My sincere congratulations to the CFC FP Forum working group members – Sue Christophers, Liana Harding, Amanda Hunt, Camillla Krauze, Stacey Milbourne, Clare Moynihan and Karen Russell on the great event you pulled together last week in Glenelg, SA.  Well done team!  The CfC FP network conversation is always full of energy and enthusiasm and I was privileged to be part of the event.   I know that Robyn Clough and Lisa Curtis from my office also found the time spent with network members of significant value to our ongoing work in promoting our network’s services – especially when it comes to the place-based program space and the beneficial impacts for children, families and communities.  And we look forward to continuing the conversation at the FRSA Conference.

The FRSA Conference registrations are going gangbusters and I am going to be bold and predict this Conference is going to be our biggest ever!  I know that accommodation at the Pullman Melbourne on the Park has sold out but being in Melbourne we are spoilt for accommodation options and will keep adding our suggestions to the website as they become available.  Early bird registration rates close at midnight tonight!

In the last fortnight I also had a chance to visit a former Chair of FRSA, Mr Michael Austin at his agency base at CatholicCare Wollongong.  This visit has been in the planning for a while – embarrassingly dating back to pre-COVID in fact.  So, it was really good to meet up with Michael and his senior executive team and also sit down for more in-depth conversations with key staff in the children, young people and families services program areas.

On a somber note, I was very sad to learn that Mr Barry Williams OAM – who was the founder and President of the Lone Fathers Association passed away on the 23^rd of last month.  I wasn’t able to attend his funeral but I was pleased his work was acknowledged by Deputy Secretary of the Social Security Stream at DSS, Mr Matt Flavel during his Chairing of the Child Support Stakeholder Consultation Group meeting that I attended yesterday.  This was a consultation group that Barry was very much involved in having established and his legacy will live on.  Having been a single dad himself in the 1970’s – he did make it his life’s mission to advocate for single fathers, their children and their families.  I only came to know Barry in the last few years and always valued our frank and very honest conversations.  I was also struck by the heavy personal burden he carried in providing support to separated men with suicidal ideation.  In recent years, Barry’s mobile phone operated pretty much 24/7 and for some men in their deepest, darkest hours – Barry was there for them.  Vale Barry.  (Dads4Kids have a lovely tribute to Barry).

Kind regards,
Jackie Brady
FRSA Executive Director

Last chance to register for the FRSA National Conference with discount early bird registration rates, which end today!

Early Bird Registration Fee* Until 15 March 2024

* To be entitled to the early bird registration fee you must have registered and paid by 22 March 2024.

Pre-Conference Workshops – FRSA MEMBERS ONLY

FRSA is pleased to offer two bursaries available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are registered for or would like to attend the 2024 Family & Relationship Services Australia National Conference.

Bursaries are provided to assist with covering the cost of conference registration, and travel & accommodation. Each package includes:

• 1 x Complimentary full registration to the Conference (including dinner)
• $500 towards travel and accommodation

To be eligible you must be an employee of a fully financial FRSA member organisation. Applications closes on THURSDAY, 28 March 2024.

We’re thrilled to welcome the following sponsors who will join us in Melbourne for this year’s National Conference.

• Anglicare Australia as the Mobile Office Sponsor
• Mallee Family Care as Conference App Sponsor
• International Social Service Australia as an Exhibitor
• CatholicCare NT as an Exhibitor

There are still a number of sponsorship package options available, designed to maximise visibility to showcase the work and activity of your organisation/business. Or if you are interested in a more bespoke package for your organisation don’t hesitate to get in touch with the FRSA team on (02) 6162 1811 or events@frsa.org.au.

A record half of all Australians nationally are now reporting elevated cost-of-living and personal debt distress (50%).

Cost-of-living distress is now double all other economic and social issues for the first time with ‘middle Australia’ driving the increase, the latest quarterly Suicide Prevention Australia Community Tracker reveals.

Some of the biggest increases in the March 2024 quarter were amongst full time workers (55%) and families with children at home under 18 (54%), compared to 41% (+14pp) and 38% (+16pp) in the September 2022 quarter.

Key Findings:

• Overall, 50% of Australians reported cost-of-living and personal debt distress beyond normal levels in the March 2024 quarter. This is an increase on the past three (46%;+4pp), 12 (46%;+4pp) and 18 (40%;+10pp) months respectively.
• This is despite overall community distress continuing to remain relatively flat at about 73% over the same periods.
• Some of the biggest increases were amongst full time workers (55%;+3pp,+13pp,+14pp), as well as households earning over $100,000 (51%;+6pp,+11pp,+14pp) and $150,000 (54%;+8pp,+12pp,+20pp), plus those with children at home under 18 (54%;+4pp;+9pp;+16pp) over the same periods 3, 12 and 18 month periods respectively.
• Cost-of-living and personal debt distress (50%) is now more-than-double all other key economic and social determinants of suicide recorded in the survey, including: housing access and affordability (22%); unemployment and job security (21%); social isolation and loneliness (20%); family and relationship breakdown (23%); and drug and alcohol (10%).
• Cost-of-living and personal debt was also the main cause of elevated distress amongst Australians reporting suicidal behaviours (58%), as well as from those seeking help from frontline suicide prevention services (54%), particularly clinical services (64%).

