Latest Training Sessions

Community Industry Group would like to thank all of their members for the continued support throughout the 2021/22 Financial Year. As the peak body organisation for community service organisations in Southern NSW we are proud to be able to represent the sector on your behalf and we sincerely appreciate your ongoing support. We now invite existing members to renew their membership for the 2022/23 Financial Year and welcome applications for new membership. Renewing and applying for membership is quick and easy. To renew or apply online click here. To request an invoice please email our Finance Officer, Trish Cachia, here. If you have any questions regarding membership please contact our office on 02 4256 4333 or email info@cigroup.org.au The benefits of membership include: Significant discounts on personal development training opportunities. Invitations to contribute to regional responses to government submissions. Invitations to conferences, industry events and regional forums. Access to highly skilled and knowledgeable […]

If you are a member of Community Industry Group you can submit your events and positions vacant for inclusion in our newsletter by emailing them to info@cigroup.org.au with newsletter in the title. Check out our latest edition: http://communityindustrygroup.org.au/news/newsletters/ If you want to subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter sign up here: http://communityindustrygroup.org.au/subscribe/  

We invite you to attend the Community Care Collective meeting for Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) Service Providers and Regional Assessment Service Teams on Wednesday, 8 June 2022, 10:00am–12:30pm. The Ageing and Disability Commissioner, Mr Robert Fitzgerald, AM, will be in attendance to discuss the role and achievements of the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission. On the day we will also launch the new Aboriginal artwork posters and checklists for prevention and awareness of older person abuse. Book your place here. For the full agenda click here.

We are currently offering many professional development opportunities including: Difficult but Necessary Conversations, Wednesday 11 May 2022 at Port Kembla. Free for members, $50 for non members. Click here to book your place. How to ethically engage and support young people, Wednesday 15 June at Shellharbour Civic Centre. $25 members, $75 non members. Click here to book your place. Diversity and Inclusion Training, Tuesday 5 July online. Free for members, $25 for non members. Click here to book your place. Expression of Interest for Family Group Conferencing Facilitator Training. Click here for the form.      

The ReSoW project run by Community Industry Group and supported by Resilience NSW is offering free strategic planning sessions for not for profit and non-government community organisations in the Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla, Bega Valley, Snowy Monaro and Queanbeyan-Palerang areas. As part of this package, a report will be provided after the planning session to help organisations develop a strategic plan to clearly identify priorities and achieve strategic goals. Please contact Sam here for more information.

We have released a new issues paper – Care for Older People in Southern NSW. The number of Australians in need of aged care services is increasing. By 2061, one quarter of the population in NSW is projected to be aged 65 and over. Check out our issues papers here.

Community Industry Group wish to advise of a change in the current leadership at the organisation. Long term CEO, Nicky Sloan, has been granted a 12 month break in her employment in order to take on a contract as Executive Director Membership & Services/Executive Director NSW, ACT & Qld with Aged & Community Services Australia (ACSA) effective Friday 25 February 2022. The Board wish to recognise the experience and knowledge that Nicky will gain during this period will significantly benefit Community Industry Group and its member organisations upon her return. The Board are pleased to advise that Anna Bacik has been appointed as CEO for this period. Anna previously worked as the Director of Policy at NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) and brings a wealth of experience from both government and non-government sectors. Anna will represent Community Industry Group in all the current projects and initiatives and is looking […]

Community Industry Group is proud to present the CareForce Hub, a purpose-built website which is the ‘go-to’ place to find your next career in the disability, aged and home care sectors. The CareForce Hub features job vacancies, tools and tips for job seekers, resume templates, employer information and loads of information about the huge variety of roles available. “The CareForce Hub is an initiative of our Care Careers project,” said CEO of Community Industry Group, Nicky Sloan. “And to coincide with the launch of the CareForce Hub, we are also announcing our Care Careers Jobs Pledge. We were hoping to have employers pledge 150 jobs over the next 12 months, but we look like well and truly exceeding that number.” To check out the CareForce Hub click here. We will advertise the pledged jobs for free on our socials and here. If you are an Care Career employer and want […]

Social connectedness is important for our mental health and wellbeing, but for a lot of people, lifting of restrictions and increasing social activities might be cause for some anxiety. We’ve developed some tips and strategies to help yourself, and those you love, ease back into socialising and rebuild social connections in a way that keeps you feeling comfortable and safe. We have created a short video here and a printable fact sheet here with tips for reconnecting for yourself or to assist others.  

