australian council of social service -...

AustralianCouncil ofSocial Service

A C O S S N a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e | S y d n e y | 2 5 - 2 6 J u n e 2 0 1 5

H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd ABN 66 006 818 695 AFSL No. 235249, the Trustee of Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA) ABN 64 971 749 321. Product ratings are only one factor to be considered when making a decision. See hesta.com.au/ratings for more information. Investments may go up or down. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. For more information, call 1800 813 327 or visit hesta.com.au for a copy of a Product Disclosure Statement which should be considered when making a decision about HESTA products.

HESTA is the super fund for people in community services3 Supports your industry

3 Low fees

3 A history of strong returns

More people in health and community services choose HESTA for their super.

‘MySuper of the Year’ ‘Fund of the Year’

HESTA_CommunityServices_21.25x13.75.indd 1 28/05/15 10:11 AM

Join the Live Conversation 4

Message from the ACOSS Chief Executive Officer 5

Program Overview | Thursday 25 June 2015 6

Program Overview | Friday 26 June 2015 7

Session details | Thursday 25 June 2015 8Welcome to Country 8Linda Tirado: Keynote Address and Q&A 9Inequality in Australia 10The Great (Taxation) Debate 11ACTOSS/SACOSS Independence in the Not-for-Profit Sector report launch 11The Hon. Brad Hazzard, NSW Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Social Housing 11Families in Focus: Women, Men, Caring and Paid Work 12

Session details | Friday 26 June 2015 14Out of the Maze: Towards Decent Incomes and Jobs for People on Working-Age Social Security Payments 14The Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Minister for Social Services 14Senator Richard Di Natale, Leader of the Australian Greens 15The Hon. Bill Shorten MP, Leader of the Opposition 15Civil Society in Australia: Keynote Address 16Civil Society in Australia: Panel Discussion 16NCOSS Launch The State of the Community Sector in NSW - 2015 18Jobs of the Future 18

Acknowledgements 21

Map | Australian Technology Park 22

A C O S S N a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e | S y d n e y | 2 5 - 2 6 J u n e 2 0 1 5

On the Conference App

Head to the online ACOSS Conference 2015 app to post your comments, see what others are saying, and even send your questions directly to the facilitators before and during each session (no download needed). You’ll also find a detailed program, speaker bios, event info and more.http://eventmobi.com/acossconf2015/

On Twitter @ACOSS #ACOSSConf2015

We’ll be showing a live twitter stream during sessions, so tweet your thoughts and event highlights to see your name on the big screen.

Disclaimer: ACOSS will make reasonable effort to moderate questions and tweets against vilification. Opinions and views shown through live feeds and the app represent the thoughts of individuals and are not necessarily shared by ACOSS.

Join the live conversation

ACOSS National Conference 2015 | 5

Session details | Thursdy 25 June 2015

Welcome to the ACOSS National Conference 2015! It’s been a massive period for the community sector and the people and communities we work with. At ACOSS, we were still trying to improve the outcomes from the 2014 Federal Budget for people on low incomes, when the 2015 Budget came upon us. Meanwhile unprecedented funding cuts right across the community sector have struck at the very heart of our capacity to be a strong voice for social justice, health and wellbeing.

We have seen a concerted effort to reduce the strength of civil society, at a time when strong voices for social justice were never more important. Now more than ever, we must make time to meet, to listen, to speak up and to advance the interests of people experiencing poverty and inequality in Australia.

That’s why I’m so pleased to have this time set aside to hear from you about how we as ACOSS, and civil society more broadly, can work together to ‘Advance the Common Good’. We’ve selected this theme to inform discussion about the best policy reforms to address ongoing poverty and rising inequality; about how economic growth can be fair and inclusive for everyone; and about the ever-important role of civil society in securing these outcomes.

In recognition of your feedback from past conferences, we have changed the format to enable more time for discussion and engagement. The Program covers many of the big issues in social and economic policy today; and is structured to maximise the opportunity for voices of lived experience, practice and research to come together in discussion. There will be no breakout sessions, which means delegates will get to attend every session on offer over the two days. We believe there will be great benefit in enabling all participants to share ideas, debate tough issues, connect with each other and be inspired to strengthen communities and civil society itself.

We are delighted to welcome Linda Tirado from the United States as our Keynote speaker. Linda wrote an online essay about the poverty trap in America that went viral, and has since been published as the book ‘Hand to Mouth: The Truth About Being Poor in a Wealthy World’. I hope Linda’s own experience about the disconnect between the experience of poverty and the way it is perceived will help catalyse us all to support voices of experience in our own public and policy debates.

The 2015 ACOSS Conference will cover a wide range of issues relating to poverty and inequality, domestically and internationally. ACOSS has just launched our first research report into Inequality in Australia, revealing the true picture of inequality and the urgency of the measures we must take to stop its growth in Australia. I look forward to your strategies for addressing this in our Inequality panel on Day 1.

We will also hold a great taxation debate and discuss families policy, before heading to the Conference Dinner and presentation of the annual HESTA Community Sector Awards on the first night of the Conference. Join me at Town Hall for a great night celebrating excellence and dedication in our sector.

The critical value of a strong and independent civil society is sure to re-engage us on Day 2, as are the voices of our nation’s political leaders, and the direction of welfare reform, and the jobs of the future.

Please tweet throughout the conference using #ACOSSConf2015. I encourage you to make use of this for asking questions, and sharing ideas and information from the conference with your broader networks.

Once again, welcome to the ACOSS 2015 National Conference. I look forward to discussing how we can achieve a fair, inclusive and sustainable Australia where all individuals and communities can participate in and benefit from social and economic life.

