Some of Canberra’s community organisations could close within the next year, unless the ACT Government provides more funding to the struggling sector; without funding for community services, the consequences could be catastrophic, warns Dr Devin Bowles, CEO of the ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS).

“The community sector is a vital part of the social safety net that Australia has had for generations – and that net is fraying dangerously,” Dr Bowles said.

On Tuesday, Dr Bowles launched the ACT for Community campaign. Signed by more than 50 organisations, it is “a campaign about the community sector, but which is for all Canberrans”.

“Every year, almost all Canberrans interact with a community service, perhaps even without realising it,” the campaign states.

People experiencing mental ill health; who use drugs; who need housing; escaping domestic and family violence; with a disability; older people; children, young people, families; migrants and refugees.

“Whether it is connecting with playgroups or accessing childcare, participating in the local community garden, using the community hall for a party, gaining information on living with a chronic health condition, connecting with a youth worker, or participating in a day out with older people, the community sector supports all Canberrans across a range of life stages.”

Funding for community sector does not account for population growth

But the community sector does not have the money to support its services. The ACT Government provides approximately $200 million every year (out of an $8.1 billion budget) – but that funding has remained static for 15 years. Funding has not accounted for a 30 per cent increase in Canberra’s population (from 365,000 people in 2011 to 472,000 in 2023), and the government has not funded the full cost of service, Dr Bowles said.

“That has meant that the community sector each year finds itself in a more and more difficult situation,” Dr Bowles said. “We’ve papered over the cracks for as long as we can. But now, with the cost-of-living crisis, we can’t paper over them anymore.”

Community services are having to turn people away; they are operating from unsafe or unsuitable locations, such as old schools or buildings without disability access, without space to run programs, and far away from public transport; their resources are antiquated and unfit for purpose; and they do not have the finances to respond to, or plan for, emergencies.

“Despite all our goodwill, our resourcing is not allowing us to do what we set out to do,” Dr Bowles said. “Our waitlists are so long that the services we offer sometimes become irrelevant in people’s lives, and they give up waiting. Our staffing is so short that we sometimes depart from ideal models of care, providing clients with a watered-down version of what the evidence and our hearts say is best.”

Community organisations may close

In fact, the community sector is facing market failure, “where the services that people need are not offered anywhere in the ACT”, Dr Bowles said.

“The funding concerns are absolutely dire,” Dr Bowles said. “There is a real pinch point, particularly around disability services, where the economics of it are just proving quite difficult for pretty much all providers in the space. And so, some organisations may choose to withdraw from that space.”

Already, in the last two weeks, a couple of organisations – ones of which many readers would have heard – have told Dr Bowles they could soon be financially insolvent: “That may mean that they need to close their doors.”

The disability sector is “under huge pressure”, agrees Jo Huxley, ACT manager for National Disability Services. “Quality providers of services for people with the most complex needs [are] reaching breaking point.” NDS’s recent survey found that 75 per cent of providers may stop some or all of their disability services because of a 3.19 per cent pricing increase that does not cover worker wages or day-to-day expenses. Pricing has not increased for support co-ordinators and therapy supports for five years in a row.

“Quality providers are committed to ensuring services remain available to people with disabilities but can no longer afford to subsidise the costs,” Ms Huxley said. “Financial reserves, often built up over decades with the support of the local community, are dwindling as providers struggle to make ends meet. If providers are forced to withdraw services, the impact on our hospital system will be severe.”

‘The social contract is breaking down’

This at a time when hunger and want are on the rise. Canberra is an affluent city, recently named one of the world’s most liveable cities – but one in nine Canberrans (between 35,000 and 40,000 people) live in poverty, unable to afford food, education, utilities, or healthcare, or even somewhere to live. Parents are going without food so that their children eat; without power in winter; without medicine. Many of them are fully employed; a new class of working poor is emerging, many of them people who, five years ago, would never have imagined their circumstances.

“Underneath Canberra’s shiny façade, many people are struggling,” Dr Bowles said. “The cost-of-living crisis and the housing crisis that in Canberra sits underneath it are tearing up a generations-long social contract that said that if you work, you didn’t need a flash job, you could live in modest comfort. We collectively agree that no Australians should need to choose between putting food on the table for their family and going to the doctor.

“Now, however, our emergency food banks are seeing an unprecedented number of visitors. Shockingly, a growing number of people who require emergency food relief are employed and sometimes employed in households, with multiple people who are employed, and people in work are struggling to make ends meet…

“And if those people are struggling, it’s even more true for people who are out of work. A significant fraction of people on Commonwealth Rent Assistance in Canberra are spending more than 70 per cent of their income on rent alone. [Even spending 30 per cent is considered rental stress.] … Finding a way to feed your family nutritious meals might be a mathematical impossibility.

“That social contract that’s persisted for decades is breaking down…

“These difficult times are placing a severe set of psychological and social burdens on our community. The mental health burden is growing across Australia, fuelled by the lasting effects of the pandemic on the social and emotional development of children and young people, and a failing sense of community. In Canberra, our financial stress adds further to psychological stress. It is no surprise that across the board, there is an increased need for community services…”

But community services cannot keep up with that demand, because funding has fallen behind the costs of service delivery, ACTCOSS stated in its ACT Budget Priorities 2024/25; it does not cover the cost of running programs or policy reform.

