Annual Report 2003-04 I volume 1
Outcome 2 I Communities are strong
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- Financial and staffing resources summary
- Operating environment statement
- Social justice and equity impact
- Performance highlights and policy outlook
- Bali terrorist attacks—assistance for victims and family members of victims
- Bali terrorist attacks—ex gratia payments for the victims and family members of victims
- Centrelink Rural Call Centres—continuation of funding
- Personal counselling services in drought-affected rural areas— funding extension
- Stronger Families and Communities Strategy
- Support for Indigenous people—continue funding for Centre for Aboriginal Economic and Policy Research
- Support for Indigenous people-expansion of Centrelink’s Agent and Access Point Network
Outcome 2 I Communities are strongServices and assistance that: encourage communities to be self-reliant and to connect with their members; and promote partnerships between business, communities and governments. DescriptionOutcome 2 reflects the Government’s commitment to support and to strengthen communities. Building on the capabilities of communities, FaCS will: strengthen opportunities for disadvantaged or ‘at risk’ individuals, families and communities to participate encourage the development of community capacity for self-help help to reduce the pressures on and within communities support those affected by crises or disaster provide housing assistance that links with broader community support to encourage participation facilitate partnerships between business, community groups and governments. Figure 10 Outputs contributing to Outcome 2 Financial and staffing resources summaryTable 20: Outcome 2—Communities are strong
a Final estimates have been used for special appropriations while additional estimates have been used for annual appropriations. b Budget prior to additional estimates. c FaCS includes the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. d Non-appropriated expenses are expenses from sources other than annual or special appropriation (non-appropriated revenue). For example, monies paid into the Child Support Trust Fund by non-custodial parents are non-appropriated revenue, while disbursements of those monies to custodial parents and allowances for bad debts are a non-appropriated expense. In Outcome 2, these include the National Housing Research Trust Fund. Key strategiesThe key strategies for strengthening communities are: administering programs that address the barriers to economic and social participation, particularly for disadvantaged groups, including youth, Indigenous peoples and those at risk of homelessness building the capacity for self-reliance of at-risk individuals, families and communities promoting increased positive engagement between business, community and government providing funding for social housing and supported accommodation assistance developing the knowledge base on homelessness to encourage new and innovative responses, with an emphasis on early intervention and prevention wherever possible providing financial assistance to individuals and families in the private rental market. Key activities that underpin the strategies are: building partnerships with governments, communities and business developing effective partnerships with local Indigenous communities and other stakeholders to improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians, particularly in rural and remote areas providing a range of community support services, including emergency relief, disaster relief, drought counselling, and support for volunteering facilitating a national response to problem gambling providing assistance to people affected by homelessness or needing other crisis support, through the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) and other mechanisms providing housing funding to state and territory governments through the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement (CSHA) providing Rent Assistance providing housing assistance to Indigenous people, particularly those living in rural and remote areas providing income support to help support young people who are seeking work or undertaking education and training conducting or commissioning relevant research to inform policy advice to government. Operating environment statementHousing is a basic need for individuals and families that must be met before any broader individual or community needs can be addressed. The overall level of home ownership in Australia has changed very little since 1994. In 2000-01, 70 per cent of Australian households were living in their own home, 38 per cent owned their home outright, 21 per cent were renting privately and almost 5 per cent were in public housing (Australian Bureau of Statistics Year Book Australia 2004). Despite rising incomes and low interest rates, housing affordability has fallen to its lowest in the last 10 years, primarily due to increasing house prices (Commonwealth Bank-Housing Industry Association Housing Affordability Index). Homelessness continues to present a challenge to Australian communities. It is affected by a multitude of factors. The ABS report Counting the Homeless, 2001 estimated the number of homeless people in Australia on Census night in 2001 was 99 900. The previous estimate on Census night in 1996 was 105 300. This represents a decline in the national rate of homelessness per 10 000 of population from 59 in 1996 to 53 in 2001. The report used Census 2001 data complemented by data from surveys of youth homelessness and users of SAAP support services. Working with families and communities to maintain connections and support is an emerging focus to improve community capacity and address locational disadvantage. Partnerships between communities, businesses, and non-government organisations continue to be effective in developing local