Contents
- Part 1 Executive Summary
- Part 2 Performance reporting
- Part 3 Corporate governance and accountability
- Part 4 Appendices
- Part 5 Financial Management
Annual Report 2008–2009
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Annual Report 2008–2009
Annual Report 2008–2009 » Chapter 8: Outcome 3
Services and assistance that help children to have the best possible start to life; promote healthy family relationships; help families adapt to changing economic and social circumstances and take an active part in the community; and assist families with the costs of children.
Outcome 3 has two contributing output groups:
FaHCSIA plays a key role in developing and implementing Australian Government policies for supporting and protecting Australian families and children. In 2008–09 this included developing a Paid Parental Leave scheme, providing direct assistance to families in response to the global financial crisis, improving services for families and children, and supporting the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children.
The Department has taken the lead role in the development of the Paid Parental Leave scheme, bringing Australia in line with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. When fully implemented in January 2011, the program will provide greater financial support to families, improve workforce attachment and promote early childhood development.
As part of its response to the global economic slowdown the Government provided families with lump-sum payments under the Economic Security Strategy. This was further supplemented in February 2009, when many families received additional bonus payments under the National Building – Economic Stimulus Plan.
Throughout 2008–09 FaHCSIA implemented new budget measures making the family payments system simpler, fairer and more sustainable in the long term.
The formation of the Family Support Program was announced by Minister Macklin on 16 February 2009. The program brings together existing family, parenting and children's services—including the Family Relationship Services Program and Communities for Children—to provide more coordinated, responsive and flexible services for families and children, particularly those at risk.
FaHCSIA worked collaboratively with state and territory governments and the non-government sector to address child protection issues by leading the development of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children. The framework was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments in April 2009.
We also worked on the development and implementation of the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management and Voluntary Income Management.
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The Department completed implementation of Stage 3 of the child support reforms. Under this final stage of the reforms, parts of Family Assistance were changed to better balance the interests of both parents and be more focused on the needs and costs of children. Since 1 July 2008 all child support payments have been reassessed against a new child support formula.
This section outlines the specific achievements that contributed towards achieving FaHCSIA's goals for Outcome 3, as well as the challenges we encountered along the way. It also reports on the Department's performance against the measures set out in our 2008–09 Portfolio Budget Statements and related Budget documents.
The Department supports and assists families by developing and implementing policies and programs including family payments, parenting support and family relationship services. FaHCSIA works in partnership with state and territory governments and Indigenous communities to develop and implement appropriate services and solutions to address violence in their communities.
FaHCSIA's key achievements in 2008–09 for supporting families are outlined below.
The Government-funded Paid Parental Leave scheme, announced in May 2009, will have a number of significant benefits and is designed to minimise the impact on employers, particularly small businesses. The scheme will have the following key features:
Over the last 18 months, the Australian Government has led the development of the first National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children in partnership with state and territory governments and the non-government sector.
On 30 April 2009, the national framework was endorsed by the Council of Australian Government (COAG). The framework represents an unprecedented level of collaboration that has enabled an ambitious, long-term national approach to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Australian children.
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The Communities for Children program takes a place-based early intervention and prevention approach to child development and support. The program works with communities to build their capacity to deliver services locally and solve local issues.
Funding is provided for local early childhood initiatives in 45 disadvantaged communities across Australia. Broadmeadows Communities for Children covers six suburbs in the city of Hume. It offers a wide range of activities to help children, parents and families develop a sense of belonging and support in their local communities.
The following quotes are from parents who participated in 'Bilingual Storytime in the Community'. This is an activity that aims to engage families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in literacy and language activities, and encourage parents who may not speak English to participate in sharing books and songs with their children.
'I have learned how to help my son at home. I sing the songs with him and I read stories at home. He learns some words—animals' names and about animals. He learns about new things that I have not thought to talk to him about.'
'What happens here I can do at home. I now know that it helps to talk and play with my son.'
Photo above: Bilingual Storytime at Broadmeadows
The Government directed bonus payments to families in the two stimulus packages that were implemented by the Department during the year.
Around 2 million families with eligible dependent children received $3.6 billion as part of the Economic Security Strategy announced in October 2008. A lump sum of $1,000 was paid in December 2008 for each dependent child attracting Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A, Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY or an education allowance from the Department of Veterans' Affairs payment on 14 October 2008.