Cassandra GoldieChief Executive Officer, ACOSS

Message from the ACOSS Chief Executive Officer

6 | ACOSS National Conference 2015

8 am Registration open - coffee and tea on arrival

9.15 am Welcome to Advancing the Common Good, ACOSS National Conference 2015Welcome to Country• Ann Weldon, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council Welcome message from ACOSS• Micaela Cronin, President, ACOSS BoardWelcome message from the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples • Les Malezer, Co-chair National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples

9.35 am Linda Tirado Keynote Address and Facilitated Q&AFacilitated by Geraldine Doogue AO, Journalist, Radio and Television Host• Linda Tirado, Author, Media Activist, Journalist • Chris Dodds, Chair, Telstra Low Income Measures Assessment Committee

10.55 am MORNING TEA

11.15 am Inequality in AustraliaFacilitated by John Spierings, Executive Officer, Reichstein Foundation • Dr Cassandra Goldie, CEO, Australian Council of Social Service • Fiona Collis, Director, IPSOS Mind and Mood Report, IPSOS Australia• Marcelle Mogg, CEO, Catholic Social Services Australia

12.30 pm LUNCHACTCOSS/SACOSS Launch Independence in the Not-for-Profit Sector

1.15 pm The Hon. Brad Hazzard, Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Social Housing

1.25 pm The Great (Taxation) DebateFacilitated by Michael West, Fairfax Journalist, Former Business Editor, SMH • Dr Helen Hodgson, Associate Professor, Department of Taxation Curtin Law School• Greg Smith, Chairman of the Commonwealth Grants Commission & Senior Fellow

at the Melbourne Law School

2.25 pm AFTERNOON TEA

2.50 pm Families in Focus: Women, Men, Caring and Paid WorkFacilitated by Jane Caro, Social Commentator, Writer and Lecturer • Professor Michael Bittman, Professor, School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social

Sciences, UNE• Professor Deb Brennan, Social Policy and Research Centre, UNSW• Julia Davison, CEO, Goodstart Early Learning• Christine Foreshew, Centre Manager of Yenu Allowah Aboriginal Child & Family Centre• Professor Barbara Pocock, Researcher & Academic, Founder of Centre for Work

and Life University of South Australia

4.15 pm Day 1 Reflection

4.30pm CLOSE

630 pm CONFERENCE DINNER - SYDNEY TOWN HALLACOSS and HESTA present the HESTA Community Sector Awards

Program Overview | Thursday 25 June 2015


8 am Registration open - coffee and tea on arrival

9 am The Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Minister for Social ServicesOfficially representing the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister of Australia

9.25 am Out of the Maze: Towards Decent Incomes and Jobs for People on Working-Age Social Security PaymentsFacilitated by Patricia Karvelas, Journalist, Presenter, and Commentator ABC Radio National• Dr Simon Chapple (NZ), Research Fellow, Dunedin Health and Development

Research Unit• Catherine Yeomans, CEO, Mission Australia• Craig Wallace, President, People with Disability Australia

10.35 am Senator Richard Di Natale, Leader of the Australian Greens

11 am MORNING TEA

11.20 am The Hon. Bill Shorten MP, Leader of the Opposition

11.45 am Dr Cassandra Goldie Keynote Address Civil Society in Australia

12.10 pm Civil Society in AustraliaFacilitated by Anton Enus, co-Host, SBS World News• Maha Abdo AOM, CEO United Woman’s Association• Dr Tessa Boyd Caine, Deputy CEO, Australian Council of Social Service• Hugh De Kretser, Executive Director, Human Rights Law Centre • Les Malezer, Co Chair National Congress of Australia’s First People• Tim O’Connor, Communications Director, Refugee Council of Australia• Amanda Tattersall, Coalition Director and Instigator, Sydney Alliance

1.20 pm LUNCHNCOSS Launch The State of the Community Sector in NSW - 2015

2.20 pm Jobs of the FutureFacilitated by Paul Barclay, Journalist, Presenter, Producer, ABC Radio National Big Ideas• Katie Acheson, Managing Director, Youth Action• John Buchanan, University of Sydney Business School, Professor and Director,

Workplace Research Centre• Phil Edmands, Managing Director, Rio Tinto• Ged Kearney, President, Australian Council of Trade Union• Erwin Jackson, Deputy CEO, The Climate Institute

3.45 pm Day 2 Reflection

4 pm CLOSE

Program Overview | Friday 26 June 2015


Welcome to Country

Anne Weldon, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council

Welcome message from ACOSSMicaela Cronin, President, Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS)

Micaela Cronin is the Chief Executive Officer of MacKillop Family Services, a leading provider of specialist services to vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people and their families in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. Micaela has worked in the community sector for over 25 years. She has extensive experience in the delivery and management of a broad range of community services and is committed to working in partnership with other community sector organisations.

Micaela is President of the Australian Council of Social Service and the Victorian Council of Social Service, and is currently a Board member of Catholic Social Services Australia and a member of Victoria’s Ministerial Advisory Committee for Children in Out-of-Home Care. Micaela has a passionate commitment to social justice issues and wants to see children and young people’s voices heard in strong, inclusive communities.

Welcome message from the National Congress of Australia’s First PeoplesLes Malezer, National Congress of Austalia’s First Peoples

Les Malezer is from the Butchulla/Gubbi Gubbi peoples in southeast Queensland and Co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples. He has decades of extensive experience in campaigning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights and has represented community interests at local, state, national and international levels. In 2008 he won the Australian Human Rights Award, and his contribution to coordinating Indigenous Peoples’ advocacy for the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly is well known and respected.

