Annual Report 2003-04 I volume 1
Group 2.2 I Community support Contribution to Outcome 2
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Group 2.2 I Community supportContribution to Outcome 2Community support contributes to Outcome 2 by: developing community capacity and self-reliance providing concessions and allowances to assist with living costs helping people living in rural and regional areas to access opportunities for social and economic participation, and services that support their special needs helping to improve the wellbeing and living conditions of Indigenous people raising awareness and understanding of problem gambling. Strategiesimplement priorities identified to address the adverse impact of problem gambling, including support for a national research program encourage Australians to undertake volunteering activities by providing funding to volunteer-involving organisations and the volunteering sector implement a range of community initiatives through the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy encourage and promote a culture of corporate and individual social responsibility in Australia work with community, business and government to encourage more partnership between the sectors, including funding for a national service to broker local community business partnerships manage the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships provide a wide range of support measures to Australians recovering from crises and/or disasters help Australians find relevant and current community information and services through maintaining the ‘Community Portal’ web site. Outputs under Output Group 2.2Community Business PartnershipThe partnership aims to identify and address incentives and impediments to philanthropy and to the creation of community business partnerships, and to promote a culture of individual and corporate social responsibility. Compensation for extension of fringe benefits to pensioners and older long-term allowees and beneficiariesPayment is made to state and territory governments to compensate for additional people entitled to state and territory government concessions following the extension of the Pensioner Concession Card to all part-rate pensioners in 1993. Concession cardsCommonwealth concession cards, including Pensioner Concession Card (PCC), Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) and Health Care Card (HCC), are issued to eligible people to provide them with access to: certain prescriptions at a cheaper rate reduced thresholds for the Medicare Safety Net bulkbilled medical services (at the discretion of the doctor). Card holders may also be able to access a range of other concessions, such as those for health, household, transport, education and recreation services. The range of concessions available varies according to card type and differs from state to state. Disaster Relief PaymentIn circumstances where a major disaster is declared by the Minister for Family and Community Services, Disaster Relief Payment provides short-term financial assistance to eligible people affected by the disaster. Emergency ReliefEmergency Relief provides grants to community and charitable organisations to provide assistance to individuals and families in financial crisis. It also provides training support for paid and voluntary workers in the sector. Extension of core concessions to Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holdersOn completion of negotiations with state and territory governments, this payment will allow the extension of ‘core’ concessions to CSHC holders. Ex gratia payments to victims and family members of victims of the Bali terrorist attacksThe program has provided a range of assistance to those most affected by the Bali tragedy, including travel to the trials in Bali, first anniversary commemorations in Bali and Canberra, and continuing personal support by Centrelink family liaison officers. Family and Community Networks Initiative (FCNI)This program funds projects that strengthen vulnerable and disadvantaged families and communities by delivering local solutions to local problems. Since February 2003 FCNI has been primarily focused on supporting Indigenous communities participating in the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG’s) Indigenous Community Coordination Pilots (ICCP) around Australia. Indigenous housing and infrastructure—expand the supply of healthy housingFixing Houses for Better Health (FHBH) projects seek to improve Indigenous health by fixing critical health hardware and safety systems in Indigenous housing and skilling local people to maintain their own houses in the long term. The projects recruit and train local Indigenous people, contract trades and employ local office staff to immediately repair health and safety hardware in every house in a community. Workers are also trained to regularly maintain these systems, thereby reducing the reliance on contracted trades. In 2003-04, 12 projects were funded across Australia for a total of $3 million. Healthy housing researchThe second edition of the National Indigenous Housing Guide was published. This technical manual seeks to improve the design, construction and maintenance of Indigenous housing. FaCS, in partnership with the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, state Indigenous housing departments, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services and the army, presented a series of regional workshops for architects, designers, engineers, planners and housing managers exploring the usefulness of the guide. FaCS completed a project to design a prototype kitchen, which aims to improve nutrition by enabling Indigenous people to improve the safe storage and healthy preparation of food. The kitchen components are designed to withstand high rates of usage in harsh environments. The design will be marketed to housing designers and builders of Indigenous housing, health clinics, aged care facilities, child care centres and staff housing in remote areas. National Research on GamblingAn