Families were paid another $3.7 billion in bonus payments under the Nation Building – Economic Stimulus Plan announced in February 2009. In March 2009, families eligible for FTB Part A received a $950 Back to School Bonus for each child aged 4 to 18 years. In addition, full-time dependent students received a Training and Learning Bonus of $950 if their families received FTB Part A for them. Families receiving FTB Part B also received a Single Income Family Bonus of $900.
The Department implemented a number of 2008–09 Budget measures to ensure the family payments system was made simpler and fairer for families. In the 2008–09 Budget, changes were made to improve targeting of the Family Tax Benefit and the Baby Bonus. A $150,000 income limit on primary earner income for FTB Part B was introduced on 1 July 2008. A family income test for the Baby Bonus was introduced on 1 January 2009 to better target the payment. For babies born on or after 1 January 2009, the Baby Bonus is paid fortnightly over 26 weeks rather than as a lump sum to provide more effective support for families caring for newborns, or adopted children up to the age of 16 years.
Since 1 January 2009, the Maternity Immunisation Allowance has been paid in two separate amounts, instead of one lump sum, to provide an incentive for parents to have their children vaccinated before the age of two years and again before starting school. The payment was extended to adopted children who arrive in Australia before turning 16 years of age.
The formation of the Family Support Program was announced by Minister Macklin on 16 February 2009. Through more coordinated, responsive and flexible service delivery, the program seeks to enable services to better focus on the needs of families and children, particularly those at risk. The Family Support Program brings together nine existing family, parenting and children's services—including the Family Relationship Services Program and Communities for Children—under one umbrella program. The full transition to the new model will take place over the next two years.
The Department released a discussion paper outlining the program principles and operating priorities and held consultations with service providers, states and territories and other interested parties during the first half of 2009.
On 1 July 2009, a machinery of government change came into effect which saw responsibility for all operational aspects of the Family Relationship Services program becoming the responsibility of FaHCSIA. The Attorney-General's Department retained responsibility for family law policy.
The Department provided funding through the Family Relationship Services program, to Family Relationship Services Australia to host its inaugural national conference, 'Collective Wisdom: together we are better', in November 2008. The conference brought together more than 315 delegates from the family relationship sector and government to network, share knowledge and discuss future challenges and responses.
In 2008–09, the Department funded 47 projects under the Family Violence Partnership Program. The program works to address Indigenous family violence and child abuse in partnership with state and territory governments.
The Kids Living Safer Lives project won the award for the most exceptional innovative Indigenous project at the 2009 Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Awards.
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The Port Augusta Family Relationship Centre operates an Indigenous outreach service that assists Indigenous people in the far north and west of South Australia to access Family Relationship Centres and other services. The service model includes one male and one female Aboriginal staff member who support each other in their roles.
The male officer focuses on promotion of the service and the concepts, using his community links and particularly his profile with men and elders throughout the region. This officer has a visiting program across the centre's outreach sites and the far north region. The female officer has a background in community development and excellent knowledge of Aboriginal culture and is qualified to provide mediation services. The fact that this officer is not from the local families or community helps to ensure acceptance and success of the mediation.
Outcomes of the Port Augusta Indigenous services outreach include:
Photo above: Family Relationship Centre and Aboriginal Family Support Service staff.
In collaboration with the Child Support Agency, Centrelink and the Department of Human Services, the Department completed implementation of Stage 3 of the child support reforms. In this final stage of the reforms, the Child Support Scheme and parts of Family Assistance were changed to better balance the interests of both parents and be more focused on the needs and costs of children. Since 1 July 2008 all child support payments have been reassessed against a new child support formula.
Changes were also made to the way child support agreements work and the way child support and family assistance work when parents share care.
This section describes some of the challenges the Department met when delivering Outcome 3 initiatives and how we worked to overcome them.
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The Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Cross Border Project (funded through FaHCSIA's Family Violence Partnership Program) has received peer recognition because of its success in reducing the re-offending rate among participants.*
Based in Alice Springs, the program operates in Central Australia across the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, and covers 500,000 square kilometres and 24 communities and services a population of 6,500.
The project works in partnership with the South Australian, West Australian and Northern Territory Governments and FaHCSIA to reduce the incidence of physical and psychological harm in Aboriginal communities of Central Australia. It develops and delivers culturally and linguistically appropriate programs to address issues of family violence, anger management and substance misuse.
The Cross Border Family Violence Program has been recognised in National awards such as:
* Project participants are Indigenous men charged with family violence offences. They are drawn from courts, police and other service referrals. More than 70 per cent of participants do not re-offend.