9.00am

Session details | Thursday 25 June 2015



Linda Tirado, Keynote speaker

Described as having “a way with words that’s somehow both breezy and blunt,” Linda Tirado is an unlikely author. Her critically acclaimed debut, “Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America,” is an account of life in the low-wage sector. Until her writing was featured in the Huffington Post, she’d spent her entire adult life navigating the mundane sort of dilemmas that millions of Americans face every day - like how to keep the electricity on when the rent’s due, or how to keep a job when you keep having to call in sick to cover extra shifts at your second job.

Tirado’s accidental essay, “Why I Make Terrible Decisions, Or, Poverty Thoughts,” has been read more than eight million times. A year after she wrote it, she’d gone from working as a diner cook on the night shift to speaking at the London School of Economics during her first book tour. She speaks on power and money and dignity, and what it means to live with very little of any of them in the wealthiest country on Earth. Out of the kitchen now, Tirado flips class conventions on their head wherever she finds them.

Tirado has been a guest on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, MSNBC’s The Cycle and Krystal Clear, BBC Nightly News and World News among others, and dozens of radio stations worldwide. Her writing can be found in many outlets both on and offline including the Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Nation, Forbes, Financial Times, Der Freitag, Elle and Slate. She was named one of the BBC’s 100 Women Of 2014 and serves as an International Fellow at the Center for 21st Century Studies.

Facilitated by Geraldine Doogue AO, Journalist, Radio and Television Host

Within the first ten years of her career, Geraldine had carved out a reputation in print, television and radio. Hosting the NSW edition of Four Corners, Geraldine established herself as one of the most respected and popular personalities on national television. Geraldine worked for a time on commercial radio and television, before returning to the ABC in 1990. She played a major role in ABC TV’s coverage of the Gulf War and during this was awarded two Penguin Awards and a United Nations Media Peace Prize. In 1992 Geraldine began presenting Life Matters, and in 1998 she also became host of ABC TV’s Compass. After 11 years with Life Matters, she moved to host a program focusing on international politics, Australia’s role on the world stage, and business, called Saturday Extra. In 2000 Geraldine was awarded a Churchill Fellowship for social and cultural reporting. In 2003, she was recognised with an Officer in the Order of Australia for services to the community and media. In March 2011, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by her alma mater, the University of Western Australia.

Chris Dodds, Chair, Telstra Low Income Measures Assessment Committee

Chris has been involved in the Community Service Industry for over 40 years in both a paid and volunteer capacity. This has included work as a childcare worker in a Women’s Refuge, Coordinator at a Neighbourhood Centre and teaching at both TAFE and University. He served on the Board of NCOSS for 14 years including four year (2002-6) as President. He also served on the Board of ACOSS for 8 years including 5 years on the Executive. Chris represents ACOSS on and is also Chairperson of Telstra’s Low Income Measures Assessment Committee (LIMAC) which oversees $200 million of assistance provided by Telstra to low income customers each year. At present he is employed as Senior Policy Officer for the Energy and Water Ombudsman of NSW.

Linda Tirado: Keynote Address and Q&A

ACOSS is delighted to introduce Linda Tirado as our keynote speaker. Linda comes to us from the US, where she was attending college and working two jobs when she published an essay online about the poverty trap in America. The essay went viral, and was developed into a book called Hand to mouth: The truth about being poor in a wealthy world. Linda’s address will be followed by facilitated disucussion placing Linda’s themes in the Australian context.

9.35am9.35am



Facilitated by Dr John Spierings, Executive Officer, Reichstein Foundation

John was appointed as the Reichstein Foundation’s Executive Officer in 2013 after more than four and a half years’ experience as a senior adviser in the Office of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. He had responsibility for higher education, skills, industry, innovation, science, research and employment policy issues in the Office. He worked as a researcher and policy advocate in education and training with the Dusseldorp Skills Forum between 1998 and 2008. John has a PhD in Australian economic history, focused on business management in Australia between the wars. He has previously worked at Adelaide, Monash and Melbourne universities. He was a Councillor at the City of St Kilda between 1990 and 1994, being Mayor in 1992-93. He has a long standing interest in social justice, community development and social policy issues.

Dr Cassandra Goldie, CEO, Australian Council of Social Service

Cassandra has an extensive career in the community sector in Australia and internationally working in human rights and law and justice. Cassandra joined ACOSS in July 2010 from the Australian Human Rights Commission where as Director of the Sex and Age Discrimination Unit she played a pivotal role in the inquiry into pay equity and paid parental leave. She has previously been the Director of the Homelessness Legal Rights Project at UNSW, a consultant to UN Habitat, Solicitor in Charge of Client Services with Legal Aid in Western Australia and Executive Officer of the Darwin Community Legal Service. Cassandra has also been President of NTCOSS and Board Member of ACOSS (2001-2002) and was an ACOSS Law and Justice Policy Advisor (2000-2006).

Fiona Collis, Director, IPSOS Mind and Mood Report, IPSOS Australia

Fiona Collis is a Director of The Ipsos Mind & Mood Report - Australia’s longest running social trends study. As a researcher and psychologist, Fiona has spent a good part of the last 20 years immersed in the lives of ‘ordinary’ Australian men and women. She has lurked about in homes, schools, workplaces, parks and shopping centres across the nation watching, listening and engaging with people of all ages and from all walks of life around the issues that matter to them most. Her experiences provide her with in depth insights into the hearts and minds of Australians and a unique perspective on how community attitudes, concerns and priorities have evolved over time.