Read the full results.

A new report reveals a growing crisis of women and children fleeing domestic and family violence into homelessness prompting calls for an urgent funding package to provide pathways to safe housing.

Released on International Women’s Day, Homelessness Australia’s Homelessness and domestic and family violence: State of Response Report analyses Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data to find 45 per cent of women and girls seeking homelessness assistance do so due to family and domestic violence.

It finds that over the last decade:

• the number of women and children sleeping rough or in a car at the end of homelessness support more than doubled, from 1,041 to 2,428
• the number of women and children couch surfing at the end of support more than doubled from 3,465 to 7,214.

And in the past year, the number of women and children sleeping rough or in a car after receiving homelessness support increased by 23%.

The report notes that lack of access to safe housing prevents many women from escaping violence and pushes women back to violent homes. The last Personal Safety Survey revealed that more than 20,000 women experiencing violence wanted to leave but were unable to because of a lack of money or financial support, and more than 13,000 women said lack of money or having nowhere to go was the reason they returned to violence. Read the full report.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has announced the appointment of Katie Kiss as the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

Ms Kiss is a proud Kaanju and Birri/Widi woman who grew up in Rockhampton, Central Queensland on the lands of the Darumbal People. She is currently the Executive Director of the Interim Truth and Treaty Body supporting Queensland’s Path to Treaty.

Commissioner Kiss commences in the role on Wednesday, April 3, the day following the end of outgoing Commissioner June Oscar AO’s term. Read more.

On 28 February the Senate Community Affairs References Committee tabled its final report – The extent and nature of poverty in Australia.

The Senate referred the inquiry to the Committee on 7 September 2022. After 18 months of investigation the report provides evidence on the state of poverty in Australia and the impacts of poverty on millions of Australians.

The report acknowledges that our current social security and income support system is inadequate and recommends that the Government takes urgent action to address the problem. The Committee makes 14 recommendations in total, including a specific recommendation that the Government takes action to reduce child poverty as well ensuring all children have access to high quality early childhood education and care.

As has been frequently argued, ‘poverty is a policy choice’ and with more and more people being impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and consequently more people moving into poverty, we hope the Government’s response to the report seeks to seriously tackle poverty in Australia.

You can read more about the Senate Inquiry here.

On 7 March the Australian Government tabled its response to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee report: Family Law Amendment Bill 2023 [Provisions], which was tabled on 24 August 2023. The Family Law Amendment Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 6 November 2023.

The Committee concluded that stakeholders supported the objectives of the Bill and recommended the Bill be passed, subject to further consideration of nine recommendations.

The Government agreed with all nine of the Committee’s recommendations in whole or in principle, and moved Government amendments to the Bill in response to seven of these recommendations, including:

• amending the ‘best interests’ factors to ensure the history of family violence, abuse and neglect are considered when determining the arrangements that would promote the safety of the child and their caregivers
• giving greater clarity to the stand-alone best interests factor for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and the operation of the revised definitions of ‘relative’ and ‘member of the family’
• amendments to enable the removal of the higher threshold requirement for consideration of a child’s objections to a return order in Hague Convention cases
• including a requirement for a statutory review to occur three years after the changes to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (Family Law Act) commence
• amending application provisions to ensure that the changes apply to all existing court matters on commencement, excluding those where a final hearing has commenced
• removing costs provisions specific to contravention proceedings to avoid duplication of the court’s discretionary powers to award costs in family law matters.

You can read the Government’s response here.

Community Services Ministers met on Kaurna Country in Adelaide on 8 March 2024.

At this meeting Community Services Ministers:

• discussed progress on the Forced Adoption joint work program since July 2023
• supported continued engagement and cooperation in 2024 with a focus on comprehensive mapping of the experiences and supports for impacted people, cooperation on records and information access, and establishing an annual focal point for reflection, healing and awareness (National/Commemorative day)
• agreed to collaborate with Health Ministers through relevant Health Departments on increasing health checks for First Nations children in out-of-home care
• discussed the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse (National Centre) and the progress of the Jurisdictional Officials Working Group
• discussed progress to finalise the Early Years Strategy.

The Communique is available here.

On 6-7 March, Communities for Children Facilitating Partners (CfC FP) gathered in Adelaide for a national conversation about the strengths and the visibility of CfC FP as a leading place-based program in Australia.

