Joint COSS submission on a Compact between the Australian Government and the not-for-profit sector

Excerpt from Key Points:

• The COSS network supports the move towards a Compact between the Australian Government and the not-for-profit sector.
• A Compact provides the opportunity to address some of the major issues facing non-profit, community and social services, including establishing mutual respect and understanding between government and our sector; and reforming funding and contracting and regulation policy to ensure that it aids and supports the delivery of quality social services.
• These issues that are vital for the organisations and service users represented by the COSS network are not necessarily reflective of the priorities across the entire not-for-profit sector.
• High-level principles must be outlined as the basis of the relationship between government and the entire not-for-profit sector.
• Sub-sector agreements can then address the issues that are paramount but unique to smaller groupings within the not-for-profit sector.

Excerpts mentioning small organisations:

Page 6 - “Efficiency: This principle focuses on administrative processes and public accountability. There is a danger that this emphasis will see smaller organisations marginalised from government relations in the interests of larger organisations who are perceived to deliver greater administrative efficiency through their economies of scale. The high-level principles should acknowledge that communities may be best-served by local initiatives, whatever their size or scale, and that this is an important element of efficient and effective community service.”

Page 8 - “The viability of small and local organisations should be guarded through tendering processes that allow them to build their unique capacity to develop and provide locally relevant, responsive and innovative service models. Competitive tendering should also be careful not to stifle willingness between the sector and government to share information on new initiatives and best practice.”

Page 9 - “Of particular relevance for a National Compact is the lesson that special measures are needed to support smaller organisations and organisations based outside metropolitan areas to contribute to the development and implementation of a compact.”

Page 11 - “It is important that engagement spans the breadth of the not-for-profit sector, including in particular small, Indigenous and regional or rural organisations.”

Click here to download submission.

Click here to visit Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS)'s website.

Source: ACOSS