Anti-Poverty Week is next week!

Anti-Poverty Week (APW) 2022 will be held across Australia from the 16-22 October. APW is all about supporting the community to understand poverty and take collective action to end it. In 2022, the aim of APW is calling on Australian Parliamentarians to commit to halving child poverty by 2030. This commitment would bring us in line with international human rights commitments to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

With 1 in 6 Australian children growing up in poverty, we urgently need appropriate measures in place to ensure that all families can afford secure housing and to cover the cost of essentials.

There are at least 9,000 children living in poverty in the ACT and rising costs of living are pushing more families to breaking point. During APW we will be reminding the community to reflect on the poverty and disadvantage on our own doorstep and to take action to make change and hold the Territory and Federal Governments accountable to raising income support to at least $70 per day.

As part of the ACT’s Anti-Poverty Week, we are holding the APW Youth Art Competition for a second year. Entries are now open for ACT youth under 18 to submit artworks until Sunday 16th October!

The APW Art Competition is an opportunity for young Canberrans to show us what an equitable and inclusive world might look like. The theme of the 2022 Competition is “Including Everyone”. Further information can be found at: APW Art Competition (antipovertyart.com). We welcome all contributions!

All participants will receive a small prize for their contributions and the winners will be decided by a public vote during APW and announced on Friday 21st October.

Visit the 2022 ACT Anti-Poverty Week page to see what events are being held across the Territory, or read further below.

For information and resources regarding APW, events being held in other jurisdictions and details of the national campaign visit the national Anti-Poverty Week website.

ACT Anti-Poverty Week 2022 is being convened by Co-Chairs Dr Emma Campbell, CEO ACT Council of Social Service and Ms Carmel Franklin, CEO. It is supported by an Executive Committee with representatives from Australia Red Cross, ACT Shelter, ACT Mental Health Consumer Network, Onelink, CIT Students’ Association, Relationships Australia Canberra & Region, CARE Financial Service and ACTCOSS.

This year the 2022 ACT Anti-Poverty Week Committee gratefully received a grant from the ACT Government to support APW activities.

For further information or if you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

ACTCOSS advocates for social justice in the ACT and represents not-for-profit community organisations. Follow us @ACTCOSS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

For more information or comment, please contact

Dr Gemma Killen, Acting CEO, ACTCOSS, on 0404 024 913 or 02 6202 7200.