Check out our video about all the things we achieved during the 2020/21 financial year, despite COVID-19 restrictions.

Community Industry Group is proud to launch the CareForce Hub, a purpose-built website which will be the ‘go-to’ place to find your next career in the disability, aged and home care sectors. The CareForce Hub features job vacancies, tools and tips for job seekers, resume templates, employer information and loads of information about the huge variety of roles available. “The CareForce Hub is an initiative of our Care Careers project,” said CEO of Community Industry Group, Nicky Sloan. “And to coincide with the launch of the CareForce Hub, we are also announcing our Care Careers Jobs Pledge. We were hoping to have employers pledge 150 jobs over the next 12 months, but we look like well and truly exceeding that number. On the very first day, we have received pledges for 124 jobs across the region!” To check out our Media Release about the CareForce Hub and Pledges click here. […]

Our latest annual report is out now! Click here to check it out.

Community Industry Group is excited to offer the Resources entwined with Support of Wellbeing (ReSoW) project! Community service organisations played a vital role during and after the bushfire crisis leaving many management committees, staff and volunteers in a state of increased fatigue. Not for profit organisations in bushfire-impacted regions of Southern NSW will be able to access subsidised supports to build capacity and resilience in staff and volunteers to support them in supporting the community. We are offering a variety of opportunities to help your organisation and staff thrive such as training opportunities, external supervision, leadership development and more.  For more information click here.

The Care Career Project aims to raise the profile of careers in the aged, home and disability care sector. We want to engage with service providers to capture core competency requirements for a new employee before starting work in your organisation. We invite you to take part in this important research by participating in our short survey here. All information collected by the Care Careers Project provides a foundation for attracting people and designing effective employment pathways. We aim to ensure that care sector jobs and careers are well known and highly regarded across the Illawarra and the South Coast. To find out more about the Care Careers Project, please contact Tanya Southworth here.  

We invite you to attend our Annual General Meeting featuring special guest speaker Jonathon Welch AM, creator of the ‘School of Hard Knocks’ choir on Thursday 28 October 2021, 11.30am-1.00pm, online via zoom. Jonathon Welch AM is a multi award winning singer, conductor, teacher, composer, director and recording artist who has performed around the world with some of our biggest stars. His work creating choirs for the homeless and disadvantaged in Australia was the subject of the internationally acclaimed ARIA, Logie and Helpmann award winning TV documentary ‘Choir of Hard Knocks’. In 2009 Jonathon created and launched ‘Social Inclusion Week’ making Australia the only country in the world to celebrate Social Inclusion nationally. He is also the driving force behind the arts, cultural and wellbeing program ‘Play IT Forward’. For more information about Jonathon see https://www.jonathonwelch.com/. For more information and to book your place click here.

The Australian Government has recently announced that the Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue will inquire into and report on the contribution of tax and regulation on housing affordability and supply in Australia. Community Industry Group will be developing a submission to the Inquiry and we encourage everyone to have their say on this important issue. Remember, you don’t need to write a detailed, academically referenced paper – a simple email is fine. And you can find some simple, sector developed recommendations on the Everybody’s Home website. Inquiry terms of reference and how to make a submission are available here.  