agreement between the Australian Government and all states and territories provides funds for a national gambling research program. This will enable governments to better address the negative social and economic impacts of gambling on individuals, families and communities. National Reciprocal Transport Concessions for State Seniors Card holdersOn completion of negotiations with state and territory governments, the concessions program will assist those governments to fund concessional travel on public transport for holders of State Seniors Cards when they travel interstate. Reimbursement to Great Southern Rail for concessional faresAn agreement with Great Southern Railway provides funding for it to deliver rail travel concessions to pensioners, eligible veterans and CSHC holders on Great Southern Railway lines (the Ghan, the Overland and the Indian Pacific). Stronger Families and Communities Strategy: Communities InitiativesThe program helps 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. Funding for the Volunteer Small Equipment Grants was included under this initiative. These grants provide up to $5000 to help community organisations purchase equipment to make volunteering activities easier, safer and more enjoyable. Volunteer Management ProgramThe program provides funding for Volunteer Resource Centres to support volunteer matching, referral and training activities, as well as assistance and training to organisations that use volunteers. Performance summaryKey achievements included:through community-based projects, successfully helping improve the overall wellbeing of individuals, families and communities by strengthening local leadership, developing skills and knowledge, supporting volunteers, and supporting early childhood development, parenting and the needs of young children launching the Community Business Partnership National Brokerage Service, which provides advice and information about partnerships to small- and medium-sized businesses and community groups, and assists them to identify potential partners conducting, through the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership, the first Corporate Social Responsibility essay competition for secondary school students, attracting 292 entries receiving a record number of nominations for the 2003 Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships recommendations for taxation reforms to encourage philanthropy (for instance, to allow individuals, under certain circumstances, to receive a tax deduction for contributions made at one-off fund raising events) completing a memorandum of understanding regarding funding for the National Gambling Research Agenda signed by all jurisdictions in October 2003, to include establishment of a secretariat to oversee implementation of agreed research projects partnership with state and territory governments to develop the National Framework on Problem Gambling delivery of two rounds of Volunteer Small Equipment Grants to 3487 community organisations, worth over $7 million in total completion of a needs analysis for volunteering programs to identify areas of high need providing a waiver of Centrepay fees to organisations offering no-interest loans under the National No-Interest Loan Scheme conducting Fixing Houses for Better Health (FHBH) projects in 12 remote Indigenous communities across Australia: Western Australia (4), New South Wales (1), South Australia (5) and the Northern Territory (2) conducting a series of regional workshops across Australia for architects, designers, engineers, environmental health officers and Indigenous housing managers to apply standards of the National Indigenous Housing Guide (2nd edition) in the design, construction and maintenance of Indigenous housing responding to people in crisis as a result of the Bali tragedy and the drought supporting Indigenous communities participating in COAG’s Indigenous Community Coordination Pilots (ICCP) around Australia through 22 projects, funded through the Family and Community Networks Initiative (FCNI) maintaining the ‘Community Portal’ web site, which receives up to 700 visits per day and has links to 3381 Internet sites.
Work is required to:complete an evaluation of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy develop and implement a strategy for ongoing training and development of staff in the emergency relief sector develop a workplace giving kit, in collaboration with the Tax Office, to be distributed to Australian businesses to explain the benefits of implementing a payroll deduction program to offer staff the opportunity to make a regular donation to a charitable organisation from their pre-tax pay conduct a major research project to identify and report on Australian philanthropy and the fundraising and development capacity of the not-for-profit sector implement the National Framework on Problem Gambling, following agreement from all states and territories in July 2004 further extend ‘core’ concessions to CSHC holders and introduce national reciprocal transport concessions for State Seniors Card holders consult with the volunteering sector and other stakeholders about the future of the Volunteer Management Program and the Voluntary Work Initiative within the context of moving towards a better integrated suite of national volunteering programs implement further projects and undertake an evaluation of the Family and Community Networks Initiative develop Centrepay fee funding options for future funding for organisations offering no-interest loans under the National No-Interest Loan Scheme finalise and publish report on Fixing Houses for Better Health 2 conduct a series of workshops for trades and construction workers on the application of the standards of the National Indigenous Housing Guide, similar to those conducted in 2003-04 for architects, designers, engineers, environmental health officers and Indigenous housing managers. Financial and staffing resources summaryTable 37: Output Group 2.2—Community support
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.
