Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet; the Turrbal people. I pay my respects to their elders, their laws, customs and wisdom.

I would also like to acknowledge the many expert speakers who are contributing to this conference. I participated earlier in a workshop together with some of these experts: Myles McGregor-Lowndes (Centre for NonProfit Studies and Philanthropy, QUT), Eric Sidoti (Whitlam Institute) and Gregor McFie (ACOSS) which you may have attended. The workshop focused on how we might bring about a better relationship between Government and the non-profit sector.

I thank David Thompson and Jobs Australia, for inviting me to speak this afternoon about this important agenda, one which I have been engaged in, both in Opposition and since coming to office. I’m very proud to have been leading this important work and consulting with many non-profit organisations about how we can better work together to build a fairer and more inclusive Australia.

Organisations in the non-profit sector are the heartbeat of our local communities. They make a major economic and social contribution to our nation. What is clear to us in Government is that we cannot develop a Social Inclusion agenda without you and we know that a respectful and fruitful relationship must be a central tenet of that agenda.

So, this conference (notably, one without a theme) has a very important agenda - how the members of Jobs Australia can engage with the still new Labor government - in what you are seeing as ‘a brave new future’.

Congratulations to all who have been involved in the development of the conference program – the workshops range from the priorities shared with the federal government on social inclusion, to some new and edgy thinking about effective leadership, the freak factor, and how to deal with elephants – if you’re a flea!

So, it interests me that Jobs Australia has taken on a leadership role as the national peak body for its 250-plus member non-profit organisations that:

    * help unemployed people to get and keep jobs;
    * helps members to make the most effective use of their resources;
    * promotes the needs of unemployed people for the services and support that will help them to participate fully in society; and
    * provides an independent voice for members who range from large charitable organisations to small local community-based agencies.

The fact that Jobs Australia is the largest network of employment and related service providers in Australia and is funded and owned by its members demonstrates what an industry association in this space can aspire to and achieve.

So much of what underpins the network reflects what the Federal Government wants to achieve in the area of social inclusion:

    * a fairer and more equitable Australia;
    * stronger community-based services organisations;
    * strengthening the capacity of communities and individuals they serve; and
    * promoting better understanding of the needs and interests of disadvantaged unemployed people.

And I’m very pleased that what you have been discussing over the last day-and-a-half – the future of employment services and the opportunities that this future provides for your organisations and the clients you serve - aligns so closely with our thinking.

Your workshops combine the practical with the potential – conceptualising the real and the imagined – and so often, we are so busy with dealing with the day-to-day crises that we don’t give ourselves permission to deal in this space – but it’s important.

It’s where reflective practice can occur. It’s where we can consider what’s possible.

It’s how we can figure out what can be scaled up and what can’t – and why that’s the case.

And Jobs Australia has been leading the way in this space for some time – longevity does that to people!

What you have achieved, beyond the successful training and placement of people in work, is also of interest to me.

Supporting the Fair Australia campaign, for example; creating the Community Sector Bank, and the Community Fleet Service as well as the Jobs Australia insurance program and the CSIR advisory service, demonstrates to me that the notion of sustainability is far more than just ensuring successful tendering rounds. It is also about creating systems and strategies to deal with the compliance and regulatory regimes that are now part of your world.

While many argue that to maintain diversity in the sector - ‘small is beautiful’ - Jobs Australia has been agreeing that you can be small, you can be beautiful and you can get the support from being part of a bigger picture. And it is in the bigger picture that efficiencies can be delivered, purchasing power is activated and risk is spread.

That’s what makes this network different. You are engaged in your communities, your sector and your profession.

So what are the opportunities for us to work together?

Well, first of all I think I would like to share some information with you about what the Government has in mind about delivering outcomes on our Social Inclusion agenda.

 

Then I would like to pose some questions for you to consider in the coming weeks and months as our agenda unfolds further.

Finally, I would like to encourage you to become engaged with our agenda, and outline how you can do that.

Social Inclusion Agenda

There are significant changes in the way that employment services are to be delivered in the future. We want this system to better help people seeking work to find sustainable employment, as outlined yesterday by Brendan O’Connor, Minister for Employment Participation.

There are important changes in the next round, that are designed to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach. We want to better tailor services to the needs of individuals and communities and to streamline processes, so that it is easier for you to focus on your core business.

The reforms demonstrate the Government’s commitment to breaking down the barriers that prevent people from finding and retaining meaningful employment. But there is so much more to our Social Inclusion agenda than that. We have much more in mind than welfare to work. We see that social inclusion is about every Australian having the chance to make choices, to participate, to belong, to have a place to call home, to volunteer, to be visible, to be able to access services, to be able to connect with friends, to believe that their opinion is worth expressing, and importantly, is worth being listened to. It’s about strong families and strong local communities.