Marcelle Mogg, CEO, Catholic Social Services Australia

Marcelle was appointed CEO of CSSA in July 2014. CSSA is the Catholic Church’s peak body for social services in Australia, representing 59 member organisations who serve over one million Australians each year, in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote communities. Marcelle previously served as Acting Group Leader Mission for St Vincent’s Health Australia, as Group Communications Manager SVHA, Director of Mission St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, and Lay Partnership Coordinator for the Marist Brothers. Marcelle has also held several communications roles as Editor of Eureka Street and Australian Catholics magazines for Jesuit Publications. Marcelle has an MBA (MBS), B Soc Sc (Pastoral Studies) and a Dip App Sc (Nursing).

Inequality in Australia

Many people know that global inequality is rising but, after 20 years, who is better and worse off? ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie will present the findings of the benchmark ACOSS research report Inequality in Australia; Ipsos’ Fiona Collis will discuss the perceptions of ‘middle Australia’ and Marcelle Mogg will give an insight into forthcoming research on postcodes of disadvantage in Australia.

11.15am



Facilitated by Michael West, Fairfax Journalist, Former Business Editor, Sydney Morning Herald

Michael West is a Walkley Award winning journalist with Fairfax Media. He specialises in investigations into big business. Formerly, West worked at The Australian newspaper and in stockbroking.

Affirmative: Dr Helen Hodgson, Associate Professor, Department of Taxation Curtin Law School PhD UNSW MTax UNSW; Post-GradDip Business Curtin, BBus WAIT, Curtin Law School, Curtin University

Helen joined the Department of Taxation in Curtin Law School in 2014, having lectured in taxation since 1989 at universities in Perth and Sydney. She was also a Member of the Legislative Council in Western Australia between 1997 and 2001. Her current areas of research are the tax-transfer system and superannuation policy. Her PhD examined the Family Benefit system and in 2010 Helen was a co-author of the Women’s Voices Report commissioned by the Equality Rights Alliance. Helen holds qualifications in accounting, business law and taxation.

The Great (Taxation) Debate

Panellists and audience members will debate the statement: In order to meet future needs for social security and services, we should raise income taxes rather than consumption taxes.

Lunch

ACTOSS/SACOSS Independence in the Not-for-Profit Sector report launch

This Report details the findings of a research project undertaken as part of the 2014 ACNC and ANZTSR Early Career Researcher Awards. The project was undertaken by Dr Angie Bletsas and draws on original interview material undertaken in South Australia and Canberra to examine the meaning of independence in the not-for-profit sector, what threatens it, and what sustains it.

12.30pm

1.25pm

1.15 pm

The Hon. Brad Hazzard, NSW Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Social HousingAs Minister in the Liberal and National’s NSW Government, Brad has been tasked to drive the NSW Government’s policies to safeguard the most vulnerable members of our community and address the cycle of disadvantage. His diverse portfolio directly supports around 800,000 people every year and reaches a further million through local community-based programs. It also owns and manages some 130,000 social housing assets worth approximately $35 billion. Before his appointment as Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Social Housing in April 2015, he was the Attorney General and Minister for Justice. Prior to that he served as Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, Minister Assisting the Premier on Infrastructure NSW and Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly.



Facilitated by Jane Caro, Social Commentator, Writer and Lecuturer

Jane Caro is an author, novelist, journalist, broadcaster, columnist, advertising writer and media and social commentator. She has published five books and is currently working on “Just a Queen” to be published in 2015. She appears regularly in the media including Weekend Sunrise and Mornings on Channel 9. She was a regular on the ABC’s hit show “The Gruen Transfer” for 5 years. She created, wrote, presented and co-produced a 6 part radio series “For Better, For Worse” broadcast by RN Life Matters in July/August 2013. Jane is in demand as a speaker, workshop facilitator and MC. She is on the boards of Bell Shakespeare, where she chairs the company’s Artistic Advisory Panel, and The NSW Public Education Foundation.

Michael Bittman, Professor, School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences, UNE

Michael Bittman is a former Professorial Fellow in Sociology at UNE. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and an internationally recognised expert on time use data. He has published on the sexual division of labour, intra-household bargaining, work-family balance, ICTs, children’s activities, and reliability and validity of time diaries. Perhaps best known for his 1991 report Juggling Time: How Australian Families Use Time, Michael is also co-author (with Dr Jocelyn Pixley) of Double Life of the Family and Co-editor (with Nancy Folbre) of Family Time: The Social Organization of Care.

Professor Deborah Brennan, Social Policy and Research Centre, UNSW

Deborah Brennan PhD FASSA is Professor in the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC), University of New South Wales and adjunct Professor in the Centre for Children and Young People (CCYP), Southern Cross University. Deb’s research focuses on the history and politics of early childhood education and care, family policy and gender and politics. Strongly committed to international and comparative studies, she has research partners in the UK, Canada, Sweden, Finland and Norway and has provided advice to governments in Australia, Canada and the UK. Her work on the financing of early childhood education and care was widely cited by the Productivity Commission in its inquiry into Child Care and Early Childhood Learning. She is the author of The Politics of Australian Child Care (Cambridge University Press, 1998) and co-editor with Louise Chappell of ‘No Fit Place for Women’. Women in New South Wales Politics, 1856-2006 (UNSW Press, 2006) as well as numerous scholarly articles on gender, politics and family policy.

Families in Focus: Women, Men, Caring and Paid Work

Families policy is currently in focus with reforms to child care and families payments on the agenda. This panel will discuss the current challenges to balancing work and caring roles. Can we find a way through the maze which delivers greater social and gender equity in the workplace and at home and achieves better outcomes for children?

2.45pm

Negative: Greg Smith, Chairman of the Commonwealth Grants Commission & Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Law School

Greg Smith is Chairman of the Commonwealth Grants Commission, a Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Law School, a member of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute (ANU) advisory committee and a member of the CEDA Council on Economic Policy. He was formerly a head of the Commonwealth Treasury Budget and Revenue Groups, and a member of the ‘Henry’ Future Tax System Review panel.



