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Transforming social services references
Putting people first
This article summarises information from the website of the Centre for Policy Development (CPD) an independent, not-for-profit policy institute with staff in Sydney, Melbourne, and Jakarta. The Centre’s website displays its policy work in rich detail across a wide range of topics, see more at: https://cpd.org.au/
You can read the full report here: Download the PDF
As part of their review of the provision of social services in Australia, CPD noted “In their current form, Australia’s social services are failing too many people. Inaccessible, inconsistent, and unaffordable services are compounding inequality. Narrow eligibility criteria force people to navigate complex services or wait until they are in crisis.”
Why does this matter
The need for reform was summarised as:
“Despite over $200 billion in annual government spending, too many Australians are left without the help they need. The system is fragmented and overly concerned with compliance and control, effectively stripping social services of their core purpose – supporting people to lead fulfilling lives.
Today, 13% of Australians live below the poverty line and one in six children experience poverty. Nearly 3 million people are at risk of homelessness, and more than 1 million people want to work or work more hours.
Social services like aged care, early childhood education, disability support, and employment services should be there when and how people need them. But this top-down, disconnected system often treats people as problems to manage rather than partners in shaping.” their futures.
Six key drivers for reform
The six key drivers of reform were identified as:
- A shared purpose backed by long-term investment
- Grounding relationships in trust and transparency
- Cooperated and coordinative approaches
- Sharing and devolving power
- Flexibility and adaptability
- Learning and Knowledge sharing
Four practical steps to take
The report also presents four practical steps the Commonwealth government can take now to make services more responsive to people and communities:
- Define a clear purpose: Align the social services system with the National Wellbeing Framework to ensure it meets real needs.
- Improve learning and evaluation: Partner with academia and other learning partners to create better tools for assessing what works.
- Strengthen collaboration: All levels of government work together to develop more effective, long-term commissioning and funding tools.
- Show what works: Establish sustainable demonstration sites co-designed with local communities to showcase effective, people- and place-centred services.