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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People in poverty left high and dry in Federal cash splash
“This budget, with its modest tax cut of $10 a week, has cash for everyone except those with the least” said ACTCOSS CEO Dr Devin Bowles. “It is shocking that in the face of a cost-of-living crisis, there were no moves to lift Canberrans out of deep poverty by fixing JobSeeker and other income support […]
Anniversary of the National Apology to Stolen Generations and the Indigenous People of Australia
This year, the 13th of February marked 17 years since the Australian Government apologised to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly to the Stolen Generations, whose lives were blighted by past government policies of forced child removal and assimilation. You can revisit this significant moment by clicking here. The […]
Energy Hardship is Growing in the ACT: Urgent Action Needed
The number of ACT residents struggling to pay their energy bills has increased by 78% since 2021, highlighting an urgent need for comprehensive and immediate intervention. Priority groups, including low-income households and renters, are disproportionately affected by rising energy costs and inadequate housing conditions, leaving many unable to heat or cool their homes safely and […]
Why Housing as a Human Right matters in the ACT
The Government should prove it’s on the side of citizens when it comes to housing The ACT Greens recently circulated draft legislation that would enshrine housing as a human right, following advocacy to all parties by ACTCOSS and others. Making housing a human right might strike some as odd at first glance. Deeper analysis suggests that […]
Disability Foundational Work Needs Community Funding
The ACT Council of Social Service and ACT disability directed organisations have come together to call for adequate resourcing of community contributions to the new Foundational system of disability supports in the ACT. The new system stems from the report of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Review with cuts to the Scheme already being […]
Social housing and community sector funding should be at the forefront of the next governing agreement
In a city full of politics, one of the ACT’s great political mysteries is why the ACT Government’s practical support for people experiencing poverty has gone backwards over more than a decade. How could this happen with such a progressive electorate, with governments that have been elected on their progressive promises over the last quarter […]
Now, post-election, it’s time for the most consequential bit of our democratic process
After the final seat in Brindabella went to the Greens’ Laura Nutall, negotiations around the formation of government began in earnest. It is vital to our democracy that this occurs transparently. In the ACT, it is historically rare for any one party to govern on its own. Negotiations are a feature of the ACT system, […]
ACT Government investment in community sector plummets 30% as a proportion of all government expenditure – it’s time to ACT for Community
Today, ACT Council of Social Services (ACTCOSS) CEO, Dr Devin Bowles, has launched the ACTCOSS ‘Community Sector Investment Over Time’ research in front of the ACT Legislative Assembly. Despite the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, the ACT Government investment in the community sector as a proportion of all government expenditure decreased by 30% between 2009-10 […]