Julia Davison, CEO Goodstart Early Learning

Julia Davison is CEO of Goodstart Early Learning, Australia’s largest provider of early learning and care, with 644 centres across Australia caring for 72,500 children from 60,500 families. Goodstart employs over 13,000 staff and has an annual revenue of almost $800 million. Goodstart was created by a partnership of four of Australia’s leading charities – Mission Australia, Social Ventures Australia, The Brotherhood of St Laurence and The Benevolent Society – who saw the potential to operate the failed ABC Learning centres to transform early childhood education in Australia. Goodstart’s vision is for Australia’s children to have the best possible start in life. As one of the biggest social enterprises in Australia, Goodstart works to create social change by giving children access to affordable, high–quality early learning.

Christine Foreshew, Centre Manager, Yenu Allowah Aboriginal Child & Family Centre

Christine Foreshew is a descendant of the Wiradjuri nation. Raised in the western suburbs of Sydney, Christine is a lifelong grassroots advocate for promoting education and social justice issues impacting on Aboriginal people, their families and kin. Foreshew came to prominence as an advocate for western Sydney’s Aboriginal young people’s rights for education, training and early learning development, a position she maintains today.Since the late 1990’s her focus has encompassed a range of additional issues: she has strongly argued that Indigenous policy affecting young people and their families, notably in relation to welfare, child protection, education needs to change direction to include a more holistic approach. For over two decades Foreshew has held positions in education, child protection and early learning within the NSW Department of Education and Communities and is an active member of the New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG.Inc). This has included presenting both nationally and internationally.

Professor Barbara Pocock, Researcher & Academic, Founder of Centre for Work and Life, University of South Australia

Professor Barbara Pocock was initially trained as an economist and has been researching work, employment and industrial relations for over thirty years. She has worked in a range of jobs including universities, the Reserve Bank, farming, trade unions and for various governments. She has also worked advising politicians and as a mother. Barbara established and was Director of the Centre for Work + Life, at the University of South Australia between 2006-2014. Her past research includes analysis of employment relations, work, gender, vocational education, the regulation of industrial relations, unions and inequality. She has led the Australian Association of Industrial Relation Academics of Australia and New Zealand, and been a board member of The Australia Institute, the Economic Development Board in South Australia, the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Festival of Ideas Board.


9.00am

The Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Minister for Social ServicesOfficially representing the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister of Australia

The Hon. Scott Morrison MP is the Minister for Social Services and a senior member of Prime Minister Abbott’s Cabinet and Expenditure Review Committee Minister Morrison was appointed Minister for Social Services on December 23, 2014 and is responsible for driving the Abbott Government’s welfare reform strategy that is designed to increase the economic participation of Australians and to ensure the long term sustainability of Australia’s welfare safety net. Prior to serving as Minister for Social Services, Minister Morrison was the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection where he also served on the National Security Committee of Cabinet and he successfully implemented Operation Sovereign Borders, that ‘stopped the boats’, saving lives and restoring public confidence in Australia’s immigration programme. As Minister, Mr Morrison also initiated some of the most significant reforms to Australia’s border management operations in a generation, including the decision to establish the Australian Border Force.

Facilitated by Patricia Karvelas, Journalist, Presenter and Commentator ABC Radio National

Patricia is the presenter of radio national’s weekly drive program and has been a prominent senior journalist in the Australian media for 15 years, beginning her professional career in broadcast journalism at the ABC and SBS as both a producer and presenter. She worked for The Australian newspaper since 2002 covering federal politics, most recently as the Victorian Bureau Chief and Editor and Senior National Affairs Journalist. Patricia is a regular fill-in presenter on 774 ABC Melbourne, and frequently appears on a range of television and radio programs including RN’s Sunday Extra and ABC TV’s The Drum.

Out of the Maze: Towards Decent Incomes and Jobs for People on Working-Age Social Security Payments

Welfare policy is at a cross-roads in Australia following a major review of working age payments in 2014 and a high level of Government interest in the New Zealand welfare reform experience. In this session., policy experts from Australia and New Zealand will discuss the Government’s policy agenda, including the opportunities and risks in the current political environment, objectives and priorities for reform and highlight the lessons we can learn from the New Zealand experience.’

9.25am

Dr Simon Chapple (New Zealand), Research Fellow, Dunedin Health and Development Research Unit

Simon is an economist with 20 years’ research experience with a number of Government ministries and with the OECD in a social policy research capacity. He was appointed as Senior Research Fellow early in 2013 and brings a valuable economic perspective to the Study. His research interests are child well-being and development, subjective well-being and social indicators, labour economics, public policy in the tax and welfare areas, and Maori population dynamics.

Session details | Friday 26 June 2015


Catherine Yeomans, CEO of Mission Australia

Catherine was appointed CEO in March 2014. Prior to this, Catherine served as Chief Operating Officer, and held responsibility for functional areas including advocacy, media, marketing, fundraising, HR, legal, IT, procurement and property. With a law degree by academic background, Catherine has held senior management roles in a spectrum of fields across the corporate sector. She is a Director of Mission Australia Early Learning, Mission Australia Housing, Mission Australia Housing (Victoria) and Many Rivers Microfinance Limited. Catherine is passionate about social justice and actively speaks out against inequality on behalf of the people we serve.

