National survey of services
under strain
Community services were unable to meet
demand for help, said the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) today as
it launched its Australian Community Sector Survey 2005*.
“Lack of funds meant 68% of community
services surveyed were not able to help all the people who sought assistance,”
said ACOSS President Andrew
McCallum.
“One out of every three times when people
seek help from housing services, such as homeless refuges, they are turned away.
Legal services had to turn someone away for every 6 times they are able to help.
Other organisations use waiting lists or tighten eligibility for their service
which puts many people off even walking in the door.”
The Australian Community Sector Survey
2005 found a 6.5% increase in the number of times
people were turned away from a community service in 2003-4 compared to the
previous year. Surveyed organisations reported a slight decline of 3.4% in the
number of people helped but a 9.2% increase in the number of times services were
provided. Of community services surveyed, 67% agreed that “clients have more
complex needs than last year”.
“A jobless mother escaping domestic
violence, for example, is likely to need emergency housing, counselling,
financial and legal help" McCallum said. “With budget deficits and staff
shortages community organisations are trying to help people with varied and
complex needs.”
Federal, State and Territory governments are
the major funders of non-profit community service organisations. Last year the
Federal Government increased its level of funding to surveyed agencies by 8.2%
and State and Territory Governments by 4.8%. However, income from client
fees grew by 10.3%.
“All governments need to do more to address
the social problems that community service agencies deal with daily. Business
and government both could step up their contributions to make a difference,”
McCallum said.
Other findings of the Australian
Community Sector Survey 2005 include:
·
60% of the community services surveyed agreed
their waiting lists had stayed the same or increased in 2003-4 compared to
2002-3.
·
The number of times people were turned away from
a housing service increased by 10% in 2003-4, rising from 38,643 to 42,561
times.
·
The number of times people were turned away from
community legal centre services increased by 10%, rising from 12,946 to 14,785
times.
·
9% of the times people sought financial and
material support they were turned away due to lack of service funds to meet
demand.
*A survey of 831 community services which
assisted 2,009,831 people in the 12 months to June 2004. Download the full
report from www.acoss.org.au
Anouk Ride
ACOSS Media and Publications
Officer
Tel: 02 9310 4844 Ext:
215
Mob: 0419 626
155
fw: 'Services unde
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