Partners in recovery: why charities need tailored support

Charities are a vital part of Australia’s society and economy. They provide services that we all rely on, and employ around one in ten Australian workers.

Charities are working in challenging circumstances to help get us through the current crisis. They are losing revenue from multiple sources at the same time as they face increased demand for their services, and increased delivery costs. We will need charities even more as partners in recovery, but many charities are vulnerable themselves.

In our second report with Centre for Social Impact, we explore the different financial, legal and operational constraints that charities face compared with commercial businesses, which make it harder for them to rebound.

Charities need tailored support from government that recognises their unique situation if we are to preserve jobs and services. We cannot assume that business-oriented support will work for them. All charities that have been hit by the economic crisis need access to a ‘ramp’ not a ‘cliff’ for the end of JobKeeper, along with an integrated package of measures to tackle the structural challenges they face.

This report was amended on 17 August, 2020 to remove a misleading statement of the charity sector’s economic contribution. We apologise for the error.