Craig Wallace, President People with Disability Australia

Craig is the Marketing Manager for Nican, a specialist disability information and referral service which provides information, projects and concessions. Craig is Deputy Community co-chair of the Disability Expert Panel for the ACT and a member of the Advisory Board for the ACT Inclusion Council. He has been published in The Australian, Fairfax Online, Open Forum, The Guardian, The Australian Financial Review and the ABC’s Ramp Up. He has chaired a community housing provider, headed a Ministerial Council on disability and was a member of the ABC Advisory Council for four years. In 2003 Craig was awarded a Centenary Medal in the Australian Honours List for service to the community. Craig is the co-author of an approach called Know Before You Go which works to build the confidence of people with disability and providers in community access and is passionate about information freedom, disability rights and direct democracy.



Senator Richard Di Natale, Leader of the Australian GreensDr Richard Di Natale is the leader of the Australian Greens. He was elected to the federal parliament in 2010 and is the Greens’ first Victorian Senator. His portfolios include health, multiculturalism, youth, gambling and sport. Prior to entering parliament, Richard was a general practitioner and public health specialist. He worked in Aboriginal health in the Northern Territory, on HIV prevention in India and in the drug and alcohol sector. His key health priorities include preventative health, public dental care and responding to the health impacts of climate change. Richard’s achievements in parliament so far include securing almost $5 billion towards Medicare-funded dentistry, winning a campaign to divest $250 million worth of tobacco stocks from the Future Fund, and spearheading senate inquiries into many issues of public significance such as dying with dignity, superbugs, hospital funding, budget cuts, medicinal cannabis, air pollution, pharmaceutical transparency, sports science and gambling reform. He believes in public health policies that put science and evidence above politics.

10.35am

The Hon. Bill Shorten MP, Leader of the OppositionBill Shorten is the Federal Member for Maribyrnong and the Leader of the Federal Labor Party. Bill joined the Labor party at 17 and has devoted his entire adult life to serving the labour movement and its ideals. Bill was first elected as the Member for Maribyrnong in 2007 and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Children’s Services and Bushfire Reconstruction. He joined the Ministry in 2010 and the Cabinet in 2011. As a senior member of the Rudd and Gillard Governments, Bill played a key role in securing a number of historic Labor reforms. After Labor lost office in 2013, Bill contested the leadership and became the first leader of the Labor Party to be elected by both Caucus and rank-and-file members. Bill and family live in the electorate of Maribyrnong - the home of the Cox Plate, Dame Edna Everage and some of Melbourne’s best food and coffee.

11.20am



Facilitated by Anton Enus, co-Host SBS World News

Anton, a broadcast journalist with more than 25 years’ experience, has been presenting SBS World News bulletins since 1999. He began his career in South Africa and spent 7 years as a correspondent for CNN World Report, where he won Best International Report for his story marking the 25th anniversary of Chris Barnard’s pioneering heart transplant. He also won the SABC Bokmakierie Award for radio current affairs. After travelling overland through south-eastern Africa and backpacking across India, Anton arrived in Sydney. Anton hosts special SBS news events such as Federal Election specials, and has hosted the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism several times.

Dr Cassandra Goldie, CEO, Australian Council of Social Service

Cassandra has an extensive career in the community sector in Australia and internationally working in human rights and law and justice. Cassandra joined ACOSS in July 2010 from the Australian Human Rights Commission where as Director of the Sex and Age Discrimination Unit she played a pivotal role in the inquiry into pay equity and paid parental leave. She has previously been the Director of the Homelessness Legal Rights Project at UNSW, a consultant to UN Habitat, Solicitor in Charge of Client Services with Legal Aid in Western Australia and Executive Officer of the Darwin Community Legal Service. Cassandra has also been President of NTCOSS and Board Member of ACOSS (2001-2002) and was an ACOSS Law and Justice Policy Advisor (2000-2006).

Civil Society in Australia: Keynote Address

The community sector is as diverse as civil society itself. While this is a great strength, it can also become a barrier to identifying common goals and building a shared agenda for action to create the change we want to see in the world. Changes to the way that governments fund the NFP sector have also weakened our efforts to work with each other to achieve our common service delivery, policy development and advocacy goals, with organisations now competing with each other for limited funding and for ‘air space’ for their particular mission.

Beginning with a keynote address followed by a panel discussion, the ACOSS conference will explore how we can strengthen and maintain independent civil society to achieve our shared aims as a community. Participants will be challenged to identify how Australian civil society can work together to meet shared objectives: to end inequity and injustice; to achieve social, economic and environmental sustainability; to promote truly participatory democracy; and to create the conditions for people to live truly decent lives.

Civil Society in Australia: Panel Discussion

This session will provide an opportunity to reflect on the Civil Society Keynote Address and to further explore how we can maintain and strengthen independent civil society in Australia. Drawing on their own experiences from working in faith-based organisations, with a gendered lens, in human rights, in representing Australia’s First People’s, in refugee advocacy, in community organising and in the community sector, panelists will discuss how Australian civil society can work together to end inequity and injustice; to achieve social, economic and environmental sustainability; to promote truly participatory democracy; and to create the conditions for people to live truly decent lives.

12.10pm

11.45am



Maha Abdo, AOM, CEO United Woman’s Association

Maha is a widely respected Muslim activist, serving on many advisory committees, and respected by all groups that she works with. Maha has worked in the social welfare field for nearly three decades and holds a Bachelor Degree in Social Work, Masters in Social Science, majoring in Young People and Children’s Studies and a Graduate Diploma in Family Dispute Resolution. She is the Executive Officer of the United Muslim Women Association, which has been supporting, nurturing and representing Muslim women and their families for over 30 years. Maha has been organising annual young Muslim women’s Leadership Camps on for over 20 years. She has done much work mentoring young Muslim women leaders, developed partnerships with various government and non government organisations at local, state, and national levels.