Charities and not for profit organisations (NFPs) need your support. Write a letter to your local Members of Parliament to protect the rights of charities and NFPs to participate in direct, or indirect, advocacy activities. The Federal Government is proposing significant changes to ACNC Governance Standard 3. If passed, the draconian regulations will prohibit charities and NFPs from participating in, or supporting other organisations with, peaceful protests and common advocacy activities. 59,000 charities across Australia work tirelessly on limited resources to support disadvantaged and vulnerable communities across Australia. They now face being restricted by severe and excessive regulation for giving voice to the communities which they serve. Organisations will need to demonstrate compliance with the new regulation, increasing the administrative burden charities and NFPs already face, and diverting more resources away from frontline service delivery and into paperwork. A list of Federal MPs is available here for you to contact. […]

Our Project and Policy Officer, Mel Breuker, can help answer your DEX related questions. One commonly asked question is, ‘How many clients do I need to report SCOREs for?’. In the Target Early Intervention (TEI) program, SCORE (Standard Client/Community Outcomes Reporting) should be reported for the majority of your clients. Circumstances, Goals and Satisfaction SCORE are used to report outcomes for individual clients. Community SCORE is used to report outcomes for groups or community activities (i.e. unidentified group clients). Recording SCORE Circumstances SCORE and/or Goals SCORE: An initial and at least one subsequent Circumstance SCORE should be recorded for at least 50% of individual clients. Satisfaction SCORE: At least 10% of individual clients, per reporting period should be recorded. Community SCORE: The community SCORE should be recorded for the majority of group or community activities where it is not feasible to record SCORE for individual clients. Please note that service […]

We all experience challenges in our lives. It may be our work, family, community, environment or concerns about world events. In order to be able to continue to deliver vital community services, we need healthy ways to care for ourselves. People who work in the community services sector consistently provide care or support to others. In addition to our working lives, we also juggle various demands on our time and energy from family, friends and the broader community. Having good self-care practices in place will minimise the risk of burnout and help sustain your relationship with others and with yourself. Community Industry Group is proud to offer this free online micro course. Check it out now. http://communityindustrygroup.org.au/courses/resilience-and-self-care-micro-course/  

In 2020, Community Industry Group received funding through the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) for a regional custom grant portal. NGOs are able to use the portal to find grant opportunities which are available in our region. Each grant will be summarised in a one-page template, and the portal will include search, planning and automated notification functionality. Members are able to create a profile on the portal to store their grant info and preferences, and notifications will be sent when appropriate grants are available. It’s easy to use and can track your grants too. Check out this video for more information: https://vimeo.com/515536162 Check out Grant Guru here: http://communityindustrygroup.org.au/grants/

A great night was had by all at the glittering We Do Magic Community Service Awards held at the Novotel Wollongong on Friday 4th June 2021. Our members came from across the Illawarra and far south coast to celebrate the magic performed in order to continue to offer critical support to vulnerable people. The pressures from disasters like drought, bushfires, floods, and a global pandemic have dramatically impacted the lives of the most vulnerable individuals, families and communities. Demand for community support has dramatically increased in areas such as homelessness, food relief, mental health, and domestic and family violence over the past 18 months. Community service providers have gone to extraordinary lengths to meet this demand and incredible stories of service, innovation and collaboration were heard and celebrated. While category winners were announced, it certainly was a night to celebrate absolutely everyone who works in the sector. Click hear to […]

On 15 April 2021, Minister Linda Reynolds – Minister for the NDIS announced a pause to the roll out of Independent Assessments (IAs) until after a second pilot is finished and evaluated. She has also announced that she will consult with stakeholders across the country. There is no doubt that the postponement is good news, and a response to significant lobbying by people with disability, their families and supporters, and service providers. However, ‘consultation’ on this new initiative, which could have significant impacts on NDIS plans, has so far been somewhat questionable. Independent Assessments were first floated in November 2019 when then Minister, Stuart Robert announced the new model of assessment using standardised tools. A trial was rapidly rolled out, with very positive results announced, despite the fact that respondents had yet to see the plan developed as a result of the assessment. Further concerns were raised about the veracity […]