Media release
Media release FRIDAY 17TH OCTOBER 2025 Poverty and housing stress deepen in the ACT as Anti-Poverty Week draws to a close As Anti-Poverty Week (APW) 2025 ends, latest analysis shows poverty and housing stress worsening in the ACT for people on the lowest incomes. To mark the week, ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) and […]
This week is Anti-Poverty Week, a time to confront the reality that poverty exists here in the ACT, just as it does across Australia. Held each year to spark national and local conversations, it’s an opportunity to recognise where poverty exists, and take action to end it. In the ACT, frontline community workers say the […]
ACT community service organisations are urging the ACT Government to continue funding the Rent Relief Fund in a joint submission ahead of the 2025-26 ACT Budget. This vital program, set to end on 30 June 2025, provides financial relief to vulnerable private renters experiencing rental stress or severe financial hardship. Since its re-establishment […]
Canberra’s community sector is at breaking point and today ACT for Community supporters will gather at the ACT Legislative Assembly, where MLAs are expected to acknowledge the funding challenges that have long strained the sector. “It is heartening to see MLAs using their platform to shine a light on the funding challenges that have burdened […]
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) stands in full support of the motion introduced today by Independent MLA Mr Thomas Emerson, calling for a Board of Inquiry into the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people incarcerated in the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC). We echo the urgent calls of families and community leaders […]
The ACT Greens today introduced a bill to the Legislative Assembly to enshrine the right to housing in the ACT’s Human Rights Act. This move follows sustained advocacy from ACTCOSS, service providers, other community organisations, and frontline workers who see the impact of housing insecurity every day. “Housing is a human right, and we need […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Today on Monday, 14 October, political candidates outlined their plans that would affect the lives of over 38,000 Canberrans living in poverty, at the Anti-Poverty Week Community forum. Organised by the ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) and Vinnies Canberra/Goulburn, the forum highlighted how the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, housing crisis and rising inequality are impacting […]