Performance informationAdministered itemsCommunity Business PartnershipEffectiveness-capacityNumber of hits on Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership web site 42 820 hits, representing a 143 per cent increase. Number and calibre of nominations from business and community for awards that recognise excellence in partnerships 306 award nominations were received for the 2003 awards, with 75.5 per cent meeting all selection criteria. No award was presented in the Media category.
QuantityTake-up of socially responsible policies by the corporate sector The Department of the Environment and Heritage commissioned research released on 14 July 2004 that showed that the rate of sustainability reporting by Australian companies has doubled, from 57 companies publishing public environmental reports in 2001-02, to 116 publishing sustainability reports in 2002-03. Sustainability reporting is a fair measure for examining the take-up of socially responsible policies as it shows companies are publicly embracing these issues. Price$1.5 million CommentaryA review of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships will be undertaken in 2004-05. While there was a 15 per cent increase in nominations from 2002 to 2003, no award was made in the Media category. The review will examine how the awards have evolved over six years of operation and consider the continuing relevance of each category in the context of changing and evolving attitudes to community business engagement. In August 2003, the Prime Minister asked the Community Business Partnership to undertake an inquiry into ways for government and business to encourage the private sector to employ more mature-age workers. Advice was presented to the Prime Minister in May 2004. Compensation for extension of fringe benefits to pensioners and older long-term allowees and beneficiariesQuality-assuranceCertification from states and territories that they are complying with the agreement All state and territory governments certified they will continue to comply with the terms of the Australian Government - state and territory government agreement. Price$185.0 million CommentaryIn 1993 the Australian Government extended the Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) to all part-rate pensioners and certain older long-term allowance recipients. In response to states’ and territories’ concern that an increase in the number of eligible card holders would have an impact on their state concession programs, the Australian Government agreed to provide an annual payment as compensation for the increased costs of ‘core’ concessions — utilities, municipal and water rates, public transport and motor vehicle registration. Concessions for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card HoldersQuality-assuranceCertification from states and territories that they are complying with the agreement None (see Commentary below) CommentaryAgreement has not yet been reached with any state or territory to implement these concessions. When negotiations with state and territory governments are finalised, CSHC holders will be able to access ‘core’ concessions—utilities, municipal and water rates, public transport and motor vehicle registration. Table 38: Number of persons covered by concession cards, 2003-04a
a..Data current as at 11 June 2004. Disaster Relief PaymentNo major disaster was declared in 2003-04. Emergency Relief ProgramQuality-assuranceAdoption of voluntary minimum service standards in emergency relief service delivery outlets Guiding principles and service standards for the program developed by FaCS in consultation with the emergency relief sector define the operating basis for all emergency relief services and provide a guide for implementing the principles, which are adopted by agencies on a voluntary basis. Funding distributed on the basis of need in accordance with formula-based funding model The Emergency Relief Program distributes funding based on the regional distribution of recipients of various Australian Government benefits and allowances. These benefits and allowances include Disability Support Pension, Newstart Allowance, Parenting Payment Single, Youth Allowance, Family Tax Benefit Part A (Maximum), the Community Development Employment Program and the Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payment. QuantityNumber of agencies provided with emergency relief funds-See below Number of service delivery outlets FaCS provided funding to around 900 agencies for emergency relief to be distributed through more than 1400 emergency relief outlets. Price$32.5 million CommentaryThe Emergency Relief Program provides grants to a range of community organisations to provide emergency assistance to individuals and families in financial crisis. The objective of the program is to help people to deal with their immediate financial crisis in a way that maintains their dignity and encourages self-reliance. Assistance is provided primarily in the form of food vouchers, assistance with accommodation, part payment of utility accounts, material assistance such as food parcels or clothing and sometimes cash. Ex gratia payments to victims and family members of victims of the Bali terrorist attacksEffectiveness-targetingNumber of hits on Bali Assist web site—2838 hits per month (based on data to 30 June 2004) QuantityNumber of victims or family members assisted—899 Price$2.4 million CommentaryThe Australian Government has continued to help those most affected by the Bali tragedy, providing a range of assistance and support. In 2003-04, 76 more people were assisted to attend part of the trials in Bali of the bombing suspects, and 27 additional people were assisted with other costs related to the Bali tragedy. The Bali Assist web site has continued to be a key tool for those seeking information about available assistance, important events and links to other relevant web sites. The average monthly number of hits was 2838, with a peak at 4118 hits in March 2004, highlighting continued demand for the information being offered on the site. Family and Community Networks Initiative (FCNI)Effectiveness-capacityPercentage of projects achieving agreed objectives Progress reports indicate that projects funded in 2003-04 have either achieved or are on track to achieving agreed FCNI objectives. QuantityNumber of organisations involved in community networking initiatives 21 organisations were funded to provide community networking initiatives in 2003-04. Number of new community networking projects and one-off projects 22 new projects were funded in 2003-04. Price$1.6 million CommentaryFunding under FCNI is provided for projects that will strengthen vulnerable and disadvantaged families and communities by improving access to information and delivering local solutions to local problems. Since February 2003 the FCNI has been primarily focused on supporting Indigenous communities participating in COAG’s Indigenous Community Coordination Pilots (ICCP) around Australia. Funding may also be available to support related work with Indigenous communities more generally. Twenty-two new projects were funded in 2003-04 and 13 of these directly supported ICCP sites. Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure—expand the supply of healthy housing—Fixing Houses for Better Health (FHBH) 3Note In 2003-04, 12 projects for a new round of FHBH projects, (FHBH3) were allocated a total of $3 million in funding. Performance information for the FHBH3 projects will be available for reporting in 2004-05. In financial years 2001-02 and 2002-03, $3 million was allocated for FHBH2 projects in 11 remote Indigenous communities in three regions (Northern Territory, Western Australia and Torres Strait). All the FHBH2 projects were completed in 2003-04. The performance information below relates to the FHBH2 projects.
Effectiveness-capacityImprovement in the capacity of Indigenous communities participating in FHBH3 to assess the need for housing maintenance and to maintain their houses to a safe, healthy and sustainable standard Ongoing employment of Maintaining Houses for Better Health (MHBH) workers is dependent on infrastructure to support a housing maintenance team. In 35 per cent of FHBH2 communities (4), Indigenous community housing managers were trained in the MHBH component of FHBH and continue to oversee local Indigenous workers to conduct regular surveys of safety and critical health hardware, such as taps, electrical items, drainage, and kitchen functionality, and to fix these items where possible at the time of the survey. Effectiveness—take-up/coverageIntegration of the FHBH3 methodology with the housing maintenance and upgrade programs of state and territory Indigenous housing authorities participating in FHBH3 Indigenous housing authorities in Western Australia and the Northern Territory have initiated housing assessment and maintenance systems comparable or identical to those of FH BH projects. Quality—assuranceImprovement in the functionality of housing health hardware between survey/fix 1 and survey/fix 2 in all communities participating in FHBH3 FHBH2 projects were completed in a total of 434 houses, with check-back visits occurring six months later for 349 houses. A total of 212 Indigenous people were trained in basic maintenance and employed 134 FaCS Annual Report 2003-04 I Volume 2on the survey teams during these projects. Licensed tradespeople fixed a total of 1826 plumbing items and 968 electrical items. Of these items, 62 per cent of repairs were required due to routine wear and tear; 27 per cent were because items were faulty; and only 11 per cent of repairs were due to damage. Functionality levels were substantially improved for critical health living practices. For example, at the first visit, 66 per cent of houses had no power, water or waste connected whereas at the second visit, 92 per cent of houses were connected to these essential services. Specifically, 78 per cent houses had safe electricity systems compared with 11 per cent before the survey; 78 per cent safe gas (62 per cent); 80 per cent working shower (23 per cent); 90 per cent working flush toilet (51 per cent) and 72 per cent working laundry services (22 per cent). Price$3.0 million CommentaryFHBH projects are seen as highly valuable for Indigenous communities as improvements to the functionality of houses are almost immediate and local community involvement in project implementation is very high. Training in survey methodology and basic repairs is provided, with further training available to communities to assist with long-term protection of assets and maintenance routines. National Research on GamblingEffectiveness-capacityIncreased knowledge available to communities on problem gambling The National Gambling Research Program projects that have been agreed to will contribute to greater understanding of the prevalence and impact of problem gambling, and the effectiveness of interventions. Quality—assuranceResearch undertaken by the department, and through the National Gambling Research Program Secretariat, is of a high standard (timely, fulfils terms of reference, complete, methodologically sound) and contributes to policy understanding and development at the national and state level Research undertaken by the National Gambling Research Program is peer-reviewed at proposal and publication stages. Research funded directly by FaCS has been chosen by tender. The findings of the National Gambling Research Program projects reflect national and state and territory government priorities, and are used to inform national and state and territory policy and program development.
QuantityNumber of research reports generated by the department and through the National Gambling Research Secretariat Departmental research — 1 (Youth prevalence study, April 2004) National Gambling Research Program—nil, establishment and development work only. Agreed projects due to commence in 2004-05.
Price$0.6 million CommentaryA secretariat has been established in the Victorian Department of Justice and, on behalf of all jurisdictions, has commenced management of the implementation of the National Gambling Research Program. The list of projects to be completed under the program has been agreed to by the Australian Government and all state and territory governments. Priority research projects under development and due to commence in 2004-05 include: problem gambling and harm definitions feasibility study of national gambling surveys feasibility of longitudinal studies of problem gamblers analysis of gambling consumers’ pre-commitment behaviour and effectiveness of pre-commitment strategies (a two-phased study). Payments under section 33 of the FMA Act 1997 (act of grace payments)Quantity147 Price$0.2 million National Reciprocal Transport Concessions for State Seniors Card holdersCommencement is subject to agreement with each state and territory. Negotiations are continuing. Reimbursement to Great Southern Rail for concessional faresEffectiveness-take-up/coveragePercentage of eligible clients using concessional travel on Great Southern Rail-2.07 per cent QuantityNumber of customers utilising concessional travel on Great Southern Rail 47 451 eligible customers took 71 669 trips on Great Southern Rail services in 2003-04. Price$4.2 million CommentaryThe Australian Government funds Great Southern Rail for the cost of concessional travel by Pensioner Concession Card Holders, Veterans and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders. As announced in the 2004-05 Budget, effective from February 2004, the agreement was extended to Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders travelling on the Alice Springs to Darwin line. Stronger Families and Communities Strategy: Communities InitiativesEffectiveness-capacityCommunities demonstrate and apply greater understanding, skills and capacity as assessed by: percentage of people completing courses and registering improvements in skills and knowledge—92 per cent of people completing courses registered improvements in skills and knowledge. qualitative assessments of community projects to determine impact on capacity over time-an assessment to determine the impact of community projects on community capacity over time is being undertaken as part of the national evaluation. record of regular volunteer training—1081 participants were involved with volunteer training. Participation in communities increases as indicated by: number of social networks established—839 number and range of participants in activities, e.g. multicultural groups, Indigenous groups, rural and remote dwellers, and percentage of local populations that attend-66 968 individuals participated in activities, including Indigenous people; young people; people of workforce age receiving Income Support; families with children, including those with children 0-5 years old; people with disabilities; ethnic families; and communities and families living in remote areas number of community projects—376 number of new volunteers—1334
Quality-access and choicePercentage of community projects undertaken in rural and regional Australia-59 per cent Percentage of projects in disadvantaged communities-100 per cent Quality—customer satisfactionMechanisms in place to monitor satisfaction of community agencies with training of volunteers and volunteers with training they received-mechanisms in place include questionnaires, evaluation forms, surveys and focus groups. Percentage of participant and community satisfaction with the range, effectiveness and outcome of the projects-91 per cent Percentage of project participants satisfied that projects met community need-89 per cent QuantityNumber of communities involved in the leadership program and network-60 Number of participants in activities and completing training-274 Number of participants nationally in leadership development activities/national network-1923 Number of training initiatives- 87 CommentarySince the launch of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy in April 2000, nearly 700 projects have been funded covering early childhood; parenting skills; relationship skills; mentoring and leadership; community building; and volunteering programs. Almost a quarter of the projects have been in Indigenous communities and more than half in rural and remote communities. A review during 2003 found that there were a number of positive outcomes, including the community-driven, flexible and participatory approach to identifying local projects. There were also areas that needed to be improved, including the need for less complex selection criteria, clearer timeframes for processing applications and a stronger focus on key Australian Government priorities. The ongoing evaluation of the strategy will contribute to the evidence base for strengthening families and communities in Australia. Results based on project outcomes continue to demonstrate that the strategy is helping emerging leaders to develop and gain skills, supporting the work of assisting volunteers, building networks, building partnerships between business and communities and enhancing participation opportunities in communities. The future focus of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy will be towards families initiatives with an expansion of the Government’s commitment to early childhood.
Volunteer Small Equipment GrantsQuantityNumber of grants issued Reported under Output Group 1.1 Number of volunteers participating in volunteer small equipment projects Reported under Output Group 1.1 CommentaryThe grants of up to $5000 each are for volunteer-involving organisations to purchase equipment that makes volunteering activities safer, easier and more enjoyable. Total price$15.2 million Volunteer Management ProgramQuantityNumber of volunteers referred, placed and trained for a period of six months or more-21204 Price$1.6 million CommentaryA total of 21 442 volunteers were referred to 26 member organisations. 12 810 volunteers were placed in a position and 10 484 volunteers received training under the program. Departmental outputsCostRatio of departmental expense to administered expense For every dollar spent on administered items under Output Group 2.2, 19.5 cents were spent on departmental outputs. Policy adviceQuality-customer satisfactionMinisters and ministers’ offices are satisfied with the quality of policy advice and department meets standards for policy advice Ministers and their offices did not provide feedback on individual output groups but did provide feedback on departmental performance as a whole. Information on ministers’ and their offices’ assessment can be found in Volume two, Part two, ‘Ministerial and parliamentary services’. QuantityNumber of items to ministers 390 ministerial submissions and other written briefings or advice prepared; 414 ministerial replies to correspondence completed. Price$12.0 million Purchasing, funding and relationship managementQuality—assuranceDepartment ensures that service providers meet terms and conditions of funding-100 per cent Service agreements or contracts that meet legislative, government policy and departmental requirements are in place with all service providers-100 per cent QuantityNumber of contracts or service agreements under management-7230 Number of service providers under management-4618 Price$13.0 million Research and evaluationQuality—assuranceResearch and evaluation is of a high standard (timely, fulfils terms of reference, complete, methodologically sound) and contributes to policy understanding and development—100 per cent QuantityMajor pieces of research and evaluation completed-3 Price$6.1 million Service deliveryQuality-assuranceService providers deliver services to the standards agreed with FaCS-100 per cent Quality-customer rights and obligationsPercentage of reviews and appeals where the original decision is changed Table 39: Reviews and appeals-Output Group 2.2, 2003-04
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