I am delighted to advise that we have received confirmation from the Attorney-General’s office that he will be attending the Opening Breakfast of the FRSA Strategic Leadership Forum on the morning of 12 September 2023. With so much going on in the family law space at present, it will be great to have the Hon. Mark Dreyfus join CEOs and Senior Executives from the sector at this event – especially in a sitting week! We will keep you updated on the speaker line-up for this Member Only event.

We have been actively working with the Centre for International Economics to finalise the FRSA Cost Benefit Analysis Report in preparation of its release at the Strategic Leadership Forum.  This Report itself has a clear focus on those programs within the Families and Children Activity (FaC) funded by DSS and the Family Law Services funded by the Attorney-General’s Department.  At a time when the ALP’s election commitment to support and strengthen Australian charities and NFPs is gaining momentum, this report will provide vital input to conversations about the value and contribution family and relationship services in particular make to their clients, to their funders and to society more generally.  All the hard work that services have been putting into data collection and evaluation over the last few years certainly provides a strong and compelling evidence base underpinning the Report and I can’t wait for its release!

The Treasurer, the Hon Jim Chalmers has just released (literally) the ‘Measuring what Matters: Australia’s First Wellbeing Framework’.

In that document he reiterates the Government’s commitment ‘to refining the Framework over time, so that we properly take account of changing public perspectives and developments in how we collect, analyse and use data’.  I believe the CIE Report will also provide some valuable insights for the Government in its ongoing development and refinement of the Wellbeing Framework.

We have also just closed the Expressions of Interest timeframe for the extended Communities of Practice Pilot (funded by AIFS and DSS) and are grateful to the sector for their enthusiastic response.  We will be working on finalising the groupings over the next day or two and will be coming out to those who expressed interest with details about the first round of Community of Practice meetings that will be starting up in late August.

Kind regards,
Jackie Brady
FRSA Executive Director

FRSA is thrilled to announce that the Attorney-General, The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP will be joining delegates at this year’s Strategic Leadership Forum (SLF) breakfast event in Canberra. The event will also see the launch of the Family & Relationship Services Sector Cost Benefit Analysis Report which FRSA commissioned the Centre for International Economics to undertake.

SLF will be held on 12-13 September 2023 and is set to bring together CEOs and senior executives from FRSA’s Membership.

Registrations are open, click the button below to access the registration website. This is an FRSA Members only event.

Stay tuned for more details on the event including the program, speakers, accommodation and more. Make sure you receive the latest information about SLF 2023 by subscribing to the mailing list on the SLF webpage.

If you have any questions, please contact the National Office on (02) 6162 1811 or email our Events and Membership Officer, Narelle at events@frsa.org.au.

ANROWS has released new analysis of the 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS),  which shows that every state and territory has improved in their attitudes towards violence against women over the last decade – despite a plateau for NSW, Queensland and Victoria since 2017.

The report found that rejection of violence against women had reached a comparable level in all jurisdictions in 2021, except for the ACT who had a significantly higher rejection.

The NCAS findings provide evidence that understanding and attitudes regarding violence against women are generally moving towards positive change, although this change is occurring slowly.

The NCAS results identify areas where it would be particularly beneficial to focus prevention efforts to address gaps in understanding of violence against women and to transform more entrenched problematic attitudes towards this violence and gender inequality. The findings point to many opportunities across the primary prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery and healing continuum that can potentially contribute to realising the aspiration of ending violence against women and building a culture that supports safety, respect and equality for all Australians (COAG,
2022).

Click here to see a full breakdown of all the NCAS data in each state and territory plus fact sheets and resources.

The latest Closing the Gap annual data released last week shows poorer outcomes in early childhood development, increased numbers of adults in prison and children in out-of-home care, as well as a rise in Indigenous suicide since baseline. The Productivity Commission released the third Closing the Gap Annual Data Compilation Report (ADCR) which shows only four of the 19 targets are on track, while four have deteriorated.

The four targets that are on track to be met are; preschool enrolment, youth detention, employment and land subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s legal rights or interests. Progress has been made towards a further seven targets, but not at the level required for the targets to be met on schedule.

While targets are set nationally, some states and territories are falling behind on the target outcomes more than others. Significant data gaps also remain where progress cannot be assessed.

“We need data on the Priority Reforms to see if governments are changing the way they work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to improve outcomes,” said Productivity Commission Commissioner, Romlie Mokak.

“And we also need data to assess progress toward improved outcomes for family violence, community infrastructure, languages and digital inclusion.”

Click here to read the full report.

The 2023 Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) has been released. The ADII uses survey data to measure digital inclusion across three dimensions of Access, Affordability and Digital Ability.

