2015-12-08 I&S Committee - Item 5 - Attach 1 - NOOSA SOCIAL STRATEGY

        2
    Background

The Federal & State Context

The Federal and State Governments have broad-ranging         To be effective, responses to social issues require
responsibilities to deal with social issues.                 significant resourcing. The Federal budget allocates
                                                             35% of its total budget to community services. However,
At the Federal and State level there are major policy        increasingly, the community is asking for more funding to
changes currently being discussed and implemented            meet growing social needs, particularly in regional areas.
in the areas of health, aged and child care, disability,
affordable housing, homelessness, education and social       As a result, State and Federal Governments are
welfare. Some of these include:                              increasingly focussed on evidenced based initiatives,
                                                             measurable outcomes and demonstrable value for money
•   The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and      when providing funding to the social services sector. It is
    Consumer Directed Care which aims to change the          vital for organisations servicing the Noosa area to have
    way in which social services are delivered across the    access to consolidated and accurate localised data to
    country                                                  inform initiatives and funding requests. Furthermore, with
•   Commonwealth Home Support Program which aims             changes in government come changes in policy direction.
    to support more older people to live independently       So throughout the life of this Strategy there may be
    in their communities for longer                          changes in the funding and provision of social programs
                                                             and services.
•   Changes to the Aged Pension, Family Support Benefits
    and Youth Unemployment Benefits                          The Federal and State Government’s implementation of
•   Reduction in Federal payments to the States to deliver   their social policy agendas affect all of our lives. Here in
    primary health care                                      Noosa we face similar challenges to other people around
                                                             Australia.
•   A focus on disease prevention and how to meet the
    challenges that come with increasing rates of often      The Noosa Shire Social Strategy attempts to put these
    preventable disease such as diabetes, skin cancer        major policy debates and issues into a local context.
    and chronic heart disease                                It highlights our strengths and the simple fact that,
•   Taskforces into domestic violence, child sexual abuse    regardless of what the Federal or State Government does,
    and indigenous health                                    we as a community have a responsibility for the wellbeing
                                                             of our fellow citizens.
•   Debates on how best to help individuals struggling
    with mental health issues, substance abuse and
    gambling addictions

•   An expanded role for not-for-profit organisations in
    delivering social services

•   New funding models for tertiary education institutions

•   A shift from locally delivered services to online
    service delivery.