Inquiry into the Government Service Delivery Standards in Regional NSW

The social service sector in regional NSW is facing a perfect storm. Demand for support is surging, driven by the cost-of-living crisis and repeated natural disasters, yet the systems designed to support these communities are not meeting their needs.

Regional organisations are battling a “regional penalty.” They face higher costs to deliver services across vast distances, a workforce crisis with vacancies double that of Sydney, and funding contracts that fail to account for the reality of disaster recovery. Furthermore, the current monitoring frameworks emphasise administrative compliance over community outcomes, wasting precious resources that should be directed to the frontline.

To achieve equity between metro and regional NSW, we urge the Government to recognise the unique characteristics of the regions and reform a service delivery structure so that it genuinely mitigates disadvantage affecting regional communities.