In 2008–09 the Department worked on the development of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children. A key challenge was to ensure the framework accurately reflected the breadth of issues and took into consideration the work already being undertaken to protect Australia's children. It was critical that the actions outlined in the framework were evidence-based and had the support of all stakeholders. To ensure this, the Department undertook an extensive consultation process, talking to a wide range of Commonwealth agencies, state and territory governments and organisations in the non-government sector.
Developing and implementing projects that address Indigenous family violence and child abuse continue to pose logistical challenges. The Department analysed the projects under the Family Violence Partnership Program and Family Violence Regional Activities Program that were most successful in addressing violence and abuse in Indigenous communities. We found that the most effective projects were those that are generated at the local level, engage with the community, are staffed with Indigenous people, involve men and empower women. We are working to ensure these features are included in future projects.
The need to reduce the administrative reporting burden on community sector-funded organisations represents a significant challenge for the Department and for organisations themselves. In 2008–09 FaHCSIA reviewed the reporting obligations specified in the Family Relationship Services funding agreement schedule and significantly reduced the reporting requirements for organisations under any future or extended funding agreements.
The changing family environment presents a challenge for governments across Australia and for the Department. Australian families and children today face a range of complex and interrelated issues that require an integrated and flexible service response. An increasing number of families and children present with multiple and complex needs.
Fragmented services for children, parents and families are confusing and difficult to navigate, do not always respond well to complex issues, and create significant administrative burdens for service providers.
In 2008–09 the Minister announced the establishment of the Family Support Program—a significant initiative designed to overcome these challenges. The program brings together a range of existing services under a single umbrella, providing an opportunity to remove service and policy silos and facilitate greater links across the service system.
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Family Relationship Services for Humanitarian Entrants are free services designed specifically for families who have entered Australia under the Humanitarian Entry Program. FaHCSIA currently provides funding to six service providers to deliver services in four states in a number of high-need areas that have been determined by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship using settlement data on humanitarian entrant populations.
Service providers like the South Eastern Region Migrant Resource Centre develop and deliver culturally appropriate family relationship services to assist people to work through a range of issues from changed expectations in a new cultural setting through to family violence.
The centre has found that the biggest challenge for the counsellor is to be mindful of the client's culture and view of the world and be able to discuss realistic choices without devaluing cultural beliefs. Sound knowledge and an holistic approach that includes practical support coupled with counselling is particularly effective when working with refugees. Many face a range of practical challenges and have trouble navigating complex systems independently.
For example, the centre's Family Counsellor conducted home visits to an Afghani woman and her child who was experiencing family violence. The counsellor helped her to navigate the child protection and family law systems and provided extensive practical support to the family, including increasing the woman's capacity to manage money, helping her to apply for citizenship and an Australian passport, and linking her with English classes and a women's only gym. The woman slowly began to widen her scope of trust in people because she was able to build trust with her counsellor. Her increased confidence enabled her to make positive choices for her future.
During 2008–09, the Department implemented a number of reforms to the Baby Bonus. Since 1 January 2009, the family income test limits eligibility to families with an adjusted taxable income of $75,000 or less in the six-month period following the birth of a child, or the date a child enters the care of a long-term carer. Eligibility for the Baby Bonus has been extended to parents who adopt children under 16 years of age (this was previously less than two years of age), regardless of whether the payment was made previously for the child.
Families are now paid their Baby Bonus in 13 fortnightly instalments from the date of claim. This provides families with ongoing support over a six-month period to help manage the costs of a new child. The claim period was also extended to 52 weeks, to allow families more time to access the payment.
In another measure implemented during 2008–09, indexation of the Baby Bonus to the Consumer Price Index now occurs annually on 1 July, in line with other family payments.
The Government announced changes to the 2007–08 Migration Program, increasing the skill stream component by 6,000 to a total of 108,000 places. All permanent migrants who come to Australia are subject to a Newly Arrived Residents Waiting Period, or qualifying residence period, which precludes them from accessing most income support payments for a two-year period after arrival in Australia. Despite this restriction, these migrants can receive family assistance payments immediately on arrival in Australia to assist with work and family responsibilities.
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From 1 July 2008, a primary earner income test of $150,000 was applied for FTB Part B. This measure provides a more targeted system of family assistance, ensuring that assistance is directed to those families who need it most.
Since 1 July 2009, customers who notify the Family Assistance Office of a change in income automatically have their rate of FTB adjusted. This assists parents to avoid overpayments of FTB at reconciliation.
To simplify administration and reduce duplication, FTB is no longer paid through the Australian Taxation Office. The option to receive FTB as reduced Pay As You Go (PAYG) deductions ceased being available from 1 July 2008.
