Housing Infrastructure

Housing and homelessness is the most significant issue impacting communities in southern NSW. Housing affordability is at an all-time low, and the region has a chronic shortage of residential aged care beds. Housing, including community housing and residential aged care must be recognised as infrastructure and planned accordingly. Capital grants build both housing stock and balance sheets (which enables further development.

Community Industry Group (CI Group) calls for Capital Grants for not-for-profit providers in:

• Community Housing

• Aged Care

• Disability Independent Living

• Youth Housing

Incentivise investment by redirecting Negative Gearing and Capital Gains Tax Concessions to affordable housing.

Workforce

Service providers across the social services sector struggle to attract staff for a range of structural reasons. In a workforce with diverse needs in direct service provision, clinical roles, administration and management, there will soon be a substantial deficit in the number of staff relative to service users. 

Community Industry Group calls for:

• Investment in Essential Worker Housing and recognition that all workers in the social services sector are absolutely essential.

• Fee free training for all workers up to Certificate III level in health care and social assistance, and in the waiving of HECS_HELP debt for Registered Nurses who work for 3 years in aged care after graduation.

• Increase in the Salary sacrificing caps for charity workers. The existing Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption cap $15,900 (plus an additional AUD 2,650 for meal entertainment) has not kept pace with inflation or rising living costs. Raise the threshold to $25,000 and tie it to inflation to help workers better manage essential costs.

Community services 

Community Industry Group supports ACOSS’ call to end the chronic under-funding of not-for-profit community service organisations by developing a better funding and grants management model to ensure their long-term viability and ability to meet need, in line with Initiatives in the National Not-for-Profit Blueprint.

Raise the Rate

CI Group joins ACOSSS in the call to raise the rate of all income support payments to at least $82 a day so everyone can afford the basics. 

Childcare

Community Industry Group (CI Group) calls for:

• Increased availability of extended hours Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC).

• Investment in ECEC services in childcare deserts.

• Continue to fund the 15% pay increase for ECEC workers.

Mental Health

Community Industry Group calls for:

• Increased investment in regional drug and alcohol support services, including residential support services.

• Investment in Hoarding and Squalor programs to improve physical and mental health,  prevent homelessness and support people with behaviours to take control of their environment.

• Invest in Older Person’s Mental Health programs in the home to reduce social isolation, improve health and support older people to age in place.

Aged Care

The Illawarra Shoalhaven is currently experiencing the worst bed block in Australia with 1 in 5 hospital beds occupied by a person awaiting residential care. The region is 1025 residential aged care places short, with significant projected ageing population growth. Cost to Government is estimated at $86m per annum.

Community Industry Group is calling for:

• Capital investment in residential aged care over the next five years.

• Halt the transition to Support at Home and continuation of block funding for the Commonwealth Home Support Program.

• Establish a fee relief program for Support at Home participants who are full pensioners without assets
  or in rental stress.

• $10 million to) establish a centralised and expanded Aged Care Transition Program (TACP) facility to move older people out of hospital to a more suitable location.
  

Community Industry Group is calling for:

• $1 million per year for three years (indexed) for CI Group to employ Project Officers with qualifications
  and expertise to work with aged care providers to increase residential aged care in the region.

Energy Poverty

Community Industry Group (CI Group) calls for:

• Means-testing of energy relief schemes to target households on low incomes.

• Incentivise investment in solar and insulation for landlords to ease cost-of-living pressures for tenants.

Health

Community Industry Group calls for:

• Continued roll out of bulk-billed Urgent Care Clinics in regional areas.

• Include access to dental services under Medicare.

Disability

Foundational Supports: States will now be responsible for Foundational Supports. We encourage the Australian Government to take a national approach and to work with states and territories to ensure a robust disability service system for all people with disability.

Quality & Urgent Payment Reform: Rising costs from compliance, audits, and safeguarding place services at risk. Registered providers uphold higher standards, but many long-standing providers will face closure without a sustainable funding mechanism. Quality must be supported systemically. There must be no option for providers to “opt out” of quality for affordability reasons.

Community Industry Group (CI Group) calls:

For urgent financial recognition of quality through a tiered payment made directly to registered providers - not drawn from participant plans. 

Youth Justice

Community Industry Group is opposed to the incarceration of children.

Community Industry Group calls for:

• Implementation of the findings and recommendations of an Australian Human Rights Commission report into Youth Justice, which include raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years.