Login
Login
The Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS) is proposing a major reform to create a single national program for families and children, streamlining multiple existing funding streams into one coordinated approach.
NCOSS recently made a submission supporting this reform while offering key recommendations to strengthen its implementation. Additionally, NCOSS endorsed the submissions of ACOSS, ACWA and Fams.
Why This Reform Matters
This reform represents a significant investment in simplifying how services are delivered to families and children across Australia. Instead of navigating multiple separate programs, the reform aims to create more flexible, longer-term, and responsive funding arrangements that better meet community needs.
What We’re Advocating For
- Universal Early Intervention
We believe these reforms should focus on accessible early intervention supports for all families, not just intensive services for those in crisis. While the proposed focus on children aged 0-5 is important, we’ve recommended extending support across the full 0-18 age range, recognising that children and young people face critical transitions and challenges throughout their development.
- Connected Services That Work Together
Strong, integrated service delivery doesn’t happen by accident. We’ve called for dedicated investment in the “glue” that makes collaboration work—coordination functions, shared technology and infrastructure, relationship-building time between providers, and professional development in collaborative practice.
- Prioritising Community Connection
We’ve advocated strongly for prioritising Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) in communities with significant First Nations populations, consistent with the Closing the Gap agreement. This means providing adequate transition support, capacity building, and resources as ACCOs take on expanded service delivery roles.
We’ve also emphasised the need for a strong focus on culturally and linguistically diverse communities, families with disability, and regional and rural communities across all funding priorities.
- Better Coordination Across Government
The success of this reform depends on effective coordination between commonwealth, state, and territory governments. We’ve recommended DSS develop a clear public roadmap that identifies how different reforms connect, clarifies responsibilities across jurisdictions, and sets clear timelines for implementation.
- Genuine Flexibility for Services
We support the move to single grant agreements for organisations funded across multiple streams. But to make this truly effective, we’ve called for genuine flexibility that gives organisations scope to respond to emerging community needs, with adequate notice periods for funding changes and all operational costs built into agreements.
- Outcomes That Matter
We’re pleased to see streamlined reporting requirements that focus on outcomes rather than just inputs. We’ve advocated for collecting qualitative data that shows the real impact of services, and for government to make aggregated, de-identified data available to the sector to drive continuous improvement and innovation.
- Community-Led Decision-Making
Perhaps most importantly, we’ve emphasised that successful reform requires sharing decision-making power with children, families, and communities. Those closest to the issues are best positioned to understand needs and develop solutions. We’ve recommended that funding arrangements explicitly include mechanisms for meaningful participation of people with lived experience in service design and governance.
What Happens Next
We’re looking forward to working with the Department of Social Services as they progress these reforms. The community services sector has deep expertise and strong connections with the families and children these programs are designed to support. By working in genuine partnership, we can create a system that delivers better outcomes for all.
For more information about this submission, contact advocacy@ncoss.org.au.