Australian Council of Social Service

1. Australian Council of Social Service

2. Who is ACOSS The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) is the peak council of the community services and welfare sector and the national voice for the needs of people affected by poverty and inequality A fair and inclusive Australia where all individuals and communities have the resources they need to participate in and benefit from social and economic life

3. What does the community sector do? nursing homes child care housing services legal services emergency relief health family services counseling aged care disability services residential care services non-residential care services employment placement services interest groups involved in community service advocacy

4. What else does the community sector do? The community sector is more than a provider of services. Promotes heightened sense of community and social responsibility which goes far beyond the provision of services. Educates the general public, to aid communication between different parts of society Builds empathy for disadvantaged groups and to provide a voice to marginalised people Shapes priorities for governments, highlighting areas of need and providing on-the-ground experience of policy in action.

5. Size of the Sector . $ 11.2 Billion – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare The ABS has estimated that as at the end of June 2000 there were 9,287 employing businesses and organisations involved in the provision of community services. The 9,287 businesses and organisations comprised 2,800 ‘for profit’ organisations, 5,938 ‘not for profit’ organisations and 548 government organisations

6. Sector . The community services workforce increased by 22.6% from 1999-2004, double that of the average of all occupations (10.5%). Employment growth was particularly high in child care (42%). Community services now employs 23% of all women workers aged 50-59 years old, compared to 18% in 1984; conversely the main employer of men 50-59 years old was manufacturing and this employment declined from 21% in 1984 to 15% in 2004.

7. Who do we serve ? • Housing – over 100,000 people are homeless • Almost one million low income people receiving Rent Assistance from the Government spend more than 30% of their income on rent • People who have not completed high school have an unemployment rate of 11.3% compared with 3% of people with a bachelor degree. • In 2004, 97.5per cent of the 236,000 new jobs created went to people with skills and a university degree, a TAFE diploma or equivalent work experience. • Life expectancy of an Indigenous child is 17 years less than for a non-Indigenous child in Australia today

8. In what environment do we serve? • Rising individualism • Greater Government contracting • Greater complexity of need • Intergenerational poverty • Poverty post codes • Fear

9. Key finding of Community Sector Survey 2007 • Demand for services • In 2005-6 respondent agencies provided services to 1,459,184 people, which is an increase of 4% on the number of people who received a service in 2004-5. • In 2005-6 respondent agencies turned away 93,961 people who were eligible for the service. • Of the people turned away in 2005-6 it is estimated that: • 28% were not eligible for the service or needed a different service • 44% were eligible for the service and the service provided the person with only basic information and assistance • 28% were eligible for the service but were turned away from the service without assistance.

10. Key finding of Community Sector Survey 2007 Percentage of service Percentage of Population Group users general community People with a disability 39% 20% Indigenous 14% 2.4% Jobless 59% 20% Culturally and linguistically diverse 22% 17% Women 63% 50% People under 18 years of age 21% 24% 18 - 44 years 41% 39% 45 - 64 years 22% 24% 65+ years 16% 13% 1 Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia ABS, , Cat. No. 4430.0, 2003, p.3 2 Facts about Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Australia the Country: Australia , http://www.immi.gov.au/settle/states/aust_the_cntry.htm 3 Measuring Long Term Unemployment in Australia ACOSS, , ACOSS Info Paper 379, December 2005, p.15 4 Australia the Country: Facts about Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Australia , http://www.immi.gov.au/settle/states/aust_the_cntry.htm 5 Measures of Australia’s Progress This statistic and the age statistics that follow are taken or derived from: ABS, , ABS Cat. No. 1370.0, 2004.

11. Key finding of Community Sector Survey 2007

12. Community Sector Survey Percentage of service Percentage of Population Group users general community People with a disability 39% 20% Indigenous 14% 2.4% Jobless 59% 20% Culturally and linguistically diverse 22% 17% Women 63% 50% People under 18 years of age 21% 24% 18 - 44 years 41% 39% 45 - 64 years 22% 24% 65+ years 16% 13% 1 Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia ABS, , Cat. No. 4430.0, 2003, p.3 2 Facts about Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Australia the Country: Australia , http://www.immi.gov.au/settle/states/aust_the_cntry.htm 3 Measuring Long Term Unemployment in Australia ACOSS, , ACOSS Info Paper 379, December 2005, p.15 4 Australia the Country: Facts about Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Australia , http://www.immi.gov.au/settle/states/aust_the_cntry.htm 5 Measures of Australia’s Progress This statistic and the age statistics that follow are taken or derived from: ABS, , ABS Cat. No. 1370.0, 2004.