solutions and building community capacity. There appears to be a cultural change under way in the corporate sector, with more companies actively engaging with local community groups, and increasingly seeing this as part of their core business. This is a potentially fundamental shift from viewing corporate social responsibility as an externally imposed obligation. Volunteering is considered to be an indicator of community strength. Unlike many Western countries, Australia is maintaining a high level of volunteering. The ABS estimates that there are over 4.4 million volunteers, who contribute 700 million hours of time to the community every year, including at times of disaster. Volunteering contributions are worth around $42 billion per year. Outcome 2 programs also address the needs of Indigenous Australians and, while the non-Indigenous population in Australia is trending towards lower birth rates and is ageing, the demographic profile of the Indigenous population is significantly different. According to the 2001 Census, the Indigenous population is estimated at 2.4 per cent of the total population of Australia. About 30 per cent of Australia’s Indigenous population lives in the major cities compared with 67 per cent of the nonindigenous population. Approximately 18 per cent of the Indigenous population lives in very remote areas compared with 0.7 per cent of non-Indigenous Australians. The age structure of the population is much younger for Indigenous people, with 39 per cent being 14 years or younger (compared with 20 per cent of the non-Indigenous population); only 0.9 per cent of the Indigenous population is aged over 75 years (compared with 5.6 per cent of the non-Indigenous population). The relatively low proportion of Indigenous persons in paid employment is a major factor contributing to the status of the Indigenous population as one of the most disadvantaged groups in the community. In the 2001 Census, the unemployment rate for Indigenous persons aged 15-64 years was nearly three times as high as the rate for non-Indigenous people. Overall, Indigenous persons aged 15-64 years had a labour force participation rate of 62 per cent for males and 46 per cent for females (compared with 81 per cent and 66 per cent for non-Indigenous males and females respectively). The development of shared responsibility agreements and establishing Indigenous Coordination Centres in rural and remote Australia is a reflection of the improvement in a whole-of-government approach to address issues in Indigenous communities. Social justice and equity impactOutcome 2 policies and programs are designed to support and strengthen communities. Service providers are funded to provide appropriate services to meet the needs of those living in rural and remote locations, Indigenous communities, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, women and people with disabilities. Performance highlights and policy outlookKey achievements included:successful negotiation of the 2003 CSHA bilateral agreements with all states and territories, including performance frameworks outlining targets, strategies and outcomes to be achieved over the five-year agreement. In 2003-04 the CSHA provided grants totalling almost $930 million to states and territories for the provision of public, community and Indigenous housing as well as crisis accommodation programs. reducing and preventing homelessness through SAAP and the National Homelessness Strategy assessing and improving housing-related health issues in 12 additional remote Indigenous communities across Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales through the Fixing Houses for Better Health (FHBH) projects conducting a series of regional workshops across Australia for architects, designers, engineers, environmental health officers and Indigenous housing managers to apply the standards of the National Indigenous Housing Guide (2nd edition) in the design, construction and maintenance of Indigenous housing through the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy, funding a range of projects at the community level, including parenting and relationship education, community leadership training, assistance for families with young children, support for Indigenous families and communities, and the development of volunteering ongoing support for the families and survivors of the Bali tragedy. This has included the provision of lifetime rehabilitation assistance for those injured, assistance with living and travel costs to attend the first anniversary commemorations in Bali and Canberra, emergency financial assistance and continuing personal support from Centrelink family liaison officers. In addition, FaCS continues to provide information to survivors and families through the Baliassist web site and Bali Update newsletter. awarding Volunteer Small Equipment Grants to 3487 community organisations for the purchase of small equipment items to make the work of volunteers easier, safer and/or more enjoyable launching the Community Business Partnerships National Brokerage Service, which provides advice and information about partnerships to small- and medium-sized businesses and community groups, and assists them in identifying potential partners development of the National Framework for Problem Gambling Indigenous Financial Management in Indigenous communities in Cape York. Projects are helping to increase the purchasing power of families by assisting them in managing their incomes. Indigenous families are building their financial literacy, stabilising family functioning and improving their living standards. implementation, management and completion, on behalf of the SAAP National Coordination and Development Committee, of the SAAP IV national evaluation. The outcomes and findings of this evaluation will contribute to the Australian Government’s future policy and programmatic responses to homelessness.
