Media release
The Board and staff of the ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) express our deep shock and sadness at the tragic passing of Sue Salthouse. Sue Salthouse made an extraordinary contribution to the whole Canberra community. Sue was an important national and Canberra disability activist, the long-term Chairperson of Women with Disabilities ACT, the 2015 […]
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) today welcomed changes to the ACT’s transport network but cautioned that more needs to be done to support Canberrans facing transport disadvantage. Dr Emma Campbell, ACTCOSS CEO, said: “We are pleased that the Government has responded to community feedback with additional off-peak services and better connectivity and accessibility […]
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) joins hundreds of organisations and thousands of individuals who are calling on the Federal Government to Raise the Rate of the JobSeeker payment for good. The calls come as part of a National Day of Action today to demonstrate why we cannot turn back to the old Newstart […]
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) today condemned the ACT Government’s inadequate consultation on new legislation that will simplify the ability to dispense with parental consent for children to be adopted. ACTCOSS and other undisclosed partners were given only two weeks to comment on this profound legislation – that can determine whether a child […]
Joint media release, ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) and ACT Shelter. The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) and ACT Shelter today called on the ACT Government to commit to investment in social housing in their plans for community recovery and rebuilding the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. ACTCOSS CEO, Dr […]
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) has welcomed a policy announcement by the ACT Greens to cap pokies bets at $5 to reduce gambling harm. Dr Emma Campbell, ACTCOSS CEO, said: “The call from the ACT Greens for all pokies bets to have a $5 bet limit and a $100 load limit is a […]
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) today welcomed recommendations by the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) aimed at supporting ACT energy consumers to find a better electricity offer more easily. The final report of the ICRC’s retail electricity price investigation 2020-24 recommends that the ACT Government: develop a reference bill amount which consumers […]
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) today welcomed committee recommendations that have called for greater transparency in the ACT Government’s response to COVID-19. The second interim report of the ACT Legislative Assembly’s Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic Response was released on Friday, with recommendations that include: Inclusion of a statement that legislation is […]
New pre-COVID-19 analysis of poverty in Australia has shown that households where women are the main income earners are twice as likely to live in poverty as those where men are the main income earners (19% and 10% of households in Australia respectively). The gap is even higher in households with children (at 23% and […]
The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) today released its regular journal, Update, on the theme of wellbeing in the ACT. Dr Emma Campbell, CEO of ACTCOSS, said: “ACTCOSS supported the ACT Wellbeing Framework released by the ACT Government in March. The concept of wellbeing is important because it recognises factors beyond the economy that […]