3 June is Mabo Day. Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo was a Torres Strait Islander who believed Australian laws on land ownership were wrong and fought to change them. In 1982 a legal land ownership case was lodged with the High Court of Australia by a group of Meriam from the Eastern Torres Strait Islands, led by Eddie Mabo. The Mabo decision was a legal case that ran for 10 years, and on 3 June 1992, the High Court decided that ‘terra nullius’ should not have been applied to Australia. Learn more here.

The report, Vital support: Building resilient charities to support Australia's wellbeing, finds that despite Australia’s promising economic recovery from the pandemic, many charities remain in vulnerable financial positions and require urgent funding from the Australian Government to continue supporting thousands of Australians in need. Find out more and download the report here.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women from across Australia can now apply to participate in a week-long summit in Canberra to build their political engagement skills to make positive changes in their communities. Click here to apply and learn more.

Australia’s peak multicultural organisation – the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia – is inviting local community partners to become aged care “connectors” to assist multicultural communities in navigating and accessing aged care services and providers. Click here to learn more.

SBS and NITV have announced the launch of Curious Australia, a new, nationwide initiative
seeking submissions for standalone, half-hour documentaries reflecting the diversity of people and experiences of contemporary Australia. Click here to learn more.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is the recipient of the 2021 Sydney Peace Prize.

Professor Megan Davis, Pat Anderson AO and Noel Pearson were jointly recognised as the leaders and drivers of the Uluru Statement. From over 200 nominations from the community, the Sydney Peace Prize Jury chose the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a stand-out winner ‘for bringing together Australia’s First Nations Peoples around a clear and comprehensive agenda for healing and peace within our nation’.

This is a tribute to the members of the Regional Dialogues who crafted a roadmap to peace for the nation. It is recognition for those that came from all points of the southern sky to Uluru in 2017 to call for change.

New research from the Australian National University has SVA and Brotherhood of St Laurence calling on the government to raise income support rates given the current levels predict dire outcomes for children and families relying on social security payments. 

The research primarily focused on the impacts of the coronavirus supplement on child poverty and modelled what level of income support would be needed to reduce poverty and financial stress significantly. Results are published in the report Financial Stress and Social Security Settings in Australia.

Based on the modelling, SVA and BSL have also presented recommendations to government aiming to reduce child poverty in Australia.

Following community pressure, over 100 men walked free from detention earlier this year. But the Government - after 8 years - still has no plan at all for the resettlement of over 1400 people who were caught up in the brutal offshore detention regime.  Hundreds of people are still being held against their will on PNG or Nauru, or locked up in detention facilities in Australia. The rest remain in limbo, without a pathway for a place to rebuild their lives. 

On 15 June Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) are calling on the sector to gather on the lawns of Parliament House - sending a powerful message to the government and all our elected representatives that it’s #TimeForAHome.

How you can help now:

• Join on the lawn in Canberra: 15 June
  Spread the word: social media tiles to promote the event and share with your networks can be accessed here

With increasing numbers of Australians being vaccinated against COVID-19, and international borders still closed, life in Australia is transitioning to a new normal. Yet many students and families supported by The Smith Family continue to struggle.

As a national children’s education charity supporting almost 58,000 students in need through the education support program Learning for Life, and with extensive networks in more than 740 Australian schools, The Smith Family has a unique insight into what’s happening in some of our nation’s most disadvantaged communities.

The Smith Family's Emerging from COVID-19: Insights Snapshot highlights significant ongoing challenges affecting families, which are impacting on some children’s experiences at school. These include employment and economic instability, the housing crisis, some students struggling to reengage in their learning and the continuing negative effects of the digital divide.

• Higher education is at a crucial moment in history. The sector has been in the grip of change since the beginning of the 21st century, which is now in sharp relief due to the accelerating forces of COVID-19. Can universities deliver benefit to communities beyond the accreditation of future professionals? Is it possible to meet our goals of providing rigorous education and research, strengthening democray, and offering an analytical gaze on society? Join this discussion on the social and public purpose of higher education in the 21st century - 9 June 2021  - Click here for more information and to register

• As the NT Intervention - an "Emergency Response" - enters its 15th and hopefully last year it is time to look back at its legacy, which lessons can be learnt and most importantly where to in the future. Now is the time for in-depth discussion from a range of eminent speakers whose contribution will be profound. It will help raise awareness, so that future decisions made regarding First Nations Peoples in the Northern Territory will have the full free, prior and informed consent of the people affected and are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - 20 June 2021 - Click here to learn more and to register

• Digital Access invites you to come along and learn some tips and tricks for making your social media content accessible. The webinar provides information on accessibility and inclusion for anyone who posts on social media, including social media managers and content creators. When posting on social media, there are many things to consider; what does my audience want to see? Does it align with our style guides? Have I checked my spelling, punctuation and research? But, importantly; you should also ask yourself if your content is accessible to all audiences - 1 July 2021 - Click here to register and learn more

• Community Colleges Australia (CCA) has launched a new eight-part governance and executive leadership audio podcast series. Prepared specifically for senior executives and boards directors of not-for-profit Australian adult and community education (ACE) organisations, the series aims at improving organisational governance and deal with some of the most common – and pressing – leadership problems. Click here to listen and learn more.

• Us Mob and HIV (4th edition) is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It contains information that deals with both men’s and women’s business. It was produced by the Australian Federation of AIDS
  Organisations (AFAO) in partnership with the Anwernekenhe National HIV Alliance (ANA). Click here to read this edition and learn more.

• When you’re new to being a carer, it can be tricky to know where you can find information to help you in your caring role. Carers Australia has created this video to help you learn more about the financial supports you may be entitled to through the Australian Government.

• Momentary (a video production company that specialises in not-for-profit storytelling) is planning to produce a video that creates awareness about the experience of disadvantage in Australia. They are currently seeking Expressions of Interest from not-for-profit service providers to collaborate with them as part of this exciting advocacy campaign. If you would like to express interest and find out more, please email Michael Johnston on [email protected]

Early Childhood Australia chief executive Samantha Page said all children should be able to attend childcare at least two days a week - even if their parents are out of work or too poor to pay a gap fee.

“The past year has shown us that anyone can find themselves in crisis, and this has manifested in The Salvos seeing people we have never seen before coming to us for support,” said Major Brendan Nottle, from the Salvation Army.

The Disability Royal Commission will this week investigate cases of abuse and neglect in disability accommodation. Sam Connor, president, People With Disability Australia discusses.

A reminder today @karenandrewsmp under section 195A of Migration Act has the unfettered power to release family on permanent visa back to Biloela. The test is simply is it in “public interest” to do so. We cannot think in 20 years of a stronger example of it being so #hometobilo

— ASRC (@ASRC1) June 8, 2021