Community Support
The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) contributes to stronger communities by:
- assisting communities to develop capacity and self-reliance;
- helping people living in rural and regional areas to access services that support their special needs, and to take advantage of opportunities;
- contributing to improving the living conditions of people in culturally and linguistically diverse communities such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities;
- helping to support individuals, families and communities in crisis;
- encouraging successful partnerships between business, community and government sectors;
- increasing knowledge and understanding about how communities function;
- managing the community portal which provides Australians with relevant up-to-date community information and services;
- encouraging Australians to undertake volunteering activities through the provision of funding to the community and the voluntary sector;
- encouraging and promoting a culture of corporate and individual social responsibility in Australia through advocacy, facilitation and recognition; and
- developing a wide range of support measures, including financial assistance, for Australians recovering from disasters both natural and man-made.
Key Activities
- Stronger Families and Communities Strategy (2004-2009)
- Volunteering
- Register of Harm Prevention Charitable Institutions
- Emergency Relief
- Commonwealth Financial Counselling
- Indigenous Money Management
- Bringing Communities Together
- Problem Gambling
- Business Continuity and Pandemic Planning
- Disaster Assistance
- Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP)
- Reconnecting People Assistance Package
- Community Portal
- National Secretariat Program (NSP)
- The Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership Research and Resources
Stronger Families and Communities Strategy
The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy 2004-2009 funds Communities for Children, Local Answers and Early Childhood - Invest to Grow.
Volunteering
FaHCSIA funds a number of programs to assist the work of volunteers.
Register of Harm Prevention Charitable Institutions
FaHCSIA manages the Register of Harm Prevention Charitable Institutions, which allows organisations engaged in the prevention of harm to obtain financial support from the community through tax deductible gift status.
Emergency Relief
FaHCSIA administers the Australian Government's Emergency Relief funding which enables a range of community and charitable organisations to provide emergency assistance to people in financial crisis.
Commonwealth Financial Counselling
FaHCSIA administers Commonwealth Financial Counselling, a service that provides free financial counselling to people who are experiencing personal financial difficulties due to circumstances such as unemployment, sickness, credit over-commitment and family breakdown.
Indigenous Money Management
FaHCSIA has a number of services to help Indigenous people develop their money management skills and support economic and social participation, including home ownership. These services include MoneyBusiness and Family Income Management (FIM). FaHCSIA is also working with community and business organisations to develop a National Indigenous Money Management Agenda (NIMMA).
Bringing Communities Together
The previous government developed and supported a strategic policy that encourages greater social integration of Australian communities. To support this aim, the former FaCSIA established a strategic framework, entitled 'Bringing Communities Together', to work with different groups within the community.
Problem Gambling
FaHCSIA works closely with key stakeholders, including state and territory governments, to help reduce the harm caused by problem gambling on individuals, families and communities. State/Territory and former Australian Government Ministers had agreed to a National Framework on Problem Gambling 2004-2008.
Business Continuity and Pandemic Planning
FaHCSIA has developed a Business Continuity Kit for Non-Government Organisations entitled Being Prepared – Pandemic Planning Tools for Non-Government Organisations to assist community organisations prepare pandemic and business continuity plans. These plans will help community organisations mitigate the adverse community and social impacts of a potential human influenza pandemic or other crises/disasters.
Disaster Assistance
FaHCSIA manages the Australian Government's Disaster Assist website, set up to give individuals and families access to the latest information about recovery assistance following a disaster. Previous assistance measures are also listed on the Disaster Assist website.
Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP)
The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment provides immediate, one-off financial assistance to help Australians adversely affected by major disasters. The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, in consultation with the Prime Minister, may make the payment available taking into account the number of individuals affected, the extent to which the disaster is unusual, the impact of the disaster on individuals and whether an additional Australian Government response is required. This is a one-off, not a continuing, payment. Claims for the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment can be lodged with Centrelink.
Reconnecting People Assistance Package
The Reconnecting People Assistance Package provides assistance to people who have been adversely affected as a direct result of their inappropriate immigration detention within Australia. You can download the Reconnecting People Assistance Package - Request for Assistance application form from this website.
Community Portal
FaHCSIA manages community.gov.au, a gateway to web-based information relevant to individuals and community organisations across Australia.
National Secretariat Program (NSP)
FaHCSIA manages and administers funds for the National Secretariat Program (NSP), a program that provides financial support for National Secretariats to enable them to respond to the family and community service needs of the Australian community.
The former Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership Research and Resources
The Prime Minister's Community Business Partnership was an initiative of the then Prime Minister, the Hon John Howard MP. The Partnership developed a number of resource documents aimed at assisting the establishment and maintenance of successful community business partnerships, and the promotion of corporate and individual social responsibility.