Improving the quality of services for people who are homeless
The Australian Government is working with the States and Territories, the homelessness sector and mainstream services to develop a National Quality Framework, which will encourage services to see their client as the centre of a multi-service response. A National Quality Framework will also promote a culture of continuous quality improvement which will result in better outcomes for people who are homeless.
Initially the public consultations will seek input on broad issues such as what quality service provision is, and how to encourage continuous improvement, establishing the principles that will guide the development of the National Quality Framework. There will be opportunities during the development process for the public to contribute.
The Government is examining how a National Quality Framework could be supported by legislation. As a first step the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Families, Communities, Housing and Youth inquiry into homelessness legislation examined how legislation can set out values, principles and standards that will underpin high quality homelessness services. The Committee's report Housing the Homeless was tabled in parliament on 26 November 2009. It contained 15 recommendations which are being considered by the Australian Government.
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Investing in research
Research helps us determine what works best to end homelessness.
In November 2009, the Australian Government released the National Homelessness Research Agenda 2009-2013. The Research Agenda will guide our efforts to learn more about homelessness and preventing homelessness in order to sharpen and better target policy and program responses.
The Australian Government will provide $11.4 million over four years to fund wide-ranging and innovative research, improve existing data and invest in new data.
The priorities outlined in the Agenda include:
- Research into the capacity and responsiveness of homeless services at local, state and national levels, using best practice research and models of integrated service delivery to inform service delivery.
- The impacts of early intervention and maintaining social connections, social reintegration and recreation programs.
- Improving the data available for research into homelessness.
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Prime Minister's Council on Homelessness
The Prime Minister has appointed a Council on Homelessness, comprising ten members with a broad range of expertise in the homelessness sector. The Council, which is chaired by Mr Tony Nicholson, Executive Director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, provides an independent overview of the implementation of the White Paper's goals and targets for 2013 and 2020, and advice to the Government on progress, risks and emerging issues.
Progress on the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children
In April 2009, the Australian Government formally accepted Time for Action, the major report of the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, a non-government advisory body.
In direct response to Time for Action, the Government immediately invested $42 million to fund a new package of actions to reduce violence against women including:
- $12.5 m for a new national domestic violence and sexual assault telephone and online crisis service which is expected to accept more than 20,000 calls a year;
- $17 million for a behaviour-change campaign aimed at preventing young people from ever using or accepting violence in their intimate relationships; and (please check if this is only aimed at young people)
- $9.1 million in respectful relationships education to give young people the communication skills they need to establish good friendships and to learn how to recognise abuse and that action can be taken to stop violence. This is currently being tested and evaluated in 56 school and non-school sites in across all States and Territories in Australia.
As well as providing funding to respond to Time for Action, the Government has committed further funding to reduce family violence including, for example:
- $19.5 million will continue our commitment to training rural and remote practice nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers; and
- $4 million is provided for the Support for Victims of trafficking program.
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Case Study - Programs to address family violence in Indigenous Communities
Around $64 million has been allocated for funding family violence programs in Indigenous communities across the country. Some focus on early intervention and prevention of violence through work with men like the Spirited Men's Project in Murray Bridge in South Australia. Others target Indigenous men leaving correctional services such as the Cross Border APY Lands Program. These programs address the underlying causes of violence such as drug and alcohol use and the effects of grief and trauma.
In August 2009 the Australian and State and Territory Governments began work on a National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women that will be finalised through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and released in 2010.
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National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2009-2020
Young people leaving the child protection system are clearly at increased risk of homelessness. It is vital that child protection and homelessness services are integrated to support these vulnerable young people make successful transitions to independent adult life.
On 11 September 2009 the Community and Disability Services Ministers' Conference endorsed the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children Implementation Plan 2009-2012. The Implementation Plan outlines how all governments, the non-government sector and the broader community will take forward the actions identified in the National Framework's first three-year action plan, including those on homelessness, and how the progress of these actions will be measured.
David Eldridge, Salvation Army
'In 30 years of being involved with services for homeless people ... the White Paper on Homelessness has provided the first opportunity for our sector to work to a coherent national vision focused on real goals to be achieved.'