Building on previous iterations of the Index, the 2023 ADII offers insight into the distribution of digital inclusion for different groups and areas of Australia over time, allowing us to pinpoint which indicators have improved, where, and for whom. From here, more tailored policies and programs can inform responses to help those experiencing digital inequalities and ensure gains from previous years are maintained. Since the 2021 report, research has offered increasing evidence that digital inequalities are both sequential and compounded, meaning the three dimensions of digital inclusion must be understood and addressed together.

Key findings:

• Digital inclusion at the national level continues to steadily improve
• There is a considerable digital gap between First Nations and non-First Nations people in Australia
• The number of Australians who are highly excluded has declined but remains substantial
• The persistent divide between capital cities and other parts of the country continues to narrow. However the Digital Ability gap, in particular, remains considerable
• Affordability has improved at a national level since 2021, however some groups experience much greater levels of affordability stress
• Digital inclusion remains closely linked to age. The gap between younger and older Australians has grown slightly, especially for Digital Ability

Following our recent FRSA Webinar on the findings of the landmark Australian Child-Maltreatment Study, FRSA is hosting this Members Only webinar. All staff in our Member Organisations are able to register.

Webinar: The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse: Who we are and how we’re responding to professional development needs
Thursday, 27 July 2023 | 11:30am-12:30pm (AEST)

The Australian Child Maltreatment Study (2023) found that across Australia, one in three girls and one in five boys have experienced some form of child sexual abuse before the age of 15.

Dr Leanne Beagley and Dr Rosa Flaherty from the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse will present on the important work of the National Centre to raise awareness and understanding of child sexual abuse, support help-seeking and guide best practice.

A key platform of the National Centre’s work is to build the capability of workforces to protect children from harm and respond to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. Leanne and Rosa will talk about the findings of a survey the National Centre recently conducted to understand the learning and development needs of a broad range of workers who have responsibility for protecting and supporting children, young people and adults who have experienced child sexual abuse.

Join this webinar to learn more about how the National Centre can support you in this important area of work.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies has released a research snapshot which outlines some key changes in the population, households and families of Australia over the last four decades, with some of the trends going back before this time. The research snapshot is mainly based on Australian censuses.

The family trends from the snapshot showed that family households have remained the most common household form – with 6.73 million families across Australia according to the 2021 Census. This count of families in the census focuses on who people usually lived with, when household members identify that they are related by relationship or by blood. The snapshot shows the trends from 1981 to 2021.

• The proportion of couple families without children has increased and the proportion with children has decreased, consistent with expectations with an ageing population.
• One-parent families as a proportion of all families were under 9% in 1981 and 1991, and increased to 10.7% in 2001, but have remained at a similar level in census years since then.
• One-parent families with non-dependent children represented 4% of all families in 1981; the proportion has shown an upward trend, rising to 6% in 2021.

There was considerable stability in these distributions over the period 2011–21 compared to the preceding decades.

Other key messages:

On Friday 7 July 2023, FRSA participated in the Child Support Stakeholder Consultation Group Meeting that was convened for the first time in about 8 years.

A range of voices – including ourselves, Lone Fathers Association, Single Mother Families Australia, Relationships Australia and others have been calling for this Group to be re-established for many years.  It was indeed a recommendation of the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System tabled in November 2021.

The group brings together key stakeholders with a focus on ensuring that the child support scheme is working for separated families and also involves representatives the Department of Social Services, the Attorney-General’s Department and Services Australia.  The Minister for Social Services, the Hon Amanda Rishworth, did join the meeting for some time on that day re-stating the ALP’s commitment to the group and the 2023-2024 Budget measures aimed at strengthening the child support scheme.

This first meeting held virtually for 90 minutes was really about providing participants with an opportunity to meet as well as to finalise details around Terms of Reference for the group.

The next meeting of the Child Support Stakeholder Consultation Group will be held in the first part of September.

This week is the 50th anniversary of the Marriage Celebrants Program in Australia. On 19 July 1973, then Commonwealth Attorney-General Lionel Murphy QC appointed the first civil marriage celebrant in Australia, offering marrying couples an alternative to registry or religious weddings.

Today, there are around 10,000 civil marriage celebrants who can perform marriage ceremonies on any day, at any time, and at any place in Australia. Civil marriage celebrants now conduct around eighty percent of marriages in Australia.

Civil celebrants have played an important role in the evolution of Australian social and cultural life. They provide individual ceremonies that are personal and meaningful to the individual couple, and have embraced social change including the amendment to the Marriage Act 1961 in 2017 to allow for marriage equality.

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee is currently inquiring into the Family Law Amendment Bill 2023 and is due to report by 24 August 2023.

FRSA’s submission to the inquiry has been published on the Inquiry website and is also available on the FRSA website.

