List of Recommendations

Recommendation 1

3.76

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government continue to prioritise funding for place-based and wrap-around services that can demonstrate evidence of successful programs for people living with entrenched disadvantage.

Recommendation 2

4.64

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government immediately work through COAG to implement the agreed COAG recommendation from 2009 that all educational data sets including school attendance records should be shared between all states and territories.

Recommendation 3

4.95

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government works with state and territory governments to ensure immediate increases in funding for emergency relief housing and ongoing low cost housing throughout Australia.

Recommendation 4

5.21

The Committee recommends that funding arrangements for welfare-related programs are reviewed, with a view to avoiding short-term funding cycles. Three to five year agreements, with annual extensions subject to meeting agreed performance measures, would assist with funding certainty, while ensuring progress and satisfactory outcomes are achieved.

Recommendation 5

5.22

The Committee recommends that funding agencies work with service providers to ensure accountability for expenditure of public funding in a way that allows programs to be flexible and responsive to local conditions.

Recommendation 6

5.59

The Committee recommends the continuation of comprehensive longitudinal data collection by state, territory and Australian Governments, to enable informed decision making on the Priority Investment Approach.

Recommendation 7

5.60

Success of the Priority Investment Approach should be measured not just by reductions in welfare expenditure, but also by improved outcomes for welfare recipients.

Recommendation 8

5.61

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government continue to streamline data sharing protocols and arrangements with states and territories.

Recommendation 9

5.62

The Committee recommends that funding agreements with social service providers build in meaningful requirements for program evaluations or progress reports, and avoid imposing evaluation requirements that result in ‘proxy’ measures being reported to meet administrative timeframes.

Recommendation 10

5.80

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government improve its coordination with state and local programs, to ensure expenditure achieves the best possible outcomes, and avoids duplication.

Recommendation 11

5.94

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government supports programs that build local leadership capacity, and incorporate local input in identifying and implementing solutions to entrenched disadvantage.

Recommendation 12

5.95

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government adopt a set of principles similar to those suggested by Logan Together for addressing entrenched poverty, disadvantage and welfare dependency.

Recommendation 13

5.108

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government provides strategic leadership of welfare programs, based on national priorities and knowledge of best practice approaches.

Recommendation 14

5.109

The Committee recommends the Australian Government review the effects of government policy, including the adequacy of payments, on young people and single parent families in the 46th Parliament.

Recommendation 15

5.110

The Australian Government consider changing the point at which single parents move to Newstart Allowance; from when their youngest child turns eight to when their youngest child turns twelve. This should be in conjunction with continued efforts to increase the participation of parents in the workforce.

Recommendation 16

5.111

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government encourage employers to investigate opportunities associated with social investment organisations; including encouraging employers to make operational changes that would facilitate opportunities for single parents to enter the workforce, such as part-time or job-sharing arrangements.

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