If the status quo remains, we will inevitably see fewer programs, longer waiting lists and less support for the Tasmanians who need it most, writes TasCOSS CEO, Paula Wriedt.
SINCE starting at the Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS) in June, I’ve been travelling across the state, meeting with community organisations who are delivering essential services to those in need.
I have come away inspired by the extraordinary commitment, compassion and professionalism of the staff and volunteers who make up our community services industry.
Every day, organisations across our state are changing lives, often under incredibly difficult circumstances.
However, these conversations have also revealed the reality of what a chronically underfunded industry looks like, and reinforced just how challenging the operating environment has become.
A trauma counselling service I visited reported a nine month waiting list for people needing support.
Housing shelters said they are forced to turn away three out of every four Tasmanians who are in dire need of a safe place to stay.
And charities have been left with little choice but to provide volunteers with fuel vouchers at their own cost or risk losing them altogether, because they cannot afford the cost of petrol.
These are not isolated accounts. They are increasingly becoming the norm across Tasmania.
And it stands to get worse before it gets better.
The new financial year waved in yet another round of rising overheads for community service organisations, with the rising cost of utilities, rates, wages, fuel and other operating expenses adding pressure to already stretched budgets.
Herein lies the fundamental problem: funding for community service organisations is not keeping pace with the true cost of delivering services, resulting in real funding cuts year after year.
These organisations aren’t asking how to expand services or launch new initiatives. They’re asking how they can keep the doors open, retain staff and continue supporting people with the funding they have.
For too long, the community services industry has been expected to absorb rising costs while responding to growing demand.
We have adapted, innovated and stretched every dollar as far as possible because the people who rely on our services cannot simply be turned away.
But resilience and efficiency should never be mistaken for unlimited capacity.
When funding consistently falls behind the real cost of delivering services, something eventually has to give.
This inevitably means fewer programs, longer waiting lists and less support for the Tasmanians who need it most.
That is why TasCOSS, in partnership with the Tasmanian Coalition of Community Service Peaks, continues to call for fair and reasonable funding contracts that better reflect rising demand and the increased cost of delivering services.
A key element of fair funding is appropriate indexation — the annual adjustment applied to government contracts to reflect changes in the operating environment and the real costs of service delivery.
In Tasmania, indexation for many community services contracts remains fixed at a low 3% until at least 2027/28.
This is well below what some other Australian jurisdictions receive. Well below headline inflation of 5%, the national minimum wage increase of 4.75%, plus the 4.23% increase to regulated electricity prices, and the 5.7% hike in water bills.
And well below the real costs of delivering services.
Decades of underfunding by successive governments is now coming home to roost, placing the community service industry’s ability to continue its essential work of supporting Tasmanians experiencing vulnerability at risk.
The community services industry is a critical partner in keeping Tasmanians safe, healthy and connected.
Yet, recent budget decisions have only heightened the growing frustration among the industry, who are rightly asking the question: why isn’t ensuring our fellow Tasmanians can access the support they need a top priority for this Government?
Now is the time for the Tasmanian Government to honour its commitment to a strong, caring community by providing funding that reflects the real cost of delivering the services governments rely on us to provide.
Community organisations have spent years absorbing rising costs because the people who rely on us cannot simply wait until budgets improve.
That goodwill is not unlimited.
If Tasmania wants strong communities, the Government must invest in the organisations that hold them together.
The cost of inaction will ultimately be borne by the Tasmanians who can least afford it.
Paula Wriedt is the chief executive of the Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS).