Annual Report 2003-04 I volume 1

Volunteering

The FaCS suite of volunteering support programs trains, supports and refers around 19 000 volunteers annually.

Voluntary work builds capacity for individuals to participate, and strengthens community capacity.

Around 4000 organisations that support the volunteering effort received small equipment grants in 2003–04.

Volunteers make a significant contribution to Australian communities and are supported through the FaCS portfolio in a number of ways. The FaCS suite of programs provides training, placement support, opportunities to use volunteering as a stepping stone to paid work, opportunities to fulfil mutual obligation commitments through volunteering, and practical assistance through small equipment grants.

The Volunteer Management Program supports organisations by providing appropriate training for volunteers and volunteer managers. The Voluntary Work Initiative (VWI) helps income support recipients fulfil their obligations through voluntary work that builds their capacity to participate, and the capacity of their communities.

Both programs continued to provide valuable support to the volunteer sector in Australia, and to make an important contribution to the Australians Working Together initiative. This was evidenced in the Government’s commitment of funding of $7.3 million over four years for VWI in the 2004-05 Budget, following a review of the programs in late 2002.

The Volunteer Small Equipment Grants program (VSEG) continued to provide an important boost for community organisations that support volunteers. The program provides grants of up to $5000 to help community organisations purchase equipment that will make the work of their volunteers easier, safer and more enjoyable. There have been six grant rounds since 2001, the International Year of Volunteers. Since 2001 the Government has provided around $20 million to over 10 000 volunteer community organisations.

making a difference

Before receiving the grant, the club’s volunteers were providing breakfast to 20 to 25 children each morning with a couple of very old two-slice toasters. They are now able to purchase two new four-slice toasters to make the jobs of their 15 to 20 volunteers easier and safer.

The breakfast club provides an incentive for disadvantaged children to attend school by providing them with breakfast. After the children have eaten, not only are they attending school but they also have higher concentration levels. With reduced truancy rates, the incidence of juvenile crime is lowered.

Indigenous communities

Financial management projects in Indigenous communities are helping families to build financial literacy, increase their purchasing power and improve living standards.

Twelve Remote Area Service Centres (RASCs) are being progressively established in Indigenous communities across Australia-just one example of the Australian Government’s commitment to improve access to programs and services for Indigenous Australians in rural and remote areas.

While most FaCS customers, like many Australians, live in cities, our most disadvantaged are Indigenous people living in remote locations. Over 25 per cent of Indigenous people live in remote areas compared to only two per cent of other Australians. Australia’s Indigenous population is currently increasing at a rate twice that of the general population. High birth rates in many remote communities see their populations increasing at rates above 5 per cent a year. The implications for our work are significant. For example, in the next ten years in a typical remote region it is projected that there will be at least 30 per cent more working-age people in a population that is currently highly dependent on welfare.

FaCS’ Statement of Commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People provides an integrated and comprehensive approach to improving outcomes for Indigenous people. FaCS has adopted the motto ‘Indigenous business is everybody’s business’-our pledge to tackle the entrenched social and economic disadvantages experienced by many Indigenous Australians.

The statement commits FaCS to doing things differently. In particular, it recognises the need for a more collaborative approach. FaCS and key stakeholders-both within and outside the organisation-need to combine energies, expertise and resources to build on existing strengths, assets and capacities and forge partnerships that help solve the complex problems facing many Indigenous people. These important partnerships will help FaCS develop policies and deliver services that better meet the needs of all Indigenous people. The recent transfer of ATSIS functions to FaCS, including the FaCS presence in Indigenous Coordination Centres around Australia, will require ongoing commitment to collaboration and partnership with Indigenous communities.

FaCS not only administers a number of Indigenous-specific programs but also keeps a focus within mainstream programs on Indigenous services and projects that support communities, families, young people and children. For example, each of the following initiatives funds a number of Indigenous-focused projects:

the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy

the Family and Community Networks Initiative

the Reconnect program

the Child Abuse Prevention Program

the National Disability Advocacy Program

the National Illicit Drugs Strategy.

In 2003-04 FaCS, in close consultation with Indigenous people, communities and organisations, commenced management of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children.

This study will help us better understand the links between early childhood experiences and outcomes in later life for Indigenous children.

FaCS continues to fund the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) at the Australian National University. The centre is building a significant evidence base that will assist FaCS in its future policy development and advising role.

New measures under the Australians Working Together package, such as the Community Participation Agreements initiative, Remote Area Service Centres, Personal Support Programme and Personal Adviser service, are also benefiting Indigenous people.