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From 1 October 2018, there are changes to the requirements of charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). You will no longer need to lodge annual reports with Fair Trading or pay the annual lodgement fee. This applies if your association has not yet lodged your NSW annual summary for your current financial year end by 1 October 2018. You must lodge your association’s Annual Information Statement (and financial statements if required) with the ACNC for each financial year. The change only applies to annual financial reporting obligations. All incorporated associations must continue to notify Fair Trading of any changes, such as the association’s name, details, constitution or public officer.  If your association is not on the ACNC charities register, your reporting obligations do not change. You must continue to lodge all annual reporting with Fair Trading and pay the lodgement fee. The change only applies if the association continues […]

NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the provision of disability services in NSW NSW Legislative Council Inquiry Portfolio Committee No.2 – Health and Community Services announced an inquiry into the provision of disability services across New South Wales following the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. You can find details of the Inquiry here. Community Industry Group held a discussion group, which was well attended by representatives from key disability service providers across the region, and prepared a submission to the Inquiry. What we heard from our members is that, while all providers were committed to the principles of the NDIS in providing choice and control for people with disability, the transition to NDIS has not been without its problems for both providers and participants. Read our submission here.

Today we released a special bulletin with information on the Stronger Communities Grants Program and the Shellharbour Child Safe Workshop. To read our special bulletin click here.

Community Industry Group is proud to offer this free workshop in conjunction with the Office of the Children’s Guardian and Shellharbour City Council. The workshop will help you understand and implement Child Safe principles in your workplace. Tuesday 16 October 2018, 10 am to 4.30pm Shellharbour Civic Centre Auditorium 76 Cygnet Avenue, Shellharbour City Centre Participants will learn about: • Creating a child safe culture • Codes of conduct • Situational prevention and effective risk management • Recruitment and selection tips • Obligations under the Working With Children Check • Complaints management techniques Participants will receive a workbook with helpful information and templates and a certificate of attendance. Places are strictly limited. Click here to book your space now. ​Visit www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au  to view other available sessions.

The Nous Group were engaged by the Department of Health in early 2017 to conduct a comprehensive review of Wellness & Reablement (W&R) approaches within the home care sector, including CHSP services, Home Care Packages, Transition Care, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Programme and Short Term Restorative Care. A summary of these consultations is now available, and key findings include: There is strong support for W&R approaches, and some great examples are emerging across the country. However, W&R approaches are not yet deeply embedded or consistently applied across the home care sector. Australia is home to international W&R trailblazers, with Victoria and WA already having W&R embedded in their programs for some time now. A lack of financial incentives is a constraint for some providers. Implementation progress varies across the five home care service types. Culture change remains the key challenge, with aged clients being […]

Christine Racar, Policy and Project Officer, recently attended the Filipino social group at Figtree Community Hall to talk about My Aged Care. After group discussion and many questions a wonderful lunch was served. In 1988, Rebecca Hansen, along with two others who were all Officers of the Australian Philippine Association Illawarra Inc. (APA) started a social group. The group started meeting at the old office of Illawarra Migrant Resource Centre at Rawson Street, Wollongong. Fifteen people attended the first meeting and one of the males from this group is now ninety three and still attends.  These days the group meets at Figtree Community Hall and has grown to 35-40 financial members with approximately 20-25 in attendance on monthly meetings. The social aspect continues (including bus trips) along with information sessions and for new immigrants how to settle into the community. Everyone brings a plate of food to share for lunch. As […]

Membership of Community Industry Group will bring many benefits including: • Invitations to contribute to regional responses to key government inquiries, discussion papers, and policy dialogue to help us form submission responses. • Significant discounts on all training run by Community Industry Group. • Access to Community Industry Group’s extensive sector knowledge, advice and consultation from our highly experienced staff members. • Free advertising for Positions Vacant and your events within our e-newsletter which is delivered to a subscription base of over 900 people. For a full list of benefits and our membership form click here.  

Our latest newsletter has just been released! To subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter sign up here: http://communityindustrygroup.org.au/subscribe/ If you are a member of Community Industry Group you can advertise your events and positions vacant for free in our newsletter which goes out to our subscriber list of over 975 people.