Lump-sum FTB claims, end-of-year top-ups and FTB fortnightly instalments continue to be available through Centrelink and Medicare. Adjusted taxable income will continue to be used for Family Assistance income testing and the FTB reconciliation process. Tax refunds will continue to be available to offset FTB debts (and vice versa). Information will still be exchanged between the Australian Taxation Office and Centrelink to support those processes.
Since 1 January 2009, parents and carers have received the Maternity Immunisation Allowance in two separate amounts. The first amount is paid between the ages of 18 months and 24 months for children who meet the immunisation requirements for an 18-month-old, or have an approved exemption. The second amount is paid between the ages of 4 and 5 years, for children who meet the immunisation requirements for a 4-year-old, or who have an approved exemption.
Also from 1 January 2009, the payment of the allowance was extended to cover children adopted from outside Australia who arrive in Australia before the age of 16 years. This encourages parents to have their children immunised to the appropriate level required in Australia, and so maintain high levels of immunity against common diseases in the community.
From 1 July 2009, families who fail to lodge tax returns within a certain period may lose access to fortnightly FTB payments until their entitlements are properly reconciled.
This measure encourages families to lodge their tax returns or advise they are not required to lodge tax returns, so their payments can be reconciled to ensure they receive the correct amounts and do not lose any top-up payments and end-of-year supplements.
In 2008–09 the Department worked on the development of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children to address the increasing rate of notification and substantiation of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect of Australia's children.
This measure also applies to Outcome 1. See page 70 for details on this measure.
In 2008–09, the Department worked on the development and implementation of the Child Protection Scheme of Income Management (CPSIM) and Voluntary Income Management (VIM). CPSIM and VIM aim to encourage socially responsible behaviour and to enhance the wellbeing of children.
On 24 November 2008, VIM and CPSIM were introduced in the Cannington district of Perth and the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Under CPSIM, Western Australia's Department of Child Protection can refer a person to Centrelink for income management where the improper use of existing financial resources wholly or partially contributes to child protection issues.
VIM allows people to volunteer for income management if they feel it would assist them to better meet their financial responsibilities, or contribute to the wellbeing of their children or children in their community.
At 19 June 2009, there were almost 200 CPSIM and VIM customers. Some of the major challenges in implementing CPSIM and VIM have involved developing robust referral models and servicing customers in very remote areas of the Kimberley region.
In 2008–09, the Department assisted the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in implementing and coordinating the School Enrolment and Attendance Measure.
This measure also applies to Outcome 4.
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This measure also applies to Outcome 2. See page 117 for details on this measure.
This measure also applies to Outcome 2. See page 117 for details on this measure.
This measure also applies to Outcome 2. See page 118 for details on this measure.
This measure is reported in Centrelink's annual report under Call Centre Performance.
This measure also applies to Outcome 2.
This measure also applies to Outcome 2. See page 118 for details on this measure.
This measure also applies to Outcome 2. See page 118 for details on this measure.
This measure also applies to Outcome 2. See page 118 for details on this measure.
This measure also applies to Outcome 2 and 4. See page 119 for details on this measure.
The Government decided not to proceed with this component of a measure announced by the previous government in the 2006–07 Budget, which was due to be implemented on 1 July 2008. This component would have changed the way fringe benefits are assessed for the purpose of calculating adjusted taxable income to determine eligibility for personal benefit payments (such as Family Tax Benefit).
The Department is affected by the delivery of this measure, which is led by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. This measure also applies to Outcomes 1, 2 and 4. See pages 70–71 for details on this measure.
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Families received a payment of $1,000 for each eligible child. Recipients included families eligible to receive Family Tax Benefit Part A on 14 October 2008, and families of dependent children receiving Youth Allowance, Abstudy or an education allowance under the Veterans' Children Education Scheme or the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 Education and Training Scheme on that date.
This measure also applies to Outcomes 2 and 4. See page 120 for details on this measure.
This measure also applies to Outcome 2. See page 121 for details on this measure.
This measure also applies to Outcome 2. See page 121 for details on this measure.
Families eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part B on 3 February 2009 received a Single Income Family Bonus of $900 per family. The value of the bonus was reduced from an initial amount of $950 to $900 due to a Government amendment. Savings from the amendment were directed to other priorities in the context of the Nation Building and Jobs Plan.
Departmental funding was received to develop and implement the bonus payment, in conjunction with Centrelink.
Departmental funding was received to develop and implement the bonus payment, in conjunction with Centrelink.
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