13. Key finding of Community Sector Survey 2007 Figure 1.3: Referrals into agency: proportion agree/disagree with statement: ‘other agencies referred fewer clients to our organisation this year’

14. Key finding of Community Sector Survey 2007 • Targeting services: proportion agree/disagree with statement: ‘this organisation is targeting our services more tightly than in the past’

15. Key finding of Community Sector Survey 2007 • Waiting List - Our waiting list was shorter this year than it was last year’

16. Key finding of Community Sector Survey 2007 Complex Needs - Complexity of client need: proportion agree/disagree with statement: ‘our clients have more complex needs than last year’

17. What Services are needed 2007 ?

18. Work force • As identified by the Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council: ‘Some of the more intractable current social problems (for example youth and aged unemployment, child abuse, alcoholism and mental health problems such as dementia) are all largely managed by the community services workforce.’[i] The community services workforce increased by 22.6% from 1999-2004, double that of the average of all occupations (10.5%). Employment growth was particularly high in child care (42%). Community services now employs 23% of all women workers aged 50-59 years old, compared to 18% in 1984; conversely the main employer of men 50-59 years old was manufacturing and this employment declined from 21% in 1984 to 15% in 2004.

19. Workforce Issues Difference Employee category Hired (FTE) Left (FTE) (FTE) Management 274 232 42 Service worker 1,731 1,428 303 Clerical/administration 295 263 32 Total 2,300 1,923 377 Staff hired and left 2005-6

20. Workforce Issues While 64% of managers from alcohol and drug services had difficulty filling staff vacancies, 78% of managers in non-metropolitan areas reported this as a concern

21. Workforce ?

22. Unpaid Work Use of unpaid work: proportion agree/disagree with statement: ‘compared to last year unfunded work by staff and volunteers has increased’

23. Workforce Issues 2007 Training Need Rank Score Working with clients who have difficult and complex needs 1 100.0 Program planning and evaluation 2 64.8 Management/Governance 3 58.1 Case Management 4 54.1 Community development 5 46.5 Information Technology 6 46.1 Cross cultural communication 7 35.2 Legal and financial systems 8 28.3 Human resources 9 26.7 Research and policy development 10 24.5 Facilitation and negotiation 11 22.9 Lobbying 12 22.3 Working with the media 13 16.3 Training needs by category

24. What Services are needed 2007 ? Workforce by category

25. Conditions • Examining overall rates of pay in community services compared to other industries and fields, illustrates community service workers are paid less than average wages. • In 2004 the average weekly wage for a full time worker was $916 per week (full-time non-managerial employees). In each of the community services occupations, wages were lower than this average - the highest • average total weekly earnings in community services were paid to social workers ($909.89) and counsellors ($905.95) and the lowest to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers ($547.76) and child care workers ($570.09). • By contrast, workers in property and business services, earned $1,000–$1,500

26. The environment A growing casualisation of the workforce also exists particularly in relation to low paid work and care work in many States and Territories. This is a particular concern for new and young recruits to community services – the Australian Services Union Members Survey 2007 indicates while overall 88% rate ‘increasing outsourcing and casualisation’ as an important issue to them personally, 99% of workers under 35 years old and 92% of workers aged 35-44 rate the issue as a personal concern. The administrative, program and reporting requirements of government funding contracts add to the workload of community service workers Further complexity, particularly for managers, human resource personnel and accountants of community services organisations, is created by Australia’s definition and regulation of charity status More insecurity

27. Income Total operating Total income Deficit/Surplus Year expenses ($ millions) ($ millions) ($ millions) 2005/6 859 819 - 40 2004/5 850 760 - 90 Difference 9 59 50

28. What sources of income - national

29. Funding Sources NSW

30. COAG • In 2006, COAG announced its Human Capital Agenda in response to reports of ‘skills shortages’. The Human Capital Agenda encompasses goals of improving workforce participation and productivity while increasing flexible work arrangements in the interests of individual, family and community. It may raise expectations concerning care, employment, education, health, • early childhood and child care services in particular and the workforce in each of these services will be critical to achieving its aims. • Other recent COAG agendas that will affect community services include its recent focus (including funding) for mental health services, its summit on violence and child abuse in Indigenous communities and its focus on early childhood education as a priority area. • COAG also adopted a strategy to strengthen the health workforce with a focus on increasing supply through more spending on education and provision of tertiary education places.

31. Future of the Sector Day A recent ACOSS consultation over the future of the community services sector provides a useful summary of some of the workforce needs the sector itself could address: provide better access to professional services especially legal and accounting services establish workplace policies that encourage a diverse workforce that can meet the needs of a diverse community work with unions to achieve pay equity with the public service advocate for policies to eliminate barriers to workforce participation for people with disabilities establish workplace policies that encourage the employment of clients

32. Challenges ? • Values • Ensure Diversity • Accountability • Government contracting • Infrastructure • Efficient and Effective • Sustainability • Policy debate • Research • Partnerships

33. Values – why you should care ? • Better at defining uniqueness • Local accountability • International movement is small is beautiful? • The “non” debate • Community interaction

34. Accountability • Multiple stakeholders - to whom are we accountable? • Members • Owners • Donors • Government • Staff • Communities • Clients • As Government increasingly contracts community services there is increasing accountability mechanisms • Outcomes for services??

35. Capacity Building ? • Staffing issues – who is going to looking after you in old age? • Capital Costs • Reserves • Service transaction • Maintaining diversity