Wellness & Reablement Update With Wellness & Reablement (W&R) now an official requirement of all CHSP contracts, providers need to start measuring how they are supporting clients through a W&R approach to services. On 31 October each year, providers will need to submit an Annual Wellness Report covering assessment, support planning and service delivery. A new Wellness & Reablement Reporting Template will be distributed to providers by the end of August, so you will have a better idea of what information the Department of Health requires. The Government have allocated $5 billion over 5 years for the More Choices for a Longer Life Package, and $29.2 million of this funding will be used to promote independent living, with a reablement focused assessment model being trialled across four RAS locations over a 2-year period. Training and support for the trial RAS sites will be provided, based on the successful WA Active […]

As part of our NAIDOC week celebration at Community Industry Group, we decided to collate some information on some of the female leaders, activists and social change advocates who are being honoured in this year’s NAIDOC Week theme – Because of Her We Can. Barangaroo Barangaroo was an Aboriginal fisherwoman, from the Cameragaleon group, who lived around Manly and North Harbour and was one of the most powerful figures in Sydney’s early history. Cammeraygal women were highly skilled at fishing from their simple bark canoes with intricate crescent fishing hooks carved from a shell, and bark fibre lines weighted with stones. They lit fires on clay pads for cooking and warmth, and cared for small children and babies in rough surf while catching fish. As primary providers for their people, they were respected and powerful within their societies. Barangaroo’s first husband and two children died of smallpox. She later went […]

Inquiry into the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the provision of disability services in New South Wales. The NSW Legislative Council Committee for Health and Community Services has announced an Inquiry into the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the provision of disability services in New South Wales. You can find the Terms of Reference here. Community Industry Group will collate a submission to the Inquiry, and we are keen to have input from our members, providers, carers and participants. We will be holding a discussion group to inform our submission at 9am on 31 July 2018 at Interchange Illawarra, 81 Kenny St, Wollongong NSW 2500. We encourage you or your representative to attend. Please register your attendance here:    

The report of the Standing Committee on State Development into ‘Regional development and a global Sydney’ has now been released. Community Industry Group prepared a submission to the Inquiry, and appeared twice before the Committee to give evidence. We are pleased to see that much of our evidence has been included in the report, and that it has contributed to many of the recommendations. The report is available on the Committee’s website, along with submissions, transcripts of evidence and other documents associated with the inquiry.

Community Industry Group were eagerly awaiting the release of the so-called ‘cost of living’ budget on 19 June 2018.  However, despite a few bright moments, the budget largely holds little for community service organisations, or for people living on low incomes. Access to safe, accessible and affordable housing is the number one issue affecting families on low incomes and vulnerable people in South East NSW but there is little in the budget to address the issue. While we once again welcome the extension of the Social and Affordable Housing Fund in the 2018/19 budget, the reality is that many people on welfare or on minimum wage are trying to navigate the private rental market. We need incentives to encourage more affordable private rental properties as well as an urgent investment in more social housing. It’s great that the 2018/19 budget holds a further $61.3 million for the whole of government homelessness […]

Position Vacant – Project Officer (Casual) Community Industry Group Inc. is seeking a dynamic and passionate Project Officer to implement a range of short-term projects. We are a not for profit peak body which supports community organisations, promotes industry expertise and pursues social justice issues in South East New South Wales, with offices in Oak Flats and Batemans Bay. We’re a membership based organisation which offers training courses and conferences specifically designed for people employed within the community services industry. Our aim is to improve outcomes for the region’s disadvantaged communities and build a strong and informed community service industry. Our staff enjoy flexible work hours, a friendly office environment, rewarding projects with clear objectives, managerial support and mentoring. The Project Officer will work on a range of projects as determined by the CEO. We are looking for someone with an enthusiastic can-do attitude. Experience with social housing tenants, or within […]

NAIDOC Art Exhibition – Because of her we can Community Industry Group is supporting an art exhibition in Wollongong featuring artwork by Coomaditchie Aboriginal Artists Corporation artists (including Lorraine Brown, Narelle Thomas and Amy Day). The exhibition is located in the Curio Gallery, Church Street, Wollongong (opposite David Jones carpark entrance) and will be on display until the end of July.

Iftar Dinner On Tuesday 5 June 2018, Community Industry Group staff members Amadis and Tessa joined board members Danna, Marlene and Alice as guests of the Sisters Cancer Support Group (www.scsg.org.au) for their Iftar Dinner at Dapto Ribbonwood Centre. Everyone in attendance was made to feel very welcome and enjoyed the meal of soup, chicken, rice, salad and sweets prepared by the group and their supporters. Ramadan 2018 occurs from 17 May to 15 June. Traditionally it is a period of spiritual and inner reflection. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and it is during this time that Muslims fast (sick people, travellers, women in certain conditions and children are exempt from the fast). The daily period of fasting starts at the breaking of dawn and ends at the setting of the sun. The usual practice is to have a pre-fast meal “Suhoor” before dawn and a […]

