I hope you had a lovely Easter break! For us in the ACT (traditional lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri Peoples) the break was brief but welcomed. I took the advantage of the extra-long weekend to gather with family and friends and relish in the last remnants that summer was offering up.
I know when I am out and about and/or meeting with members I have been saying that most of the programs and services that FRSA has a particular connection to – the FaC Activity programs in DSS and the FRSP programs in AGD – are under review. And – we are at a fairly climatic point where those are concerned. In addition, we know that SNAICC is out and about consulting on the Child and Family Investment Strategy and that Families Australia is undertaking a particular project “Changing the Balance” looking at how a proportionate transfer of services to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations will impact on mainstream organisations. All of these have delivery dates of 30 June 2024 – which is not that far away. FRSA is also actively engaged in the conversations about broader community sector reform through the Community Sector Advisory Group as well as a range of other bespoke/targeted consultation processes being conducted by DSS and AGD. It is fair to say that the workload in that area is heavy at present but we are working hard to ensure that we keep across all the issues and update the FRSA membership and readers of the eBulletin with any new and/or relevant news. We will continue to do this.
The FRSA Conference is about 5 weeks away and we can’t wait. While it does require dedication and a whole lot of commitment to bring the Conference to you with such a small team – we love it! It is great to bring the network together, to meet and engage with so many people and importantly, learn so much. The Conference is such a great opportunity to showcase the work of the sector. If you haven’t registered yet – you still have time. I do note that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Bursary program closed last Friday and we are delighted that we are able to support two people from the network to attend the Conference by providing them a complimentary registration and $500 towards their travel and accommodation costs.
In addition to the Conference and the role of the program in highlighting the work of the sector – I do just want to remind readers that we also have a special feature in the eBulletin dedicated to our members. This edition, we have a special feature on Harmony Day and it is always so great to see the sector embrace these celebratory days in the calendar year. If you are a member – one of the benefits of that membership is our ‘Member News’ section. So – if you have new and exciting news to share please remember to put our Communications Officer, Vanessa Lam – on your list of ‘go to’ people to get the news out there. We not only feature it here but also aim to push it out via social media channels wherever we can. Vanessa can be reached at communications@frsa.org.au or her mobile is 0413016211.