Dr Tessa Boyd Caine, Deputy CEO, Australian Council of Social Service

Tessa joined ACOSS in 2009 with policy responsibility for community services, health and the not-for-profit sector. She has participated extensively in policy processes with government, the community sector and the business community. Highlights include her appointment by the Minister for Health to the National Advisory Council on Dental Health in 2011 and being awarded the inaugural Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Non-Profit Leadership, to work with nonprofit and philanthropic organisations in the US. Tessa is on the Board of Gondwana Voices, the national children’s choir of Australia.

Hugh De Kretser, Executive Director, Human Rights Law Centre

Hugh de Kretser is the Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC). He has worked on issues concerning civil society advocacy, freedom of association and free speech across his work at the HRLC and previously as the Executive Officer of the Victorian Federation of Community Legal Centres from 2007-2013. Hugh is a Director of the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council and was a Commissioner of the Victorian Law Reform Commission from 2008-2012. He started his legal career at the corporate law firm Mallesons before becoming Manager of the Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre in 2004.

Les Malezer, National Congress of Austalia’s First Peoples

Les Malezer is from the Butchulla/Gubbi Gubbi peoples in southeast Queensland and Co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples. He has decades of extensive experience in campaigning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights and has represented community interests at local, state, national and international levels. In 2008 he won the Australian Human Rights Award, and his contribution to coordinating Indigenous Peoples’ advocacy for the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly is well known and respected.

Tim O’Connor, Communications Director, Refugee Council of Australia

Tim O’Connor’s direct involvement with RCOA started in 2013 as a trustee. More recently he joined the staff team as the RCOA Communications Director after many years with UNICEF Australia. Tim’s brings extensive experience to his RCOA role with over fifteen years in the aid and development and human rights sectors, where refugees and refugee issues, remained a dominant focus. Tim’s strong domestic knowledge is enriched by the depth of his work across the Asia Pacific region, and through his work in the horn of Africa.

Amanda Tattersall, Coalition Director and Instigator

Amanda is a well renowned campaigner for social change. She has previously been the President of the National Union of Students, played leadership roles in prominent social movements for peace and refugees, and been the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Unions NSW. She has a PhD on building effective coalitions between civil society organisations from the University of Sydney, where she was also a visiting fellow at Cornell University. She has published Power in Coalition, the world’s first global comparative text on coalition building between unions and community organisations. She has been listed in the Sydney Magazine and Sydney Morning Herald’s Index of Sydney’s most “powerful” people in 2011 and was the person who instigated the Sydney Alliance in 2007.


LunchThe State of the Community Sector in NSW - 2015In collaboration with NCOSS and FACS, the Social Policy Research Centre conducted surveys of the community sector in NSW in 2014 and 2015, capturing rich information about sector capacity, sustainability, and engagement with government.

This session will launch key findings from the 2015 survey. The data showcases the sector’s strengths as a collaborative, diverse and feminised industry. It also profiles current challenges facing the sector, including the widespread loss of government funding at a time of increasing social need. We show evidence of the extent and distribution of funding cuts across the community sector, and discuss how organisations are responding.

Facilitated by Paul Barclay. Journalist, Presenter, Producer, ABC Radio National Big Ideas

Paul Barclay is a Walkley Award winning journalist and broadcaster. He is currently the presenter and producer of Big Ideas on ABC RN. He was previously presenter of the national talkback program on ABC RN, Australia Talks, has produced award winning radio documentaries for Background Briefing, appears from time to time on ABC TV, and has produced countless stories for most ABC radio networks.

Katie Acheson, Managing Director, Youth Action NSW

With over a decade of social development experience, Katie is a community engagement specialist. Much of her work has involved designing and implementing interventions to engage, empower and create collaborative communities. Katie has a particular specialisation in adolescent and youth development programs and an interest in management, training and strategic development in a variety of sectors. At Youth Action, Katie is focused on building a peak body that leads the youth sector to deliver better outcomes for young people in NSW, by engaging young people directly and the communities that support them.

1.20pm

Jobs of the Future

In response to the recent closure of manufacturing plants, rapid technological change, declining employment in key industries, a trend towards global outsourcing and recently slowing economic growth, many people are asking: what will the jobs of the future be? This session will hear from a range of dynamic speakers who will explore what the world of work will look like in the future. It will explore the implications of population ageing, digital disruption and the advances in skills and training needed to ensure disadvantaged job seekers can compete in a rapidly changing labour market?

2.20pm



John Buchannan, University of Sydney Business School, Professor and Director in Workplace Research Centre

Professor Buchanan he was part of the team that undertook the first Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (AWIRS). He joined the Workplace Research Centre (formerly acirrt) in 1991 and has been its Director since 2005. Until recently his major research interest has been the demise of the classical wage earner model of employment and the role of the state in nurturing new forms of multi-employer co-ordination to promote both efficiency and fairness in the labour market. Building on this, he is now devoting special attention to the evolution of working life transition, the dynamics of workforce development and the connection between work, health and wellbeing. He is currently Network Leader for the University of Sydney’s Health and Work Research Network - a consortium involving experts from the Business School, Medical, Health Sciences and four other faculties. He recently co-edited a book called Inclusive Growth in Australia: Social policy as economic investment, published by Allen & Unwin in 2013.