Work is required to:further improve health-related outcomes from housing services to Indigenous communities by building on and learning from FHBH projects of previous years continue giving communities the opportunity to undertake a range of capacity-building projects, with particular emphasis on better outcomes for children and their families. The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy will move to a greater focus on early childhood with strong links to the National Agenda for Early Childhood. implement and monitor individual performance reports, as agreed under the bilateral performance frameworks, by states and territories regarding their delivery of housing assistance, including outcomes achieved in the key areas of reducing barriers to workforce participation and attracting investment from outside the social housing system refine volunteer programs to develop a more integrated approach to supporting volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations negotiate new arrangements for SAAP following the expiration of the current agreements with states and territories on 30 June 2005 examine options as to how best to use the total pool of Indigenous housing funds provided by the Australian Government to address Indigenous housing priorities expand the Indigenous Financial Management projects to additional sites, including one at Wadeye, Northern Territory, following the success of the project in Cape York work with other areas of FaCS and across agencies with a focus on three key priority areas identified by the Indigenous Affairs Ministerial Taskforce: early childhood intervention and improving primary health and early education outcomes, to head off longer-term problems safer communities reducing dependency on passive welfare and boosting employment economic development in Indigenous communities.
Policy outlookThe policy outlook for Outcome 2 reflects the Government’s commitment to building community capacity for self-reliance, encouraging development of local solutions to local problems and, through capacity building, creating opportunities for economic and social participation within local communities. Outcome 2 future directions will continue to address the barriers to participation, particularly for disadvantaged groups, including Indigenous, those at risk of homelessness and people living in rural and remote localities. There will be particular emphasis on delivering Indigenous outcomes through the new service delivery network (Indigenous Coordination Centres in rural and remote areas, and Urban Coordination Centres in metropolitan areas), including stronger connections among program areas. Budget measuresThis section reports on the achievements and challenges in implementing Budget measures for which expenses began accruing in 2003-04 and as tabled in the relevant Portfolio Budget Statement or Portfolio Additional Estimates Statement. They are listed by published title and in alphabetical order except where interlinked measures are grouped for ease of reading. Bali terrorist attacks—assistance for victims and family members of victimsThe Government provided additional funding of $14.8 million over four years to assist Bali victims and their families. This assistance includes the holding of commemorations in Bali and Canberra, including providing assistance with travel and accommodation costs; the extension of access to personal support workers; the provision of emergency financial assistance; and lifetime rehabilitation assistance to those injured in the tragedy. In 2003-04, 211 customers received personal support from Centrelink. In addition to this the following table shows support provided in 2003-04 through new and existing measures. Table 21: Total assistance to victims and families affected by the Bali tragedy, 2003-04
a. The same customer may have been assisted under more than one guideline or on more than one occasion. b. Aftermath assistance included assistance with funerals, travel and accommodation costs for family members searching for, or being reunited with, victims. c. The expenditure relates to assistance provided to Bali customers over and above the ‘normal’ assistance available to Australians learning to live (and possibly work) with disabilities. d. Of these 20 customers, six also received modifications assistance. Bali terrorist attacks—ex gratia payments for the victims and family members of victimsThe Government provided $1 million in financial years 2002-03 and 2003-04 to assist with travel and accommodation costs for certain people affected by the Bali bombings who decided to attend the trials in Bali of those accused of the bombings. This support was extended where a personal support worker was required. This measure extends the assistance provided in 2002-03. Centrelink Rural Call Centres—continuation of fundingFunding for two dedicated Centrelink rural call centres (RCCs) was extended for four more years from 2003-04 to 2006-07. Centres are located in regional Australia at Maryborough (Queensland) and Port Augusta (South Australia) and provide priority access to isolated rural customers. Rural call centres continue to achieve very high standards of customer satisfaction, averaging around 88 per cent overall satisfaction (‘good’ or ‘very good’ responses) with the quality of services and information provided throughout the financial year. Since the program’s inception, the role of and demand on the rural call centres has expanded well beyond the initial forecasts. In 2003-04 the centres were critical to the effective delivery of the Sugar Industry Reform Program, Drought Assistance Package and the Farm Help Program.
