Justice, Opportunity and Shared Wealth for all South Australians
SACOSS will host a Citizens’ Panel on State Government Discounts and Rebates today (Sunday 24 September) to consider how to best target and reform energy and water concessions, discounts on transport and health costs, and other concessions. These concessions can add up to more than $1,000 a year for some households and provide vital support for people on low incomes.
SACOSS’ latest Cost of Living Update released today shows the extent of the rental crisis in regional South Australia with limited availability of new properties and the cost of new rentals increasing and simply unaffordable for those on low incomes.
Tomorrow’s National Cabinet meeting provides an opportunity for state and federal governments to step up and take significant action to address the rental crisis that is hitting many South Australians hard.
People on low incomes in Local Government Authorities (LGAs) across the State's Mid and Lower North, Yorke Peninsula, Barossa and Flinders Ranges have been particularly affected by increasing cost of living and a range of other social, health and wellbeing issues.
Today's launch of the 2023 Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) shows South Australia continues to make progress compared to the rest of the country - but much remains to be done.
Adelaide households are paying far more than they need to heat and cool their homes, according to new research commissioned by the South Australia Council of Social Service.
A growing number of South Australian households are feeling the pinch of rising energy costs - at a time when energy companies are forecasting profits will double next year.
The South Australian Council of Social Service and its members welcome the Federal Government’s announcement of immediate and significant funding to state and territory governments for social housing.
Today's State Budget clearly will provide some welcome relief for hundreds of thousands of South Australians grappling with rising costs of living and housing - but the state government may have squandered an opportunity to make significant and meaningful change for the state's long-term benefit.
Civil society groups have responded to the passage through the upper house of the South Australian Government’s anti-protest bill. The Bill passed the upper house with a minor amendment after a Tuesday night sitting that ran into the early morning, and it’s expected to pass the lower house today.
It took only 22 minutes for anti-protest legislation to pass one of the two houses needed for it to become law - and now a number of SA's leading civil society groups are calling for the SA Government to spend another 22 minutes or even less this week to send the bill to committee for proper review.
An estimated 125,000 South Australian households will be directly impacted by the Australian Energy Regulator’s final default market offer which was announced today.
The South Australian government should invest a substantial part of its $784 million GST windfall from the federal budget on more public housing, according to SACOSS.
A new study ranking State electorates in metropolitan Adelaide by rental affordability impact highlights the need for SA MPs to take urgent action on easing the crisis.
South Australians who can least afford it will bear the brunt of proposed electricity price rises, according to the State’s peak advocacy body for the non-government health and community services sector, SACOSS.
MEDIA RELEASE: The South Australian Health Minister, Chris Picton, has launched a new initiative to be led by South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS), that will support more equitable, active community engagement and participation in South Australia’s healthcare system.
MEDIA RELEASE: The South Australian Council of Social Service today called on the state government to fund concession reform in the next state budget. Transport, health, utilities and cost of living concessions are the most direct way the state government provides financial support to low-income households, but the concessions system is fundamentally broken and people are missing out on the support they need to cover basic living costs.
A report released today by social service organisations found that while around three million households receive some form of ongoing financial assistance for their energy bills, the poor design and implementation of the assistance means too many people still can’t afford the energy they need.
MEDIA RELEASE: The South Australian Council of Social Service today called on the state government to increase funding for energy concessions going to low-income households and to reform the system to ensure that we get maximum support for those who need it most.
MEDIA RELEASE: SACOSS today released its latest Cost of Living report, which highlights rapidly increasing rent and rental affordability problems in regional South Australia.
MEDIA RELEASE: The South Australian Government has accepted the #RaiseTheAge petition from 11,923 South Australians who have called for the minimum age of criminal responsibility to be raised to at least 14 years.
MEDIA RELEASE: The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) is calling for the SA state government to put basic human rights at the forefront in ensuring that everyone has access to safe, secure and reliable drinking water.
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.
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.
SACOSS welcomed today’s release of ESCOSA’s Draft Decision in relation to SA Water’s proposed plan for delivering water and sewerage services to customers from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2024, noting that if implemented, it was almost certain to drive water prices down even further than had been projected in ‘Our Plan 2020’.
Ross Womersley, CEO of the SA Council of Social Service, said:
The South Australian Council of Social Service’s latest Cost of Living Update, released today, highlights the importance of insurance costs in household budgets, points to a long term trend of insurance prices rising at well-above the general inflation rate and raises concerns about the implications of un/under-insurance for vulnerable households.
The report found that:
In the midst of unprecedented bushfires and international climate talks in Madrid, the Councils of Social Service are calling for urgent government action on climate change to support those hardest hit by its impacts – people on low incomes or experiencing disadvantage. In a joint statement released today, the Councils of Social Service argue the climate crisis is not only a threat to our environment, it is a threat to people’s lives and livelihoods, and to ending poverty and inequality.
The Councils of Social Service across the country have joined together to urge the Morrison Government to reinstate funding to the National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services Forum (NFVPLS) the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and survivors of domestic violence.
The National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services Forum is vital to eradicating our country's shameful rates of domestic violence.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survivors of domestic violence must be heard.
The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) has today congratulated the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) for its compliance and enforcement action against EnergyAustralia, in relation to alleged breaches of important consumer protections contained in the National Energy Retail Law and Rules.
SACOSS is particularly encouraged to see the enforcement of retailers’ obligations to offer and apply payment plans to customers who are struggling to pay their bills.
