We are excited this week to release early findings from our workforce project, Australia’s Family and Relationship Services Workforce – Now and into the Future. FRSA commissioned the Centre for International Economics (The CIE) to undertake this study to provide an authoritative national evidence base describing the size, composition, employment characteristics and key challenges of the Commonwealth-funded Family and Relationship Services (FRS) sector workforce. While the FRS workforce is funded across multiple programs, it is rarely examined as a cohesive sector, limiting its visibility in workforce planning and policy development.
While the project is still underway, it is great to see early results emerging and to begin imagining ways that the workforce could be better supported to meet emerging challenges. This project will wrap up at the end of October. See more below.
It’s been a busy few weeks for our sector – particularly those funded to deliver services under the Department of Social Services Families and Children Activity. On Sunday 26 July the department’s public consultation on relational contracting closed. Relational contracting, described as a longer‑term, more flexible partnership approach between government and providers, will underpin the new Children and Family Support (CaFS) Program that will commence on 1 July 2027. Then, on Tuesday 28 July, feedback to the department on the draft Grant Opportunity Guidelines for the CaFS program was due. FRSA members engaged generously with us through these processes, informing and shaping our feedback to the department. I extend my heartfelt thanks.
You can read more about our relational contracting submission below. We also made a submission to the consultation on the second Action Plan (National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032), which closed last Friday 31 July.
This week is a week of both reflection and a call to action. Today is National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day, raising awareness for the bright futures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. It is also Homelessness Week & Loneliness Awareness Week. These activities serve us well as a reminder about the inter-connected and highly complex lives of so many of the children, adults and communities our sector works with.