We also recognise that we have to develop very new approaches and partnerships if we are to achieve real gains in this new agenda.

We believe that action on disadvantage, poverty and exclusion cannot happen soon enough. As we know from Professor Tony Vinson’s publication, ‘Dropping off the Edge’, despite unprecedented economic growth, some communities remain trapped in a cycle of disadvantage, with some 1.7% of postcodes accounting for more than seven times their share of the major factors that cause poverty and disadvantage.

We are very interested in building on this research with the data available to Government, much of which is provided by the sector, to map most effectively where there are black holes in service delivery and the greatest needs.

The research and data of this magnitude represent a lost opportunity to the nation; both in social and economic terms, and the conclusions to be drawn are compelling.

The solutions we develop must put people back at the centre of programs.

This requires us to ask why exclusion exists, and who is doing the excluding? What are the policies and practices within our respective organisations that perpetuate this experience, when we are supposed to be in the business of alleviating exclusion and poverty?

Well, the international experience and our own gut instincts tell us that it is no longer good enough to rely on one-size-fits-all policies. People’s circumstances matter, places matter. Life is messy and unpredictable and what works in one community or neighbourhood might not work in another and we have to be flexible in our approach.

It cannot be just about reporting, outputs or even through-puts – we need proof that what we are all investing our resources and energy in, is working - there must be an evidence-base for strong outcomes so that we can ensure that resources are being directed to the most effective solutions. It has to be about being a means to an end, not an end in itself.

This requires a systemic change in the way that the Government, business and non-profit sectors deliver services and develop policy through new partnerships, and in this regard the reforms being delivered through COAG and Cabinet are important first steps.

Through the Council of all Australian Governments (COAG) we are putting in place the partnerships, policies and structures that will deliver real reforms. We are working on building new indicators into the Specific Purpose Payments to give incentives for the States to achieve social inclusion imperatives and focus on programs which deliver real outcomes.

For the first time ever we have a real opportunity to end the ‘blame game’ between levels of Government and reform the way that payments are delivered to target policy priorities.

The Government has created a Social Inclusion Committee of Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, to support its agenda. This will drive a whole-of-government approach which is truly a first at the Federal level.

The Committee is being supported by an inter-departmental working group of Secretaries. Also, a Social Inclusion Unit has been set-up in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to work across agencies to develop the agenda.

Achieving real ‘joined-up’ service delivery is not easy, but we are serious about putting in place the mechanisms to drive better coordination and joined-up service delivery. The Social Inclusion agenda cannot and does not belong to one department, but belongs to the whole Government and the whole Ministry.

The Australian Social Inclusion Board is the main advisory body to the Australian Government about how to achieve better outcomes for the most disadvantaged individuals and groups in our community.

The Board comprises of good people. They are eminent experts from different backgrounds, who share a common goal. Their aim is to make a significant contribution to Australian society by advancing the Social Inclusion agenda.

Their knowledge and experience will support the development of evidence-based policy and will help the Government to utilise new networks to create innovative solutions.

The Board is currently focused on our three priority areas: jobless families, children at risk of long-term disadvantage and how to take an important locational approach to addressing disadvantage and exclusion. The board members are working hard across a range of projects and I enjoy the opportunity to work with so many sharp and determined minds.

A new relationship

But the Government also recognises that effective partnerships with the non-profit sector are vital in this new framework.

Partnerships between government and the non-profit organisations are proven to be central to supporting people into work and enabling participation for all Australians.

We must also foster an environment in which the non-profit sector can continue to develop one of its core strengths: innovation. Many important social innovations have emerged from the sector over our history – community housing, self-help groups, and participatory environment programs to name a few.

The ‘Forces at Work’ publication was launched yesterday which demonstrates how ten non-profits have tackled unemployment, and much, much more, in their communities.

It demonstrates just how partnerships are central to fostering innovation and how crucial these partnerships are to delivering success on the ground, how partners and arrangements need to adapt to recognise the location-specific needs of individual communities.

The examples, such as BEST Community Development from Central and Western Victoria, which actively created new employment opportunities through social enterprise in areas where those opportunities were lacking, such as Café BEST to provide training and work opportunities for people living with disabilities, give weight to the claims that it is the non-profit that nimbly and effectively responds to the needs of our communities, but also prepares for future challenges.

The case study of Tasmania’s Southern Training Employment and Placement Solutions (STEPS) is testament to the non-profit sector’s ability to empower individuals and change lives. When a Work for the Dole participant turned up and asked if his family could stay with him for the day, the reason being their home was their car, STEPS was determined to do something about it. They used funds from their surplus to develop social housing in partnership with government and used a community housing trust to raise capital to construct the housing and, in time, other innovative enterprises.