2024 marks twenty years since the CfC FP program was established. The CfC program supports children and families through a whole of community approach in 52 disadvantaged communities across Australia.

FRSA was delighted to be invited along to the Forum and join in the discussions looking at practical strategies to ensure the expertise and experience of the CfC network in improving the wellbeing of children and families through community collaboration can be recognised and harnessed. As a recent study commissioned by FRSA shows, the CfC FP program delivers significant benefits to communities, including positive family functioning, safety and child development outcomes.

It was also great to have strong representation from the Department of Social Services (DSS) – CfC FP program administrators – in the room bringing their perspectives and insights to the discussions. What became clear over the two days is that Facilitating Partners and DSS want the same outcomes for communities and evidence to show those outcomes are being achieved.

FRSA looks forward to workshopping some of the key Forum takeaways with CfC FP members at our CfC FP Pre-Conference Workshop on 13 May 2024.

Earlier this week, CatholicCare Sydney opened their new Children & Family Services central hub in Fairfield. The hub will allow counsellors and practice managers to immerse themselves in the community and gain a clearer understanding of the daily struggles faced by many.

The office is set to welcome clients experiencing family and domestic violence, gambling and addiction-related harms, family breakdown, and those seeking support in the first 2000 days of a child’s life.

“This space offers us the opportunity to get to know our clients and the social issues present, so we can better understand how to help them tackle challenges,” said CatholicCare Sydney CEO, Alastair McGibbon.

“It is important that we are located within this diverse city with one office offering a range of services. We are supporting a community with higher-than-average family and domestic violence, poor mental health outcomes, and a range of harms that disrupt their life and that of their family.”

The hub operates with a no-wrong-door policy, regardless of age, gender, faith, or ethnicity. Support available includes the statewide Gamble Aware program and a Men’s Behaviour Change program, working with perpetrators to help them recognise their violent behaviour and develop strategies to stop using violence.

The office, within the local shopping centre, is an easy five-minute walk from the train station, providing convenient access for clients within a familiar environment. CatholicCare Sydney has been serving this community for more than 30 years, beginning with a caravan parked behind a Catholic church.  The opening of this office space further strengthens the commitment to work with the local community.

CatholicCare Sydney Children & Family Services Hub
Suite 6, Level 2/54 Smart St
Fairfield NSW 2165
13 18 19

International Women’s Day (IWD) was on 8 March. This year’s theme was ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress’.

See how FRSA members all around the country celebrated the day:

• Centacare FNQ staff attended the International Women’s Day Event hosted by Cairns Regional Council.
• Mercy Community aged care residents in Nudgee were visited by Leanne Linard MP.
• Anglicare NSW South, NSW West & ACT staff did the another IWD theme pose, Inspire Inclusion.
• BaptistCare’s General Manager of Community Services and Community Housing Robyn Evans shared what the theme means to them.
• Women from CatholicCare NT’s Women’s Group in Wurrumiyanga gathered to celebrate the day. They worked together to create signs before launching an International Women’s Day March. The women chanted ‘No Woman Left Behind’ and sung Tiwi songs until they reached the school, where they spent time interacting with the younger girls.
• Anglicare Victoria celebrated their workers, with close to 80% of their workforce identifying as women and a significant percentage of their client base also being women. Their Broadmeadows Women’s Community House also came together to honour IWD.
• The Australian Institute of Family Studies held an all-AIFS staff panel discussion and Q&A session, which was hosted by Dr Mandy Truong and featured Anagha Joshi, Dr Jessica Walton and Maja Gorniak. Each of the women reflected on the challenges and opportunities they’ve faced in both a personal and professional capacity, plus shared what inclusion and gender equity means to each of them.
• Centacare Catholic Family Services staff gathered to watch the live-streamed International Women’s Day Breakfast in support of UN Women Australia.
• Centrecare thanked and celebrated that 82 per cent of their organisation are women and counsellors Jess Zhou and Batsi Musa did the Inspire Inclusion pose.
• Centacare NQ celebrated a significant milestone in their organisation’s journey. For the very first time, Centacare NQ proudly presents an all-female Senior Leadership Team, Paula Washington as Executive Director, Dr. Susan Moore as Director of Client Services and Michelle Paulsen as Remote Operations Manager.
• CatholicCare Tasmania staff celebrated IWD at their offices across the state. Their CEO, Julia Mangan, shared and celebrated the work of humanitarian Caroline Chisolm who is known mostly for her support of immigrant women and family welfare in Australia. And they also heard from Mel Ransley from Build Up Tassie and St Joseph Affordable Homes.
• The Salvation Army staff did the Inspired Inclusion pose to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the globe.
• Anglicare SA celebrated the more than 1,400 women who work at their organisation who make up about 75% of their workforce.
• Comm Unity Plus Services staff, students and participants celebrated IWD with a series of events, starting with a morning tea at Deer Park, followed by a lunch at their St Albans Community Education site, and concluding with an afternoon tea at their Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre site.
• Uniting Communities staff attended the Adelaide International Women’s Day breakfast.
• Meli staff attended an International Women’s Day luncheon hosted by Senator Sarah Henderson
• Community First Step held a IWD celebration which included an inspiring panel discussion, celebrating women’s resilience, achievements, and empowerment.
• Anglicare NT celebrated the day with their staff, of which more than 80% are women.
• CatholicCare Central Queensland’s Court Support Navigator Team held a morning tea in Rockhampton to mark the occasion.
• Mallee Family Care staff came together in-person and online to celebrate the day and share a morning tea. They also welcomed staff and residents from Chaffey Aged Care.
• CatholicCare Wollongong shared how their staff are Inspiring Inclusion.
• The City of Greater Geelong held their annual Women in Community Life Awards to recognise the extraordinary contributions and leadership roles of women across the city.
• Lutheran Care shared insights and inspiration from their staff.

