SVA responds to the Commonwealth Government’s social impact investing discussion paper

Social Ventures Australia (SVA) welcomes the Commonwealth Government’s Social Impact Investing Discussion Paper (the Discussion Paper) along with the opportunity to provide comments and recommendations for developing the Social Impact Investment (SII) market in Australia.

SII is the investment of private capital to achieve social and financial returns. Currently the Australian SII market is on the cusp of a growth phase and there is a great opportunity for it to mature quickly as long as the right supporting infrastructure and initiatives are in place.

Based on our experience, SVA has recommended a series of initiatives through which the Commonwealth Government could support the Australian SII market to grow, provide vital infrastructure, and underpin investments that would deliver measurable and desirable social outcomes for the people of Australia.

The Commonwealth Government can play an active role in expanding the Australian SII market by:

  • Creating an enabling environment to encourage more private capital into social impact investing;
  • Providing funding or co-funding for investments which will deliver better social outcomes;
  • Appointing a Minister with responsibility for Social Impact Investing;
  • Creating an Office for Social Impact Investment to sit within the Treasury;
  • Generating a national Social Impact Bond capability;
  • Developing a National Housing Finance Aggregator;
  • Supporting SII development through improved access to data, data linkage and datalabs;
  • Supporting social enterprises to become ‘investment and contract ready’;
  • Using government purchasing power to create social value through social procurement;
  • Bolstering social impact investment intermediaries; and
  • Making changes to the regulatory environment in order to remove barriers to investment.

SVA is of the view that there is a significant role for the Commonwealth Government to play in fostering and participating in a diverse social impact investing market to bring about greater social outcomes in Australia.

Read SVA’s response to the Commonwealth Government’s Social Impact Investing Discussion Paper.