On 28 April 2022, ACTCOSS hosted a community sector forum with a range of candidates for the 2022 federal election. The forum was an opportunity for local dialogue with a local focus. Members heard from party/independent candidates present: Tim Hollo and Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng (Australian Greens), Andrew Leigh (Australian Labor Party), David Pocock (Independent […]

Dear Ministers Berry and Vassarotti, Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services We represent a breadth of community sector organisations working with vulnerable Canberrans living in ACT public housing. Collectively, we are responsible for advocating for the interests of Canberrans living on low incomes, with disabilities, mental illness, who are elderly, experiencing […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) today acknowledged the release of the Blueprint for Change staffing review of the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) and welcomed some of its key recommendations. The ACT Corrective Services Blueprint for Change Oversight Committee, chaired by Christine Nixon AO, APM, was engaged to make a broad examination of staffing […]