A number of positive changes are on the way for our aged care system, thanks to recent Federal budget allocations and the ongoing evolution of My Aged Care (MAC). Whilst the increased Home Care Package allocation is not enough to meet the demand, it is nevertheless welcome. The Department of Health have also allocated funds for MAC system navigation support, which is something many of us have been advocating for. Again, the amount allocated is not huge, however hopefully the pilot projects will demonstrate the benefit and wider need for this vital, ongoing support. Here’s a summary of key beneficial changes: A further 14,000 level 3 & 4 Home Care Packages. In addition to the 6,000 packages released in the Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, this takes the total up to 20,000 over the next 4 years. It is estimated that 8,000 will be available over the course of the […]

This year’s budget announcement once again contains a mixed bag for the region’s community services organisations and for its many vulnerable residents. We welcome Budget initiatives to support ageing in place and enable older people to live well in their own homes, such as the announcement of a further 14,000 new high level Home Care Packages over four years. Community Industry Group has been lobbying for an increase in Home Care Packages for some time, and while this is a step forward, we should not forget that there is currently an estimated shortfall of 104,000 packages across the country. The commitment of $146m towards improving aged care in rural, regional and remote Australia is also welcome, as is the commitment to ensure more older Aboriginal people are able to receive culturally sensitive accommodation. The investment in mental health services is also a positive outcome, but once again fails to fulfil […]

We issue a free fortnightly e-newsletter full of community service industry information, upcoming events, training courses and positions vacant. To get yours delivered straight to your inbox click here to subscribe or alternatively you can view the published newsletters on our website by clicking here. If you are a member of Community Industry Group, you can send us your events and positions vacant to be included in the newsletter, which goes out to over 900 subscribers. For more information contact Sally Hall, Marketing and Communications Officer, on 02 4256 4333.  

The latest Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot available here shows that renting in the private market is still unaffordable for people on government income support.  For people on low incomes, the reality is that they must often choose to go without essentials like food or medication just to have a roof over their head. This year’s snapshot report reveals that there are no properties available for rent across the whole of the Illawarra, South East NSW or in the capital region, which are affordable for a single person, or a single person with one child, living on Newstart or Youthstart Allowance. This includes shared accommodation. Across Sydney, Illawarra and whole of South East NSW, there were only 26 properties suitable for a single person living on the aged pension, the majority of these in the South East and capital region of NSW. Overall for people on low incomes, including singles and […]

Care workers across the aged and disability sectors support our most vulnerable community members with compassion and skill. Justine Evesson and Sarah Oxenbridge from Employment Research Australia have compiled an excellent report and practice guide for workers and managers to better understand how they can support each other and prevent undue stress and burnout for carers. By taking better care of their employees, organisations also reduce staff turn-over, additional time and resources spent on recruitment & training and can provide more consistent quality of care for their clients. The most commonly experienced stressful impacts on care workers include: Emotionally demanding and complex clients Poor worker management such as insufficient and variable work hours, rostering issues or lack of open and responsive communication Compromised quality of care for clients due to insufficient staff numbers or time allocated for the client’s needs Low pay rates Lack of respect and recognition for the […]

Over 150 people attended the Navigating Mental Health Services forum on 11 April 2018 at Shellharbour Civic Centre to hear Deputy Commissioner Karen Burns from the NSW Mental Health Ombudsman’s office and speakers from the Local Health District, Coordinare, Grand Pacific Health and the NDIS Stakeholder Engagement team. Karen spoke about ‘Living Well’, a Strategic Plan for Mental Health in NSW 2014-2024, adopted by NSW Government and the current work of the commission reviewing Strategic Framework for Suicide Prevention in NSW, Lived Experience Framework, Review of Headline Indicators and Community Based Mental Health Project. George and Shane from Illawarra Shoalhaven Community Mental Health Team spoke about the services offered by the Local Health District including the 1800 triage number, acute care, case management and special services for different age groups. Dr Rebecca Sng, Manager Primary Mental Health at Grand Pacific Health spoke about being a Not-for-Profit organisation providing physical and […]

Last days to book! Navigating Mental Health Services – Options & Referrals for non – mental health service providers Join us for this half day event which will engage, inform and advise non-mental health providers including community service organisations to understand the mental health system, in order to support their clients more effectively. Participants will go away with an understanding of: the layers of the mental health system the customer journey and how to find services how to refer clients into the system the NDIS effect The event will also include: ‘Power pitch’ sessions from local providers to advise you of their services. Marketplace stalls for a chance to meet and network. Click here to book.

Check out the latest from the Community Industry Group with our fortnightly newsletter. You can subscribe here http://communityindustrygroup.org.au/subscribe/ or see our past issues here http://communityindustrygroup.org.au/news/newsletters/