While these case studies are real success stories, making incredible differences to people’s lives, they also demonstrate a sector which is in change – diversifying in the way it does business and the way in which it builds partnerships.

It demonstrates that the non-profit sector is well placed to deliver effective, efficient services, can deliver genuinely ‘joined up’ services, and perhaps most importantly of all, add value by building communities from within and delivering local-specific solutions that work.

This innovation is to be applauded. But we also recognise that the non-profit sector is facing many challenges. Many are the results of social change such as changing community priorities, the falling off of volunteers, capacity constraints and ageing infrastructure to name a few. But some of the most difficult challenges are the unintended consequence of government action.

While organisations are renewing, adapting and transforming themselves, regulation has placed burdens on community organisations that do not reflect the level of risk that these organisations represent.

All of you work in a difficult environment - an environment that requires careful negotiation and balance so that you can achieve your social goals and your business imperative.

That is why we are determined to reduce the burden of fragmented, competing and duplicated funding models operating across government agencies.

We also want to reduce overly complex and inconsistent regulations at the national and state levels.

The Government wants not only to reduce red tape for non-profit organisations, but also ensure transparency and accountability in the sector.

We realise that some inconsistencies currently exist across jurisdictions, making it difficult sometimes for community organisations to navigate the system.

That is why the Australian Government has begun a review of the current processes across the board, not only in the way Government funds and supports the Job Network.

The National Compact

This review will complement the development of a new National Compact between the Government and the non-profit sector.

We believe the non-profit sector must not only act as a partner in the delivery of quality services, but also be a partner in the generation of ideas and innovative thinking.

That’s why we need to develop a strong and positive relationship, based on partnership and respect.

As Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector, I am currently engaged in a discussion to consider the opportunity of a National Compact.

Many other countries have adopted effective frameworks that promote these kinds of partnerships, in order to improve policies, programs and services for the ultimate benefit of the community.

The Compact could create opportunities for better frameworks for dialogue and policy development, enable collaboration on capacity issues in the sector and ensure consistent treatment when you engage with different government agencies so the goal posts don’t keep moving. It could also provide some capacity building for the sector to build innovative partnerships, like those illustrated in the Forces at Work publication.

It may also be about embedding accountability measures that look at the way services and programs are working to meet social inclusion priorities. This includes asking about our own employment practices and how we include people in our own organisations.

I am keen to hear your views about what the Compact could include and what your priorities are to strengthen your sector.

Progress on Compact negotiations

Phase one of developing the Compact is expected to be completed by October.

This first phase is focused on raising awareness about how the Compact can strengthen the relationship between the non-profit sector and the Australian Government.

We’re doing this through consultative forums with peak community organisations, delivered by the Australian Council of Social Service.

As part of this engagement process, a National Compact consultation website has been created. We have already had an enormous response, with more than 6 500 hits on the website recorded in July, and another 10 000 in August.

I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to provide feedback.

Further information on how to make a submission is available on the website: www.socialinclusion.gov.au. Submissions close on 24 September.

Depending on the outcome of these initial consultations, we aim to draw up a draft Compact later this year. Further consultations and discussions will continue in 2009.

The feedback we’ve received to date indicates there is a high level of support out there for a National Compact.

An expert panel for the Compact

I recently announced an expert panel for the development of the National Compact, which will work with the Australian Government to ensure the integrity of the consultation process and provide advice on how we can ensure we receive a diverse range of views.

I am delighted that David Thompson, CEO of Jobs Australia and Chair of the Roundtable of Non-Profit Organisations, accepted my invitation to participate in this panel. The Panel is being co-chaired by David Crosbie, CEO of the Mental Health Council of Australia, and Evan Lewis of FaHCSIA. Evan has much expertise and experience in the development of community programs and understands many of the issues facing non-profit organisations delivering services and developing projects.

I am sure you will all agree that it is essential we bring the public service with us on the journey to develop this renewed relationship and I am being supported in the development of the Compact by FaHCSIA and an inter-departmental committee.

Conclusion

I know that the consultation process you have been involved in to reform the Job Network has been time-consuming and resource-intensive and I thank you for all your efforts to deliver on this agenda. It’s been an enormous contribution, all while you go about your core business - transforming lives and building communities.

The Government is committed to recognising, at last, the enormous contribution of the sector to Australian society and fostering new waves of enterprise and social innovation. The Government is also committed to helping the sector to grow and change to meet future challenges.

It is essential that the critical non-profit employment services sector is represented in this wider agenda to reduce exclusion and build a fairer Australia and I look forward to working with you in this endeavour.

Thank you.