June was a big month for ACTCOSS and for the community sector in the ACT, with the handing down of the ACT Budget.
The Budget is the primary way the Government demonstrates its priorities. As a sector, part of our job is to provide the right information at the right time, and to the right parts of Government. We help them understand what is important to the ACT community and to the community organisations that support them.
This Budget has reflected the new way for the ACT Government and the community sector are working together. The sector was able to engage earlier in the Budget process, bringing our ideas and evidence directly to Ministers, Treasury officials and responsible policy and program areas. We continued to talk about the value of investing upstream in prevention and early intervention, recognising that better outcomes for our community come from acting early. We also highlighted the unique value of the community sector as a trusted, effective and best-cost provider for delivering services.
The result has been positive for the people we support and represent. These people are often less visible to Government because of the disadvantage and exclusion they face. Our more collaborative approach has helped ensure their needs and experiences are better reflected in government decision-making.
Overall, funding for the community sector increased by 26% in real terms, from $252m in 2025-26 to $327m in 2026-27.
As the champions of people experiencing disadvantage, we need to be simultaneously grateful for the big investments in this Budget while remaining hungry for greater equity.
And so, we start to look forward to the 2027-28 Budget process. There is still more work for ACTCOSS and many of our colleagues in the sector to evolve our engagement with the ACT Government. For instance, we are aiming to make our budget submission in October instead of November this year.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the 2026-27 process through consultations and forums, media engagement, direct advocacy and informal discussions.
In other significant news, new legislation came into effect on 1 July, making the ACT the first jurisdiction to officially legislate Closing the Gap commitments. ACTCOSS strongly supports all measures to strengthen self-determination and ensure proper recognition for the expertise and leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. I echo Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s consistent message that better outcomes are achieved when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lead the solutions for their own communities. | 