Phil Edmands, Managing Director, Rio Tinto

Phil was appointed to the role of Managing Director in February 2014. Phil works closely with Rio Tinto’s key stakeholders, including governments, regulators and shareholders, and focuses on advancing the corporate interests of Rio Tinto’s businesses in Australia. Prior to this, Phil was general counsel Iron Ore at Rio Tinto for seven years. He has a background in energy and resources law with an emphasis on the acquisition and development of minerals projects and the development and operation of related rail and port infrastructure. He has acted on numerous mergers and acquisitions, project and infrastructure developments, infrastructure access, and offtake and marketing matters, both in Australia and offshore. He has extensive country experience including across Africa, Asia and the former Soviet Union. Phil is a former head of resources practice, Perth managing partner and head of international operations with then top-tier Australian law firm Blake Dawson, which is now part of international law firm Ashurst.

Erwin Jackson - Deputy CEO, The Climate Institute

With over 20 years practical experience in climate change policy and research, Erwin has developed and led many national and international programs aimed at reducing greenhouse pollution. This work has been undertaken in Australia, Europe, North and South America, the Pacific and Antarctica. He has represented non-governmental groups and advised government and business in national, regional and international fora, including being a non-governmental expert reviewer of the reports of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He has sat on research advisory committees on low emission technology deployment for the CSIRO and the University of Queensland’s Centre for Low Emission Technology. Erwin was a member of the Victorian Premiers Reference Group on Climate Change. Erwin has written, researched and produced many publications on climate change and energy policy including a number of review papers in scientific journals such as the Medical Journal of Australia.

Ged Kearney, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions

Gerardine (Ged) Kearney commenced as ACTU President on 1 July 2010, and is the third woman to hold the position. Prior to this Ged was the Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation from April 2008 and had been an elected official with the ANF since 1997. Ged believes that unions should not just be concerned with the experience of people at work but they should be advocates for change to improve all aspects of Australians lives. Ged’s ambition as ACTU President is to build respect from political leaders and the broad community for the values of fairness and the role played by unions in delivering social change.



Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management Advice and SupportIt’s easy for workplace problems to start out simple but then become difficult. That’s when you need professional advice.

The wrong advice can cost not just a lot of money, but also your time, energy and the reputation of your service.

Which is why Jobs Australia establishedCommunity Sector Industrial Relations

Our services include advice and representation on:• Employment contracts and award entitlements• Managing performance, misconduct, ill health and restructuring• Formal disputes such as unfair dismissal or general protections claims• Enterprise bargaining

We also provide consultancy and training around good HR practice, tailored to the needs of not-for-profit community organisations.

- This service is available at a discounted rate for ACOSS members -Contact us on 03 9349 3699 or [email protected] to find out more


Acknowledgements

Bursary Supporters

Media Partners

App Sponsor

Bronze Sponsor

Silver Sponsor

Acknowledgements

Government Sponsor

Keynote Sponsor


Mitchell Way

M I T C

H E

L L R

D

C E

N T

R A

L

A V

E

D A V Y R D

W a l k

w a y

G A R DE N S T

W Y N D H A M

B O T A N Y RD

R E G

E N

T

S T

C O R N W A L L I S S

T R O S E H I L L S

T

B O

U N

D A

R Y

S

T

M A

R G

A R

E T

S

T

M A

R I

A N

ST

A L E X A N D E R S T

Inno

vatio

nP

laza

NAT

ION

AL

INN

OVA

TIO

NC

ENTR

E

INTE

RN

ATIO

NA

LB

USI

NES

S C

ENTR

E

BIO

MED

ICA

L B

UIL

DIN

G

NIC

TAB

UIL

DIN

G

TRA

NSP

OR

TM

AN

AG

EMEN

TC

ENTR

E

AM

BU

LAN

CE

CEN

TRE

Ale

xand

riaH

otel

EXH

IBIT

ION

HA

LLH

ERIT

AG

EW

OR

KSH

OP

DIS

PLA

Y

Secu

rity

Cen

tral

Pla

za

L O

C O

M O

T I

V E

S T

G I B B

O N

S S

T

G E R A R D S T

Tena

nt C

arpa

rk

Secu

rity

Visi

tor

&

Con

fere

nce

Cen

tre

Car

park

Vice

Cha

ncel

lor’s

Ova

l

Tenn

is &

Bas

ketb

all C

ourt

s

Chi

ld C

are

Cen

tre

S T

M A

R G

A R

E T

S

T

A L L E

N L

N

27 G

arde

n S

t

1 C

entr

al A

ve

25 G

arde

n S

t

THE

LA

RG

E ER

ECTI

NG

SH

ED

8 C

entr

al A

veC

ar P

ark

Lift

Tena

nt C

arpa

rk

Tena

nt C

arpa

rk

Tena

nt C

arpa

rk

4 C

ornw

allis

St

2 C

ornw

allis

St

2 Lo

com

otiv

e St

Futu

reD

evel

opm

ent S

ite

N

P

K E

Y

Mai

n En

try

Vehi

cle

Acc

ess

Bui

ldin

g En

tran

ce

Car

Par

k

Par

king

Pay

Sta

tion

P

Rai

lway

Info

rmat

ion

Firs

t Aid

Taxi

Dro

p-of

f

T

PAY

PAY

PAY

T

PAY

PAY

Acc

essi

ble

Par

king

BAY 1

BAY 2

BAY 3

BAY 4

BAY 5

BAY 6

BAY 7

BAY 8

BAY 9

BAY 10

BAY 11

BAY 12

BAY 13

BAY 14

BAY 15

BAY 16

Map | Australian Technology Park

© Australian Council of Social Service 2015

This publication is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission. Inquiries should be made to the Australian Council of Social Service.

ABN 72 757 927 533 | Locked Bag 4777, Strawberry Hills, NSW, 2012 | Ph (02) 9310 6200 | Fax (02) 9310 4822

[email protected] | www.acoss.org.au

australian council of social service -...

Documents