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Welcome to our newsletter for July 2026
This newsletter delivers news and information to the community services workforce, helping you stay up to date on the department’s work and how it may affect your organisation, clients and communities.
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Consultations are closing soon on the Second Action Plan under the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032.
If your organisation works with communities, individuals or families across any sector, we encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say.
Share your views by completing our survey or making a submission by Friday 31 July 2026. This is a chance to help shape actions that are based on evidence, lived experience, cultural knowledge and the realities of frontline work.
Consultations will also help shape:
- Our Ways - Strong Ways - Our Voices: Australia’s first dedicated plan to end violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children.
- Safe and Supported: the ten-year framework for protecting Australia’s children.
- The National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse.
Targeted consultations to support Our Ways - Strong Ways - Our Voices Action Plan and the Safe and Supported Second Action Plans will open soon.
Visit the Second Action Plan consultation website to have your say. |
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We’re improving how we work with our funded partners in the community sector through relational contracting, which is partnering for impact in a longer term and more flexible way.
Relational contracting can help services give more consistent, high-quality support and better results for people who need them. It can support a stable workforce and give staff more time to deliver services. It is about building strong, long-term partnerships between government and service providers. The goal is to build better outcomes for people who rely on services.
Your feedback on how contracting with government needs to be more flexible, reduce administrative burden and support a stronger focus on results has influenced our approach to relational contracting. It puts the focus on outcomes and collaborative decision making.
This approach is about trust, collaboration and using your expertise to support communities more effectively.
We are now developing draft documents that will guide how relational contracting works across the department. These drafts are an important step and your input will help shape our final approach.
You can provide your feedback on the draft documents by visiting DSS Engage until Sunday 26 July 2026 to help us shape our approach. |
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Community organisations can now apply for funding to run free digital skills events during Get Online Week from 19–25 October 2026.
The $1,000 grants are available through the Australian Government’s Be Connected program. Be Connected helps people aged 50 and over build the skills and confidence they need to use the internet safely.
Get Online Week events are a great way to connect with your community. They can help you support people who may be at risk of digital exclusion.
In 2025, The Place Charlestown Community Centre used a grant to deliver an interactive ‘Escape the Scam’ event in their local area. The grant played a key role in the event's success.
'Without the grant funding, our event would have been significantly smaller in scale and impact,' Centre Manager Cristelle Govender said.
'The funding meant participants could attend at no cost. It helped remove barriers for people who may otherwise not engage in digital learning opportunities.'
Funding can be used for venue hire, catering, promotion, staff or volunteer time, and learning resources.
Get Online Week is a national campaign led by Good Things Australia to promote digital inclusion.
Free events across the country help people build digital skills and confidence.
Applications for grants are open now and close 24 July 2026.
Visit the Good Things Australia website to apply for a Be Connected grant to host a Get Online Week event. You can also find further information about digital skills support on the Be Connected website. |
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Legislation to reduce the harms of gambling for all Australians, particularly children and young people has been introduced to Parliament earlier this month.
The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 delivers on the Government’s commitment to break the connection between gambling and sport, minimising children’s exposure to wagering advertising and stopping the saturation of wagering ads on radio, TV and online.
The reforms include:
- Restricting gambling advertising on TV to no more than three ads each hour between 6am and 8.30pm, with a complete ban during live sport broadcasts within those hours.
- Banning gambling ads through online platforms, unless people have a logged in account, are over 18 and have the option to opt out of gambling advertising.
- Banning gambling ads on the radio during school drop-off and pick-up times.
- Banning the use of athletes, celebrities or influencers to promote wagering.
- Banning the broadcasting of ads promoting sporting odds.
- Banning gambling ads in sports venues and on players’ and officials’ uniforms.
The Bill also cracks down on illegal gambling operators by allowing banks and payment systems to block transactions and gives the Australian Communications and Media Authority more powers to act faster to block these websites.
The reforms will also strengthen BetStop to help more Australians stop gambling. The cost of improving the service will be recovered from gambling companies under other proposed changes.
The reforms are also backed by more funding to double the number of people we can help with financial counselling for gambling. The Government is expanding specialised financial counselling services for people who are experiencing financial hardship as a result of gambling harm. These services help people to address their financial problems, make informed choices, and build longer-term financial skills and confidence.
The Government will also develop a targeted public awareness and education campaign to increase awareness of the risks of online gambling and discourage harmful gambling, with a focus on young people and other at-risk groups.
More information on the proposed reforms is available in the Minister’s media release. |
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AusAlert is a new national warning system that uses the latest technology to send emergency messages to compatible mobile devices. It’s a fast and reliable way to help people be informed and better prepared during local and national emergencies.
On Monday 27 July, all mobile devices in Australia will be sent a test alert. This includes most smartphones, smartwatches and tablets.
If your clients are affected by domestic, family or sexual violence and use a hidden or safety phone, please help them to plan ahead.
1800RESPECT can help talk through their options and suggest plans like leaving the phone in a safe location with a trusted friend.
The National Emergency Management Agency and Wesnet have prepared a staying safe with AusAlert stakeholder kit to help survivors prepare for the testing and launch.
More information on AusAlert and resources for general audiences are available on the AusAlert website. |
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Foodbank Australia is partnering with almost 3,000 charities, schools, community organisations, suppliers, manufacturers, providers and government to make sure food gets to the people who need it most.
