News

11^th October 2012     MELBOURNE CHEAPER CITY FOR RENTERS
by Simon Johanson The Age

IT IS now cheaper to rent in Melbourne than most other Australian cities. Weekly asking rents in Darwin ($700), Canberra ($485), Perth ($450) and even Brisbane ($380) now outstrip the southern capital, new figures show. more

11^th October 2012     QUESTION WITHOUT NOTICE: TENANTS' ADVICE AND ADVOCACY SERVICE
by The Australian Government

I thank the member for Blair for his question and his ongoing advocacy for tenancy services in Queensland. I can say to him, and I think it is fitting given that yesterday was World Homeless Day, that there is a strong commitment by this government to make sure we do everything we can to prevent Australians finding themselves at risk of being homeless. more

10^th October 2012     MARIST YOUTH CARE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

Marist Youth Care (MYC) is a not-for-profit organisation focused on helping young people at risk and their families. Marist Youth Care’s Skills Development Centre based in Brunswick, is a new and unique facility that is committed to providing employment opportunities for unemployed and disadvantaged youth in Melbourne. more

10^th October 2012     TAX REFORM NEEDED TO CURB HOMELESSNESS: VINNIES CEO
by Tony Eastley - ABC AM

At the last census 89,728 Australians were classified as homeless. It means that for every 10,000 people counted on census night just over 45 Australians were without a proper roof over their heads. more

10^th October 2012     HOMELESSNESS SERVICES TO BE RECOGNISED WITH AWARDS
by The Australian Government

Australia’s hard-working and dedicated homelessness sector will be recognised with the second National Homelessness Services Achievement Awards, Minister for Housing and Homelessness Brendan O’Connor announced today. more

10^th October 2012     NEW PROTECTION FOR BOARDING HOUSE RESIDENTS
by ABC NEWS

The New South Wales Government is pushing ahead with changes to protect boarding house residents. more

9^th October 2012     VIC LEGISLATION TO CUT NFP RED TAPE
by Pro Bono Australia News

The new legislation to reduce the regulatory burden and simplify financial reporting, trading, regulatory, registration and contractual responsibilities of more than 37,000 Victorian incorporated associations comes into effect in November. more

9^th October 2012     VIC MENTAL HEALTH ACT REFORMS REVEALED
by Pro Bono Australia News

The Victorian Government’s proposal for the new legislation to reform the Mental Health Act have been released as part of Mental Health Week. more

9^th October 2012     DISADVANTAGED REACH ‘ADULTHOOD’ EARLIER - REPORT
by Pro Bono Australia News

Adulthood starts earlier for disadvantaged young people in Australia and the road is rockier, according to new Not for Profit research. more

9^th October 2012     QUESTIONS ABOUT CLASSIFICATIONS & EQUAL PAY? YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
by Lisa Darmanin - Assistant Branch Secretary - ASU

The ASU is running sessions for all workers in every region across the industry – via an Australian Government funded program. The sessions explain the basis for the Modern Award changes, process for classification translation and how to calculate your first Equal Pay instalment. more

8^th October 2012     NO BUDGET SURPLUS ON THE BACK OF SINGLE PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN!
by ACOSS

Leading welfare voices will come together on Tuesday to protest against the Federal Government's decision to press ahead with damaging cuts to the payments of more than 100,000 single parents in defiance of two separate Committee recommendations. more

8^th October 2012     STOP CUTS TO SOLE PARENT PAYMENTS!
by ACOSS

In the May 2012 Budget, the Federal Government announced that it planned to save $700 million by forcing well over 100 000 more single parents (over 90% are women) off the Parenting Payment onto the Newstart Allowance, which is now so low it is unbearable to live on. more

8^th October 2012     HOME TRUTHS: WEEKLY PROPERTY WRAP
by Andrew Rennie - The Melbourne Leader

ALTHOUGH units are often cheaper, and conditions are ripe for picking up a bargain, units are not proving popular. more

7^th October 2012     SOARING COSTS DRIVE FAMILIES TOGETHER
by Lisa Cornish and Jackie Sinnerton - The Herald Sun

AUSTRALIAN households with three or more families are on the rise as both related and unrelated families choose to live together to reduce growing costs. more

7^th October 2012     OUR CITY'S CROWDED HOUSES
by Lisa Cornish and Jackie Sinnerton - The Australian

STRUGGLING Sydney families are cramming into shared homes as the cost of living spirals out of control. more

5^th October 2012     FEDERAL HOUSING MINISTER BRENDON O’CONNOR’S OPENING ADDRESS: AUSTRALIAN FOYER FOUNDATION CONFERENCE

Thank you for asking me to address this inaugural Foyer Foundation conference. As we all know, there is no single reason why people become homeless. Sadly, it comes in many forms, and some are more visible than others. more

5^th October 2012     NORTH YARRA COMMUNITY HEALTH REVIEW OF ACCESS TEAM DROP IN CLINIC SERVICES
by North Yarra Community Health

The aim of this questionnaire is to gain feedback from those individuals and organisations that refer or could possibly refer to the North Yarra Community Health Access Team drop in clinic. Specifically we would like more information regarding accessibility and service provision from staff. more

5^th October 2012     MORE SEEK HELP FOR MENTAL HEALTH
by Pro Bono Australia News

More Australians are seeking help for mental and suicide-prevention issues than ever before, according to national mental illness charity, SANE Australia. more

5^th October 2012     THE HIDDEN COST OF COUNTING THE HOMELESS
by Nate Berg

During the last week of January, volunteers blanket the streets of cities across the U.S. to seek out what they might otherwise ignore. They peek into alleyways and under freeway overpasses to find and count the homeless. more

5^th October 2012     A CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS – OCTOBER 2012 EDITION OF PARITY - MODELS OF SERVICE INTEGRATION

This edition Parity is devoted to an examination and discussion of progress that has been made in developing more integrated services and systems that more effectively prevent and respond to homelessness. All contributions are welcome and the deadline for  submissions is Friday, 5 October, 2012. more