4 March 2025

Opinion piece – David Crosbie, Canberra Times, Friday, 28 February 2025

Despite the recent interest rate cut, the cost of living crisis will still dominate the upcoming election campaign as so many families battle to afford the essentials.

And while there will be a lot of talk and a lot of promises by our political leaders, there is one area that a greater government focus would have a profound impact – that is supporting the charities, their workers and volunteers that are on the frontline, helping families in the current crisis, meeting the needs of communities across Australia.

Unfortunately, successive governments have failed to take action despite the fact the charity sector has taken on an increasing burden from spiralling demand and rapidly increasing operating costs.

A new survey of charity CEOs has found there is now profound frustration at the lack of support in key areas where these essential organisations are under unrelenting pressure.

The survey by the Community Council of Australia found that at least 2 out 3 leaders criticised the federal government’s inaction and lack of progress on a raft of critical issues facing the charity sector.

Leaders highlighted a lack of progress in cutting red tape, ensuring the safety of volunteers and paying charities what it actually costs to deliver the services funded by government grants.

The findings raise urgent questions about how effectively the government is delivering on its promises to safeguard the heart and soul of our communities.

The cost of living crisis has put so much additional pressure on the sector that some charities are having to cut back on the services they provide. This will have dire implications across battling communities.

But this is not an overnight problem.

For years charities have been saying the real costs of providing services to our communities is much higher than the funding being provided.

The ongoing lack of progress in critical areas—especially those that directly affect the operational capacity of charities—highlights the gap between the Government’s stated priorities and its execution.

The charities sector is desperate for reforms that will enable us to better fulfill our purpose and serve our communities.

Successive governments have been strong on rhetoric about supporting charities but poor on action.

Charities enter into each successive round of inquiries or reviews or drafting of plans or even new election cycles with naïve hope and energy, maybe this time we will achieve real change?

Generally, we’re disappointed, and most of our efforts will amount to not much more than yet another set of safe words we can all agree to.

Lots of words, not much change.

It’s not just one government or one Minister, but a long-standing recurring pattern of government inaction, grounded in the dogma that the charities and community sector is not a priority for governments.

How else do you explain decades of failures to harmonise charity fundraising regulations, or the seemingly impossible ask for governments to pay charities and community groups the full cost of providing the services they are required to deliver?

Why is there no support for our sector’s energy transition, cybersecurity or climate adaptation?

There’s always a case that the government has done some good things or increased funding in important areas for charities and not-for-profits. This government is no exception, making important improvements in areas like aged care, health, early childhood and other key areas, all of which is to be welcomed.

The government has also improved the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission.

The policies of the ALP leading into the last election were positive for the charities. The words were good, the policies sound, and had they been implemented, they would have delivered real benefits for our sector and the communities we serve across Australia.

Unfortunately, as the CCA survey found, the pre-election policies of the ALP generally did not translate into significant changes for our sector. The policies were not ‘fully funded’, the resources needed to make substantive progress have not been allocated, and progress in sector support and reform is, at best, limited.

In the lead up to the election in the next few months, CCA will be seeking to have dollar signs put against the election commitment of all political parties.

The charities sector turns over more than $200 billion and employs over 1.4 million Australian workers.  This is a sector that deserves to be taken seriously. This means offering more than supportive words.

Anything less than a genuine commitment to real investment in charities risks being yet another set of nice sounding words we can all agree to. Charities need real reform, not transitory clouds of rhetorical good will.