We are broadly supportive of the Bill, which is an important first step in better serving the best interests of children. We note, however, that without broader system change, including education, legislative guidance and increased social and therapeutic supports, and a genuine approach to facilitating children’s participation in family law matters, legislative reform will have minimal impact on reorienting our adult-centric family law system.

FRSA’s submission makes six recommendations, including a recommendation that the Government invests in moving towards an ‘opt out’, default model of child inclusive family dispute resolution in the family law system. We see this as integral to enabling children’s participation, if they choose to, in decisions that will greatly impact their lives. The move to an ‘opt out’ model of child inclusive practice would, of course require a commensurate funding investment and support to build a pool of suitably skilled and experienced staff.

You can read more about the inquiry here.

On 10 July, the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, put out a media release reporting that the Albanese Government will amend the secrecy provisions in the ACNC legislation to allow greater disclosure of regulatory activities.

As announced in the May 2023 Federal Budget, the ACNC will receive additional funding of $2.9 million from 2023‑24 to 2026‑27 and $600,000 on an ongoing basis to support delivery of this reform.

Currently, secrecy provisions prevent the ACNC from disclosing whether it is investigating alleged misconduct by a charity, the outcomes of investigations, and/or the reasons for revoking the registration of a charity. This limits the ability of the public and charities to learn from ACNC regulatory activities. Once legislation is introduced and passed, this will change. The reforms will enable the ACNC to publish information to increase public understanding of registration and compliance decisions for educational purposes.

Assistant Minister Leigh noted that “Australia’s charities are rightly held in high esteem and these changes will increase public trust and confidence in the charitable sector. The overwhelming majority of charities do the right thing. … In those rare circumstances where misconduct does occur it’s important that the ACNC can use those examples to help educate the sector and the general public to prevent issues from recurring.”

Today the Albanese Government released its first iteration of Australia’s Wellbeing Framework – Measuring What Matters.

The framework is intended to help track outcomes in the Australian economy and society and uses 50 indicators that are in addition to more traditional ways of measuring the economy like GDP, employment, inflation and wages. These indicators are grouped under the themes: healthy, secure, sustainable, cohesive and prosperous.

The Statement shows that over recent decades, 20 of the indicators have improved, 7 have been relatively stable and 12 have deteriorated. For example, Australia has made progress in improving life expectancy, and reducing resource use but has made less progress on indicators such as mental health and real wages. At the same time, we have more chronic health conditions and are finding it harder to access health services. Status against indicators can be viewed on a discrete dashboard, which will be updated annually.

Development of the wellbeing framework followed a public consultation process, which was undertaken in two stages. FRSA made a submission to the second phase of consultation and we observed in our submission that further investigation and distillation of the conceptual framework, including the five overarching themes was required so that the interdependencies of different facets of wellbeing are not lost.  We further encouraged the Treasury to ensure that valuing children and ensuring each child has a good start in life is strongly articulated in the Measuring What Matters Statement and that the framework include specific reference to, and measurement of, access to secure, safe and affordable housing.

FRSA supports the introduction of this Wellbeing Framework and the iterative approach adopted to enable ongoing refinement of the framework. At this point, however, the Wellbeing Framework is not tied to budget and policy-making processes. Our view is that the Measuring What Matters Statement needs to be anchored in a clear purpose that explicitly articulates how measuring what matters will be used to make a practical difference (for example, reducing poverty).

Earlier this month, we celebrated NAIDOC Week and the 2023 theme which was For Our Elders. We pay respects to the Elders past, present and emerging across this vast land. We acknowledge the importance of connection to Land, culture, spirituality, ancestry, family and community for the wellbeing of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families.

See how FRSA Members around the country honoured and celebrated the week:

• CatholicCare Hunter-Manning joined the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle at Awabakal LTD’s NAIDOC Week celebration.
• CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes launched their 2023 Aboriginal Art Competition to discover Aboriginal artists in western NSW with a total prize pool of $4000 on offer for the best original paintings. It is the third time the biennial competition has been held and the closing date for entries is Monday August 28, 2023.
• YFS staff celebrated across their offices on the lands of the Yuggera and Yugambeh speaking people and in the Quandamooka and Mununjali regions in which they operate. They also took part in the Logan Community NAIDOC family fun day.
• Better Place Australia participated in City of Kingston NAIDOC week flag-raising and morning tea event.
• Anglicare NSW South, NSW West & ACT held a NAIDOC Week Celebration at Ashmont Community Resource Centre where Marrambidya Yurali Waga-dhaanys (Murrumbidgee Blossoms Dancers), Wiradjuri Elders put on a fashion parade. There was also storytelling, weaving and artworks for children.
• MacKillop Family Services staff participated in the NAIDOC Week March in Melbourne.
• Odyssey House Victoria celebrated by wearing NAIDOC themed t-shirts and hoodies designed by Aboriginal residents and clients. This year’s design depicts the blue wren who guided children who had been playing out in the bush and would forget what time and which direction home was. The blue wren would guide the children home to their elders.
• Family Support Newcastle staff attended the NAIDOC Women’s Dinner.
• Centacare Catholic Country SA staff in Ceduna held a NAIDOC quiz night, while Port Lincoln staff updated their office mural to reflect this year’s theme and took part in the annual NAIDOC march.
• Relationships Australia Canberra & Region celebrated the week across their sites including Wagga Wagga and Batemans Bay. Staff also attended the ACT NAIDOC Ball and the Canberra Community NAIDOC week event.
• The City of Greater Geelong projected art from First Nations artist John Patten on the City Hall building. The artwork, titled ‘Bunarm nga Nunarng’ (Brothers and Sisters) is a celebration of First Peoples’ Elders from across Victoria, both past and present.
• Centacare Brisbane helped its staff feel more confident about showing respect for Traditional Owners by creating a small card, featuring a suggested Acknowledgement of Country statement on one side and a list of the traditional lands that make up the Archdiocese of Brisbane on the reverse and providing them to more than 3,000 people and teams across the organisation.
• CatholicCare Wollongong celebrated the week at the Campbelltown, Shoalhaven and Koonawarra NAIDOC Week events.
• Relationships Australia NSW’s Reconciliation Action Network compiled a few of their favourite First Nations-focused books and documentaries to watch, read and learn from.⁠
• CatholicCare Central Queensland’s Rockhampton team took part in the community’s annual NAIDOC week march.
• The Salvation Army Australia shared the story of the Salvation Army’s Queensland’s Divisional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Coordinator, Tahana and her journey of what she has learnt from elders. While the Launceston Salvos held a service as part of the week’s activities.
• Luthern Care’s Northern Territory team got together and did some baking to share with clients.
• Centrecare Inc staff took part in the NAIDOC Perth event and the City of Gosnells community event. And staff member Heidi from their Mirrabooka branch created a floral tribute to the Elders in honour of the week.
• Parkville Children and Youth Care staff held a bonfire organised by their Aboriginal Practice lead, Anthony Colbung (Tony). Tony was also awarded a Community Person of the Year award at the NAIDOC Perth Awards.
• Anglicare Southern Queensland’s team at Killara Respite Centre in Cleveland held a NAIDOC week morning tea and lunch and shared a video showcasing the event, watch the video below.

This week Centacare NENW announced that Chris Sheppeard has been appointed their new CEO. Chris is taking the reins from Mr David Holzigal who was the interim CEO following the retirement of Mr Fergus Fitzsimons in 2022.

Chris brings to the organisation extensive leadership thinking and experience from the NFP and corporate sectors. He has a lifelong passion for service to the community which is displayed through his active involvement in various community efforts.

“Chris is the right fit for the organisation, his leadership brings integrity, lived experience, and a set of values that are in harmony with those of Centacare,” said Chair of Centacare NENW, Louise Clarke.

FRSA congratulates Chris on his appointment.

Homelessness Week is on 7-13 August 2023. The week is hosted by Homelessness Australia to raise awareness of the impact of homelessness, and the solutions needed to end homelessness.

The theme for Homelessness Week 2023 is “It’s time to end homelessness”.

Download a Homelessness Week action pack, resources or submit your event on the Homelessness Australia website.

The 2023 Mission Australia Youth Survey is open and is seeking to gather a range of insights into the lives of young people aged 15 to 19 across Australia. The survey enquires about sociodemographic information, engagement with school and post-school aspirations, personal values and personal concerns about issues such as mental health (including suicide), identity, alcohol and other drugs, concerns about bullying/emotional/domestic abuse, issues of national importance, and questions about wellbeing and sources of support. Additional focus areas for 2023 include community connections, climate issues, housing and finance.

The survey closes 11 August 2023. Find out more information on their website or complete the survey here.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day is coming up on 4 August 2023. This year’s Children’s Day theme is ‘Little Voices, Loud Futures’.

The day is raising awareness for the bright futures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and the potential for their voices to pave a new path for our nation. As always, we support the voices of our children in calling for a future where they are proud and empowered by their culture to speak their truth and be listened to by all Australians.

Get involved, register your Children’s Day event and download resources on the website.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) is seeking feedback about how best to communicate their research in accessible and engaging ways. Do you:

• access AIFS research and resources on aifs.gov.au
• receive AIFS newsletters
• attend AIFS webinars
• follow us on social media
• have an interest in issues that affect families in Australia?

They want to hear from you! The survey only takes 5 minutes to fill out and closes 27 July 2023. 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.