“At the same time that demand for our services is rising, support is decreasing relative to need,” Dr Bowles said. 

“In effect, Government is expecting services to deliver more for less,” the campaign states. “This cannot go on.”

What ACT for Community wants

The ACT for Community campaign wants the government to adequately fund the full cost of service delivery.

“Canberrans and the government rely on the sector so much that it’s just taken as constant,” Dr Bowles said. “We’re always there for the community, and when there’s a problem, we find a way to make things work for people. Unfortunately, I think that’s led to some neglect. People in decision-making positions have come to take us for granted as a sector and think that we can just magic up the same results in a situation where demand is skyrocketing, but our resources aren’t.”

The campaign also urges the government to recognise the historic underfunding around population growth, and to index funding to population growth (i.e., a 30 per cent increase, or $260 million).

Less than 3 per cent of the ACT Government’s budget goes to the community sector, so “a major increase in investment would have only a negligible impact on the ACT budget overall,” Dr Bowles argues.

“In fact, a 30 per cent increase in investment in our sector in line with the historic population increase would have less than a 1 per cent impact on the overall budget.”

ACTCOSS’s other requests are for the government to place community services in appropriate facilities, and to establish a $4 million climate change adaptation fund: climate change will cause more frequent natural disasters, and the community sector needs to prepare.

“Canberrans deserve and expect services and supports are available when they need them,” Dr Bowles said. “We must put an end to waiting lists, and ensure that services are delivered at the time that they will be most effective. Canberrans deserve and expect that services will be available to everyone. We must increase resourcing to community services at the same time as population growth, and account for historic underfunding. Canberrans deserve and expect support will be delivered from spaces that are accessible, inclusive, and safe. We must prioritise refurbishment and safety of community spaces. Canberrans deserve and expect that the community sector will be there when an environmental disaster strikes; we must fund the sector to adapt to climate change.”

How the public can support the campaign

The public can support the campaign by writing to their local candidates or MLA, and telling them how crucial it is to increase funding for community services.

The ACT for Canberra website has prepared messages they can use, or they can write their own.

Dr Bowles hopes this will be one of the largest showings for any cause in Canberra’s history.

“By joining our campaign, they are not just advocating for funding, they are standing up for the future of our community sector and the wellbeing of all Canberrans,” Dr Bowles said.

“Ultimately, poverty is a political choice. A community as well-resourced as the ACT absolutely has the option in front of it to say that we’re going to look after our population and make sure there are no children in poverty. That’s not a radical ask in the wealthiest city in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.”

Politicians respond

ACT Labor MLA Suzanne Orr, spokesperson for community services, recently met ACTCOSS and member organisations to discuss their issues ahead of the ACT election. ACT Labor ministers also regularly meet ACTCOSS to discuss their concerns across numerous portfolios. 

“We welcome their continued advocacy for the community sector,” a Labor spokesperson said. “We look forward to outlining our election platform over the coming weeks, which will address many of the issues and concerns raised by the Council and their members.”

The Canberra Liberals acknowledged the community sector’s calls for more funding and more support, opposition leader Elizabeth Lee said. She claimed the government had neglected to fund the community sector, while higher taxes would disproportionately affect low-income earners, who would need more assistance from community organisations.

“We have heard from the community sector about how stretched they have been over the last few years, and now, with the cost-of-living crisis hitting so many Canberrans, and more Canberrans having to rely on their services, they really are close to breaking point,” Ms Lee said. “We will have more to say in relation to our policies.”

The ACT Greens will soon announce an election commitment to better support the community sector.

“Our community services sector is critical to support Canberrans when and where they need,” a spokesperson said. “They provide a range of services that support people’s wellbeing, educate our community on how to better support people we know who are facing hardships, and improve outcomes for people to live well. Our community organisations are often the first people we look to in a crisis. They understand the experiences and needs of the most at-risk people in our community. They support people in ways that are fundamentally different to our government services. ACT Government should see the community sector as our partners in supporting the community, and should show the sector greater respect and care. We acknowledge that our community organisations are under resourced and need long-term and sustainable commitment from Government so the sector can confidently support Canberrans in need.”

Independents for Canberra

Independents for Canberra’s first policy commitment, released yesterday, is to boost funding to the community sector and advocacy organisations. Should they hold the balance of power in October, they would only support a prospective governing party that agreed to close the community sector funding gap.

“Vulnerable members of our community are in desperate need of support across all five electorates,” the group’s leader, Thomas Emerson, said. “It’s time to tackle disadvantage in the ACT. That starts with supporting the organisations that help those who most need it.

“We believe in a Canberra where nobody gets forgotten. We need to provide sufficient funding to the community sector to support vulnerable people in our city, including those experiencing physical and mental health challenges, lower-income residents, people with disability, people sleeping rough, Indigenous people, women and children escaping violence, and other Canberrans who need our help.”

Independents for Canberra also wants the next government to fund the Chair and Deputy Chair of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body to advocate for Indigenous people, and fund two full-time roles for Advocacy for Inclusion to advocate for people with disability.

“We warmly welcome any party or candidate’s endorsement of what we’re asking for, for the community sector,” Dr Bowles said. “We call on all candidates and parties to act similarly to appropriately support the ACT community at its heart.”