The Department of Social Services has commissioned Families Australia to undertake a project that will explore the potential impact on non-Indigenous NGOs when a portion of future child and family services funding will be transferred to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs). The Families Australia project is a complementary project to the development of the National Child and Family Investment Strategy – being led by SNAICC – which is a key action under the Safe and Supported: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Action Plan 2023-2026. You can find more information on the Investment Strategy here.

Families Australia are hosting a series of ‘Changing the Balance’ sector consultations to explore how non-Indigenous NGOs can best work collaboratively with First Nations organisations in supporting the growth and capacity of the ACCO sector and better understand the potential changes and impacts on non-Indigenous NGOs as sector funding profiles change to accommodate a shift in proportionate investment for child and family support services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs). As the project directly impacts our sector, we encourage members to get involved in the consultations.

Who should attend?

These sector consultations are primarily addressed to non-Indigenous NGOs receiving Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS) funding for child and family services.

The development of the National Child and Family Investment Strategy includes general, and First Nations specific consultation mechanisms led by SNAICC. State and Territory governments are also developing engagement strategies related to this matter for their respective sectors.

Upcoming Changing the Balance consultations are as follows:

Victoria

• 19 March Melbourne Metro Sector Consultation (in person) 10am to 12:30 AEDT
• 19 March Victorian Regional Consultation (online) 14:00 to 16:00 AEDT

South Australia

• 20 March Adelaide Metro Sector Consultation (in person) 10am to 12:30 AEDT
• 20 March Adelaide Regional Consultation (online) 14:00 to 16:00 AEDT

Queensland

• 3 April AM Brisbane Metro Sector Consultation (face to face) Time and venue TBC – please regularly check this webpage for registration updates.
• 3 April PM Online regional QLD sector consultation (online) TBC – please regularly check this webpage for registration updates

Consultations in the NT, WA and NSW will occur in April, dates are currently being finalised. There will also be other opportunities to engage with the ‘Changing the Balance’ project, including a national survey to be released in late March. Please regularly check this webpage for more info or email policy@familiesaustralia.org.au

The National Family Law Pathways Networks in collaboration with Attorney-General’s Department are hosting an upcoming webinar series.

The Attorney-General’s Department will facilitate a series of webinars on the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 (Cth), in the lead up to the commencement of important changes to the parenting framework and other key provisions on 6 May 2024.

• Monday 25 March 2024, 1.00 PM AEDT
• Wednesday 10 April 2024, 1.00 PM AEST
• Wednesday 17 April 2024, 1.00 PM AEST

Click here to register or download the flyer.

The 2024 National Working Families Survey is now open. This nation-wide survey of working families aims to help shape the future of family-friendly workplace policies and practices across Australia. In 2019 6,289 Australian parents and carers responded to the inaugural National Working Families Survey. The number of respondents is rare for this type of research. Clearly there was a call from parents and carers to have a say and voice what they are experiencing with their daily juggle. This survey offers them that chance.

The survey closes 31 March 2024. Click here to complete the survey.

If you have any events you’d like listed on the FRSA Events and Training Calendar or job vacancies you’d like listed on the FRSA Jobs Board, email Communications Officer, Vanessa Lam at communications@frsa.org.au. Please note that posting onto the FRSA website is reserved for FRSA Members only.

If you have an news item or event that you would like to be featured in a future eBulletin please submit your announcement via the form below or email communications@frsa.org.au with the subject “FRSA eBulletin submission”.

Please note FRSA members receive priority for items posted in the eBulletin. And to keep information current, relevant and useful, submissions will not be repeated from week to week.