News and Media
Here you’ll find news, announcements, and media releases from ACTCOSS and the Gulanga Program, along with major community sector news.
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Canberrans on low incomes hit hardest by cost of living rises as income supports removed
Canberrans living on low incomes are being hit hardest by the biggest increase in cost of living in over 20 years. Far from sharing in an economic and community recovery, more people are seeking support from ACT community sector organisations due to the rising cost of living and declining income support. These are among the […]
ACTCOSS welcomes new moves to reduce harm from gambling
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) has welcomed a significant step by the ACT Government towards reducing gambling harm by in the Canberra community. This follows today’s release by ACT Greens Leader and Attorney General Shane Rattenbury MLA of a discussion paper outlining the proposed changes to reduce harm from gambling for community consultation. […]
Social housing boost needed under ACT Government’s land supply and release program
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) will today give evidence to the ACT Legislative Assembly Committee inquiring into the ACT Government’s land supply and release program saying that more needs to be done to tackle the ACT’s housing crisis. In its testimony, ACTCOSS will call for more investment and an increased release of land […]
Survey shows community sector underfunded, overworked and underpaid
The report ‘Carrying the Costs of the Crisis‘, undertaken by the Social Policy Research Centre at UNSW Sydney for the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and the State and Territory Councils of Social Service, including the ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS), explores the experiences of thousands of community sector workers, service leaders (CEOs […]
ACTCOSS announces Policy Priorities for 2022 Federal Election
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) has called on all parties in the upcoming federal election to commit to a fairer Canberra by backing policies that support those who have the least. Using national analysis and ACT-focused research, ACTCOSS has identified six policy priorities that will give a fair go to people on low […]
CASP Wellbeing Newsletter – Issue 1 out now
Welcome to the first issue of our wellbeing newsletter! This newsletter is designed for frontline workers of the ACT Community Assistance and Support Program (CASP) – which includes volunteers and staff of subcontracted organisations. We wanted to provide additional wellbeing support in recognition of the unique challenges faced by frontline workers during the pandemic. We […]
ACTCOSS calls for political leaders to commit to raising the rate of income support
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) has today backed a call by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) for all political leaders and federal election candidates to make a commitment to raising the rate of JobSeeker to $70 a day. ACOSS urged politicians to consider whether they could live on just $46 day, […]
Joint media release: Canberra community calls for accessible human rights complaint mechanism
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) has today joined a coalition of Australian community organisations, including Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR), the Human Rights Legal Centre (HRLC) and Civil Liberties Australia (CLA) to call on the ACT Government to implement an accessible human rights complaint mechanism. Yesterday ACTCOSS made a submission to the […]