Since 2002, this shared effort has delivered the equivalent of 1.2 billion meals to Australians facing food insecurity. However, this milestone also shows a growing challenge. Of those 1.2 billion meals, 92 million meals were distributed in the past 12 months.
‘Food insecurity is not something we speak about as Australians. It tends to be an issue that households will deal with quietly behind closed doors,’ Foodbank Australia CEO, Kylea Tink said.
Foodbank's Collaborative Supply Program is supported through our department’s Financial Wellbeing and Capability funding for food relief and material aid. Annual funding for Food Relief providers has more than doubled under grant arrangements that commenced 1 October 2025.
With support from a wide range of funding, Foodbank can directly source food and turn every dollar into real impact. For every $1 invested, about $7 worth of food is delivered to communities.
These efforts highlight that no single organisation can solve food insecurity alone. You can read more about the work they are doing in their communities on our website.
We want to celebrate your work by sharing stories from the people and organisations behind it. We encourage you to share stories of positive impacts with us to inspire others and spark ideas.
Visit the connecting communities: share your story webpage to find useful resources and templates to help you share your story. |
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The Australian Government has delivered a suite of cost of living measures this month, including six months of Paid Parental leave and increases to social security payments.
The expanded Paid Parental Leave will provide families with access to up to 26 weeks of leave, with access to almost $30,000 across their full entitlement. The Paid Parental Leave rate of payment increased to $1,004.70 per week. Annual income limits have also risen, with the individual income limit increasing to $186,487 and the family income limit increasing to $386,525.
A range of social security payments, thresholds and limits have also increased due to indexation. The maximum rate for Family Tax Benefit Part A increased to $235.48 per fortnight for each child aged under 13, and $306.46 per fortnight for each child aged 13 and over.
For Family Tax Benefit Part B, the maximum rate rose to $200.34 per fortnight for families with a youngest child under five, and to $139.86 per fortnight for families whose youngest child is aged five or older.
Income and assets thresholds have increased for a range of recipients, including pensioners and Parenting Payment Single recipients. This means recipients can have higher levels of income and assets before their payments are affected.
Additional measures to strengthen Medicare, increase hospital funding and wages boosts also came into effect from 1 July. Further information on these changes can be found in the Minister's media release. |
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The Australian Government has introduced legislation to improve the operation of the social security, family payment and child support systems, resolving historical legal and compliance issues.
The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2026 ensures systems are up to date, are working effectively and enables efficient and fair administration for the benefit of people who are supported by the social security and child support systems.
The bill also responds to priorities identified through Services Australia's Legal Compliance and Remediation Program, which require resolution via legislation.
The bill includes the following technical changes:
- Advance payments - technical changes to provide legal certainty for Services Australia's administration of advance payments for income support or Family Tax Benefit and continue current service delivery arrangements.
- Removing outdated provisions - for social security and Family Tax Benefit advances, including the requirement for Services Australia to be satisfied that the repayments won't cause the person to suffer financial hardship.
- Mobility Allowance debt recovery - provisions will be aligned with the usual debt raising practices for social security and Family Tax Benefit advances.
- Pre-issue income data - supplied by the Australian Taxation Office can be used to finalise or reconcile Family Tax Benefit or Child Care Subsidy payments and administer the child support scheme, rather than having to rely on tax-assessed income information.
The amendments ensure that Services Australia can make accurate payments for families seeking assistance and make accurate and timely child support assessments, aligned with current practices.
To learn more about these changes, you can read the Minister’s speech introducing the legislation to Parliament. |
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An independent review into the operation of the National Redress Scheme is currently underway, with feedback open until Friday 31 July 2026.
The review provides an important opportunity to understand how the Scheme has worked in practice, and what is needed to support a safe conclusion as it approaches closure in 2028.
We encourage you to raise awareness of the review with your communities and networks and support participation from those with experience of the Scheme. Organisations are also encouraged to provide their own feedback, particularly organisations who have supported or worked with people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse and engaged with the Scheme.
Participants can provide feedback by uploading a written submission or completing the online form. Participants will not be asked to share their personal experiences of abuse.
The independent reviewer will carefully consider all feedback and provide recommendations to government in a publicly available report towards the end of 2026. This helps ensure the review process is fair and all feedback is carefully considered.
For more information about the review, visit DSS Engage. If you or your community members would like support while providing feedback, free and confidential support is available through Redress Support Services. |
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JobAccess serves as a national hub of workplace and employment information for people with disabilities, providing free advice and support services.
JobAccess plays a coordinating role with the National Panel of Assessors to conduct free workplace assessment and advice on workplace modifications and support which may be eligible for reimbursement through the Employment Assistance Fund (EAF).
When a mountain biking accident in May 2023 left structural engineer Susanna with a spinal cord injury, she faced months of recovery and uncertainty about her future. During her recovery, she connected with Spinal Life’s Back2Work team, who guided her through services such as JobAccess and the EAF.
Nine months after her accident, Susanna returned to work part-time. With her employer’s support, she gradually transitioned back into her role. Workplace adjustments funded through JobAccess included an accessible bathroom, a sit–stand desk and a plinth for rest breaks, all proved to be essential in managing fatigue and maintaining independence.
Today, Susanna is once again collaborating with colleagues and contributing to projects she is passionate about. She credits her supportive employer and accessible workplace adjustments for making her return to work possible and encourages others to explore support available through JobAccess.
To read more about Susanna’s story and learn more about building a more inclusive and accessible workplace, visit the JobAccess website. |
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