration and Renovation Program (SHARP) underpins all three budget submissions from Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA), National Shelter, and Homelessness Australia. The Social Housing Acceleration and Renovation Program (SHARP) involves: 

1. Wave 1 - social housing maintenance and upgrading;
2. Wave 2 - acquisition of sites and properties requiring renovation / completion which are suitable for social housing;
3. Wave 3 - shovel ready development projects;
4. Wave 4 - longer term new development projects.

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone and circumstances have made it even more important for us all to stay connected and, for those who are able, be willing to support those around them. In the lead-up to R U OK? Day, it helps to know what to say when someone says they’re not OK.

You don’t have to be an expert to keep the conversation going when someone says they’re not OK. By knowing what to say you can help someone feel supported and access appropriate help long before they’re in crisis, which can make a really positive difference to their life.

Learn what to say after R U OK? and download free resources for tips and ideas to help you share the message in your community.

With the stress COVID-19 has placed on everyone's lives, it’s now more important than ever to look after your overall health and wellbeing. This September, Women’s Health Week will be a great reminder to take time out to check in on your health and to keep making positive changes that can last a lifetime. Women's Health Week is a nation-wide campaign of events and online activities – all centred on improving women's health and helping to make healthier choices.

Women, communities and workplaces are encouraged to get involved by hosting an event, sharing the health information and encouraging women from all corners of Australia to put good health first.

Young females in their late teens are more likely than other Australians to be victims of sexual assault, and young males of the same age group are most likely to be recorded as perpetrators, according to police-recorded data in a new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The report, Sexual assault in Australia, brings together data from a variety of sources and includes new analysis to paint a picture of what is known about sexual violence in Australia. It builds on the AIHW’s previous work exploring the impact of family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia. In 2018, police recorded around 18,300 sexual assaults against victims who were aged 15 and over when the assault was reported to police. This is around 90 reported sexual assaults per 100,000 Australians aged 15 and over. 

• Children's Ground is hosting a discussion about work that makes a difference, bringing together pioneers in the not-for-profit space to discuss their experiences working to dismantle racism and bring about systemic change. Panelists will explore how they keep focused on the vision for justice and strategies or effective social change in everyday life - 8PM AEST, 9 September - Click here for more information

• TRIGGER WARNING (suicide): To coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day #WSPD2020 activities globally, Dameyon, an Indigenous gay male and recognised as Indigenous suicide prevention subject matter expert, specifically in Indigenous LGBQTI+ suicide, will be presenting an introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous Australian) LGBQTI+SB suicide prevention - 11:30AM AEST, 11 September - Click here to register and for more information

• Consumers Health Forum Australia (CHF) will host a webinar on on primary health care and significant trends for change in Australia - 1PM AEST, 23 September -  Click here to register and for more information

• Join Inclusive Australia's next Emerging Issues Forum which will explore how our systems have broken down during the pandemic, preventing certain groups from receiving vital products and services. Panelists include representatives from COTA and The Smith Family - 12PM AEST, 23 September - Click here for more information

• Rainbow Families has released new resources tailored to children living in Rainbow Families to understand safety, develop protective behaviours and navigate complex issues, such as anti-LGBTQ+ behaviour, risk taking and early warning signs
  
  
• Working effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is important in maximising the effectiveness of health care interaction between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and health professionals. BioMed Central (BMC) Health Services Research has published a framework to guide health professional practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, see here

• The Department of Health has developed a presentation which includes an introduction to modelling, how COVID-19 could spread in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and what individuals and communities can do to try and stop the spread of COVID-19. See here for presentation overview.

• This week is National Child Protection Week which aims to support and encourage changes in individual and community behaviour to stop child abuse and neglect before it starts. Click here for a list of resources and information to help support and get involved.

You cannot live on just $40 a day – the underlying rate of the JobSeeker payment, which the coronavirus supplement effectively doubled - Conny Lenneberg, executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence

Community organisations are getting anxious ahead of next month's federal budget amid warnings that there could be 12-thousand jobs lost across the sector if the federal government doesn't renew a funding pool set up eight years ago by the Gillard Government to close the gender pay gap. Conversation featuring Natalie Lang, Australian Services Union.

For some of the city's rough sleepers, breaching curfew is unavoidable.Many don't have a place to go after 8:00pm. But funding to stay in a hotel has changed that, for some.

"We would be aware that obviously people can't meet the curfew if they haven't got a home," said Jenny Smith, CEO of Council to Homeless Persons.

Last week our Executive Officer Roxanne Moore was on @thewireradio discussing police accountability and the devastating news that no police officer will face charges for Aunty Tanya Day's death. https://t.co/7wiJYY4GsJ

— NATSILS (@NATSILS_) September 8, 2020