2024 ACT Election

The ACT community is at a crossroads, with the substantial risk of generational reductions in equity, wellbeing and social cohesion. The 2024 ACT Election is an opportunity to press for the vision and commitment needed to tackle the challenges we face and shape a brighter future for the ACT.

On this page, you will find ACTCOSS’ 2024 ACT Election platform, complete with election statements for each of ACTCOSS’ election priorities. Scroll further to find links to ACTCOSS’ Member Organisation’s election platforms and advocacy.

All materials on this page are authorised by Dr Devin Bowles on behalf of the ACT Council of Social Service Inc. (ACTCOSS).

For more information on the 2024 ACT Election, visit Elections ACT.

Read the latest ACT Election news from ACTCOSS

ACTCOSS' 2024 ACT Election Platform

Coming soon!

Want to stay up to date?

Subscribe to eNotices

Looking to attend election-related events?

Check out our calendar!

ACTCOSS' Election Platform

Housing & homelessness

Everyone needs a home. A home where they feel safe, a home that’s secure, and a home they can afford.

Yet for a growing number of Canberrans, an affordable home is beyond reach. Our housing system is broken, and housing stress and homelessness is harming individuals, families and the wider community. Business-as-usual, with a reliance on the market to provide affordable housing, will not work.

The 2024 ACT Election presents a historic opportunity to change the path we are on and to deliver a decisive and generational shift in housing policy. ACTCOSS and ACT Shelter have developed a joint housing and homelessness election platform that sets out the reforms and investments we believe are necessary to tackle the ACT’s housing and homelessness crisis, with transformational investment in social housing at the core of the agenda.

Download the full election statement​

Canberra was recently ranked second best city in the world for quality of life. We are fortunate to live in a community that values wellbeing and strives for equity. Every year, almost all Canberrans interact with a community service, perhaps without even realising it. Whether it is connecting with playgroups or accessing childcare, participating in the local community garden, using the community hall for a party, gaining information on living with a chronic health condition, connecting with a youth worker or participating in a day out with other older people; the community sector supports all Canberrans across a range of life stages. Most crucially, we are there when Canberrans need us the most. Our work directly supports people during critical life periods. Canberrans rely on the Community Sector every day, however, we are already turning people away, as our ability to help people is under increasing threat and at risk of collapse in some areas.

With a commitment to serving our community, the sector has papered over the cracks of unsustainable funding, but is now at breaking point. In some areas there is a danger of market failure in the next 12 months, which would leave the most vulnerable Canberrans without required supports. We need the Government to commit to increasing its investment in the provision of essential community services through non-government organisations.

ACTCOSS, in collaboration with the ACT Community Sector Peaks have put together 4 election asks. You can find it in their Joint Statement

Download the full election statement

 

 

 

 

 

Full election platform coming soon…

The ACT Government has taken nation-leading steps toward responding to drug use as a health issue rather than a justice issue, but more needs to be done to minimise the harms from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in the ACT.

ACTCOSS are calling on the incoming ACT Government to:

  • prioritise harm reduction and increase investment in harm reduction measures
  • reduce alcohol-related harms though evidence-based policy and regulations
  • reduce the harms from e-cigarettes and tobacco
  • ensure sustainable funding to the ATOD sector that meets community need.

Download the full election statement on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs

Gambling is a source of substantial and wide-ranging harms to Canberrans, contributing to financial and mental distress, relationship breakdown, family and domestic violence, productivity loss, and increased risk of suicide.  Electronic gaming machines (EGMs, also known as pokies) are the greatest source of gambling harm in the ACT, and are not regulated in a way to minimise this harm.

ACTCOSS calls for stronger and more comprehensive policies to reduce the social, health and economic costs of gambling.

Read the full election brief here

Incarceration is expensive, ineffective and in most instances doesn’t leave our community safer. While the ACT Government has promoted justice reinvestment as a policy approach, too many Canberrans remain trapped in a cycle of harmful and costly incarceration. To break this cycle and build safer communities, the ACT Government needs to further reinvest away from prisons and into the community. This includes focusing on prevention, early intervention, rehabilitation, Aboriginal community-controlled services, and stronger oversight and accountability across the justice system.

Download the full election brief here

Older Canberrans’ wellbeing and rights need to be supported by age-friendly policies, services and infrastructure, with a particular focus on older Canberrans most vulnerable to exclusion. To achieve this, ACTCOSS calls on the incoming ACT Government to adopt a range of policy measures.

Read the full election brief here

Skip to content Skip to content