The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW works every day through our members, volunteers and staff to shape a more just and compassionate society for all. To this end, our work in advocating to overcome the structural causes of disadvantage and poverty is vital in achieving this aspiration.

Through advocacy, campaigns run over the short and long-term, strategic partnerships and engagement with the media, the Society has garnered a reputable voice on issues of social policy and its effects on the lives of people at a tangible level. This work acts in tandem with our conference members and service delivery to form a One Society approach where we can achieve the best possible outcomes for the people we assist.

• Develop clear policy positions underpinned by evidence and consultation
• Influence the actions of funders and decision-makers through constructive and targeted advocacy to reduce inequality and improve the wellbeing of the people we serve
• Develop a strong public profile to shape public debate on issues related to people experiencing poverty or disadvantage

Ensuring everyone has access to a safe, secure and stable place to call home remains a dominant priority in our advocacy work.

The Build Homes, Build Hope campaign continues to form the basis of this work with a call for 5,000 new social housing properties to be built each year over the next ten years to address the scale of the current – and future – demand.

Our members and senior leadership met with MPs on the urgency of housing availability and affordability, while research commissioned by the Society has confirmed the effectiveness of the Build Homes, Build Hope campaign ask in substantially addressing the waiting list for social housing over the next decade.

During Local and Federal Elections held during the course of the financial year, members corresponded and met with candidates to raise issues, while the Society at a NSW level amplified the policy platform developed by the Society’s National Council highlighting action on Homelessness and Housing, Poverty and Inequity, People Seeking Asylum, Secure Work, and First Nations Peoples.

The Society’s various research and policy output during this period is detailed in greater depth below.

• Australians experienced the largest year-on-year increase in inflation seen for more than 20 years, exacerbating cost of living pressures due to soaring prices across the board.
• The cost of housing has left the Australian Dream of home ownership out of reach for a growing number of people with median prices for houses in capital cities reaching $1.065 million.
  
• Only 3% of social housing units needed nationally will be delivered over the next decade based on current Federal Government investment. In NSW, more than 100,000 people are waiting for social housing.
• Around a third of Australians reported that they could not raise $4,000 in the event of an emergency, according to a cost-of-living study conducted by Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

With ongoing discussions about the potential to make coercive control a criminal offence, current justice system responses to domestic and family violence have come under the spotlight. In 2021, the NSW Audit Office, therefore, sought to assess the effectiveness of current NSW Police Force systems, processes, resources, and capability. Our submission made a series of recommendations to help ensure the experiences of victim-survivors are better understood and that they receive safe, effective, and supportive responses when they interact with the police. We also called for greater coordination between police and other services, supported by appropriate funding allocations.

CLIMATE JUSTICE

The Society launched a new Climate Equity Social Justice Statement on the 2021 Global Climate Conference Day of Action, outlining how we can avoid the worst injustices of climate change and other ecological crises.

We continued to see how natural disasters have a disproportionate impact on people on low incomes and those who are otherwise excluded with the 2022 flooding events. To help improve future government responses, and ensure people already affected receive the support they need, we made submissions to both the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Response to Major Flooding, and the Independent Flood Inquiry. We also partnered with several other organisations to commission research into the ongoing housing impacts of the floods in the Northern Rivers. This will be available in September 2022.

DISABILITY

With the gap between the unemployment rate of people with and without disability continuing to widen, our submission to the Disability Employment Support program review focused on the experience of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants, and the opportunity for disability employment services and disability enterprises to work more effectively together to provide participants with pathways to less segregated employment opportunities, including open employment.