Social Ventures Australia (SVA) has submitted recommendations to the Commonwealth Government for the financial year 2017-2018 budget.
Australia has experienced more than 20 years of continuous economic growth and increased investment in health, education and social services and yet many Australians continue to experience poverty and exclusion.
Based on our experience, SVA is recommending to the Commonwealth Government a series of modest, targeted investments – in education, housing and for First Australians – which evidence suggests will increase the social impact of existing government spend and extend the reach of programs which have been shown to improve the wellbeing of Australians.
SVA notes that there are a range of other reforms including improvements to universal services, income support and labour market programs that are essential to reduce disadvantage and social inequality in Australia. This submission proposes targeted investments where SVA has direct experience and that are likely to yield significant social impact in the medium term.
SVA recommends the Commonwealth Government pursue the following new initiatives:
- Invest in a service to drive improvements in classroom practice through better use of education evidence, in line with the draft recommendations of the Productivity Commission Inquiry into the Education Evidence Base
- Fund an Australian Housing Finance Aggregator to establish a housing finance aggregator body that will unlock private capital in order to increase the supply of social and affordable housing
- Expand the Working on Country program to support the growth of vibrant Indigenous land management and increase the number of Indigenous ranger jobs to 1550 FTE by 2021
- Amend the Jobs for Families Child Care Package so that it can deliver more affordable access to early learning and child care for both working families and vulnerable children
- SVA supports the investment approach of the Try, Test and Learn Fund and recommends that any unspent funding should be maintained and the fund should be increased over time.
Our view is that the initiatives proposed are modest investments in the context of the Commonwealth budget, are based on sound evidence, and have the potential to improve social outcomes, prosperity and inclusiveness for Australians as well as increasing the social impact of the Australian Government.
Read our full submission.