A combination of face-to-face and telephone counselling provided wide coverage and choice of services to people in drought-affected communities. Service providers were active in promoting the availability of counselling services and this led to an increased number of clients seeking these services. Stronger Families and Communities StrategyA total of $15 million was provided for 2003-04 to continue funding community-based projects to strengthen the resilience of families and support better parenting skills. The funding has helped families and communities to build strength and resilience so they can identify and resolve local issues, manage the impact of social and economic change and explore opportunities for development. Support for Indigenous people—continue funding for Centre for Aboriginal Economic and Policy ResearchA collaborative agreement for the continued provision of social policy research into issues relevant to Indigenous policy in the Department of Family and Community Services portfolio has been signed with the Australian National University, represented by the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR). The agreement covers the period from January 2004 to June 2007. A research agenda has been developed for the calendar year 2004, with two research projects identified for implementation. Both projects have commenced and reports are due for completion in the second half of 2004. These projects have been generated through work under the Council of Australian Governments’ Indigenous Community Coordination Pilot (ICCP) operating at Wadeye in the Thamarrurr region of the Northern Territory. The first project will focus on enabling local personnel to understand, maintain and update a recently developed database for governance purposes such as planning, policy development, monitoring and evaluation. The second project is a study of the opportunity costs for the local community involved in maintaining the ‘status quo’—that is, the economic costs for disadvantaged communities of issues such as low employment and occupational status, low-income status, poor education, high crime and custody rates—and of the costs needed for remedial action. In addition to generating useful data for ICCP members on program expenditure flows, it seeks to shift the view of government spending from one of sunken expenditures to one of investments with future social and economic return. Support for Indigenous people-expansion of Centrelink’s Agent and Access Point NetworkCentrelink advises that the agency has continued its commitment throughout the year to improving access in, and delivering quality of services to, rural, regional and remote Australia with the extension of the Centrelink network of agents and access points across the country. Host organisations such as community groups and local councils are contracted to deliver services and programs on Centrelink’s behalf. The current network exceeds 340 Centrelink agents and over 160 Centrelink access points, extending Centrelink’s service delivery to more than 1000 sites across Australia. EvaluationAn independent review of the Voluntary Work Initiative and its sister program, the Volunteer Management Program, was finalised in August 2003. Overall, the review concluded that these programs continue to provide valuable support to the volunteering sector in Australia and are making a significant contribution to the Australians Working Together initiative. The review also identified opportunities to better exploit links between the programs, and to develop a more integrated approach to support volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations. Evaluation and action research for the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy has met the required standards. Project-level evaluation and action research has been undertaken by many projects. A comprehensive national evaluation is being undertaken by an evaluation team led by the RMIT University. Progressive reporting has informed the development of the new Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. The final evaluation report is due in 2005. Directory: sites -> default -> files -> documents documents -> North Mankato Taylor Library documents -> In the Red and Brown Water documents -> - documents -> Cbp and Trade Automated Interface Requirements Appendix: pga december 22, 2015 documents -> Ace abi catair customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements documents -> Ace abi catair customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements documents -> Mobile audio/video recording systems documents -> The south australian government gazette documents -> All public acts appearing in this gazette are to be considered official, and obeyed as such documents -> Union interparlementaire inter-parliamentary union Download 1.62 Mb. Share with your friends:
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