Justice, Opportunity and Shared Wealth for all South Australians
MEDIA RELEASE: The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) has welcomed a range of measures captured in the state budget, but stresses that much more is needed over the new government’s term.
MEDIA RELEASE: The immense risks and impacts of climate change were starkly highlighted at SACOSS' Building a Climate Resilient Community Sector conference yesterday, and the community sector peak body is calling for urgent State Government action in response.
Climate change is a threat to all of us, and in many ways: to our health, livelihoods, homes, businesses and infrastructure. But while its reach is broad, the effects of climate change are not distributed equally. The greatest burden falls on people who are already facing other challenges.
The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) met with service providers and community leaders from across the Yorke and North region for its latest Regional Roundtable, held yesterday in Kadina.
MEDIA RELEASE: The South Australian Council of Social Service today released its pre-election report card on how well SA political parties are “covering the basics” in their election policy pitches.
MEDIA RELEASE: As ambulance ramping takes centre stage in the SA state election campaign, key community service groups are highlighting the problem of the cost of ambulance call-outs, with many people not calling an ambulance when they need one because of fear of the costs.
MEDIA RELEASE: SACOSS is releasing a new report: Protecting the Basics: Insurance access for people on low incomes at risk from climate emergencies.
SACOSS today held its “On the Couch” forum with Labor leader Peter Malinauskas and welcomed a number of his policy comments and commitments. The forum was held in the SACOSS offices and largely viewed online by leaders and staff from the social and community services sector right across the state.
Public housing, digital inclusion & fixing water supply in regional and remote communities headline SACOSS’ “Cover the Basics” state election policy platform
SACOSS is today releasing its ‘Cover the Basics’ policy platform document, which outlines a series of policy prescriptions for SA political parties in the lead-up to the next SA state election and beyond it.
South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) welcomes the state government’s announcement today of funding to provide support and equipment for students to develop their digital skills. In particular, we congratulate the government on committing $23 million to providing internet connectivity and devices to low-income families who might otherwise be locked out of access to digital technology.
Australian Energy Regulator's (AER's) work on Better Bills for customers is likely to be helpful, but the real focus should be on its draft Consumer Vulnerability Strategy - which has real merits but probably still won't help protect remote SA communities from being forced onto repayment requirements.
SACOSS welcomes today's release of the Australian Energy Regulator’s Draft Consumer Vulnerability Strategy for consultation.
South Australia’s leading public health organisations have released a plan of five evidence-based priorities that if enacted by the next state government will lay the foundations for a healthier and happier population.
SACOSS' Liveable Futures conference today provided an important and thought-provoking examination of critical equity considerations thrown up by our accelerating move to renewables.
"Decarbonising our economy in response to a changing climate is inevitable and necessary. But it’s also important for us to examine the equity implications of the energy transition," stressed SACOSS CEO Ross Womersley.
SACOSS today released summary data on digital inclusion by regional area for South Australia, based on the recently-released 2021 Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII).
Attorneys-General are reportedly considering another move towards raising the age of criminal responsibility, with a formal announcement anticipated early in the week.
However, reports suggest that the announcement may fall short of what is required, not amounting to an agreement to raise the age to 14.
Groups across Australia have long been calling for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to at least 14 years of age.
This week is Anti-Poverty Week – held each year to help raise important conversations about poverty in our state and beyond it, and what we can do better.
This year, a key focus of the week is to shine a light on the fact that in Australia today 2.65 million people are struggling to survive on income payments that are well below the poverty line.
SACOSS welcomes the release today of the 2021 Australian Digital Inclusion Index, showing an improvement in digital inclusion in South Australia. The new data shows SA again has the second worst score of all states and territories, but our score improved from 63.0 to 69.0 in the last year to be just 2.1 points behind the national average (by comparison with the 4.5 point gap last year).
SACOSS is releasing a new report which identifies serious problems in the system of concessions which support low income South Australians. The report, The State of Concessions in South Australia, examines utilities, transport, health and cost of living concessions and argues that the system is poorly designed, with gaps, poverty premiums and arbitrary requirements and barriers to access.
The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) welcomes the Productivity Commission’s recently-released final report into National Water Reform.
The report recommends updating the National Water Initiative (NWI) to actively recognise the need to embrace the realities of, and adapt to, climate change while also working to improve water rights and access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Seventy-five organisations from across Australia have written to state and territory Cabinet Ministers calling for minimum standards for rental properties to safeguard the health of
renters and protect them from the impacts of climate change.
A South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) submission to the Legislative Council Select Committee on the Privatisation of Public Services in South Australia has found that the privatisation of the South Australian electricity network increased inequality.
The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) will today give evidence to an SA parliamentary committee that the selling off of public housing in South Australia increases inequality in the state.
The Legislative Council Select Committee inquiry into the privatisation of public services is looking at a range of issues, but SACOSS' evidence today will focus on public housing, where the last 30 years has seen a massive reduction in the public housing estate, as houses have been sold off or demolished for private land sales.
With lockdowns now in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, over one million people, including hundreds of thousands of children, are excluded from the Federal Government’s COVID Disaster Payments because they are on a social security payment, even though many have lost part-time paid work.
South Australian Council of Social Service CEO Ross Womersley said:
SACOSS welcomes the continued deficit spending strategy in the 2021-22 State Budget to stimulate the economy, but maintains our concerns that much of the spending is not well-targeted to assist vulnerable and disadvantaged South Australians.
The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) State Budget Snapshot has been released this evening. The snapshot highlights a range of key areas: the good, the not so good, and some question marks.
SACOSS together with a range of key groups have made a powerful joint statement on the need for the State Government to step up to ensure that all South Australians have access to safe, affordable, and secure water.
Their call comes as the State Government progresses work on its draft Water Security Statement for South Australia – the first major statewide strategy for water security for over a decade.
Today the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), the ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS), New South Wales Council of Social Service (NCOSS), Northern Territory Council of Social Service (NTCOSS), Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS), South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS), Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS), Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS), and Western Australia Council of Social Service (WACOSS) jointly called on Commonwealth, state and territory governments to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years of age.
The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) is releasing a new report (Falling through the gaps) that casts a light on the issue of access to safe, secure and reliable drinking water services in regional and remote South Australia. It also provides practical solutions that can bring real change, to ensure that communities in these areas can have this fundamental need met. SACOSS is calling for action on this critical area.
SACOSS' Living Without the Basics Conference at the Adelaide Convention Centre today cast a light on a range of topical issues relating to housing, water and energy efficiency, their intersection, and some of the impacts for health, well-being and costs of living.
This week’s Federal Budget will include the cost of the recent increase in JobSeeker and it will presumably look like a lot of money – but SACOSS’ latest Cost of Living Report provides new data which shows that the recent increase (which replaced the much higher Coronavirus Supplement) is in fact very small for people looking for work.
SA fails on water fundamentals for regional & remote SA communities
The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) was glad to today address a public hearing held by the Productivity Commission for its National Water Reform inquiry, following the release of the Commission's National Water Reform Draft Report. SACOSS CEO Ross Womersley told the Commission that action is needed to address issues of water quality, reliability and cost of water services for regional and remote SA communities.
