2016 BUDGET| $96 million for social services system

Social Ventures Australia has said the budget announcement of a new $96 million Try, Test and Learn Fund, is an important step towards promoting a more innovative, agile and impactful social services system.

The fund will allow new social initiatives to be tested, measured against agreed outcomes and expanded where they are successful or wound down if they’re not.

“The fund provides an exciting opportunity to use the insights from the actuarial analysis of income support liabilities that the government has conducted. It will help inform a better understanding of the link between government spending and specific social outcomes, and how much government could save through investing in effective programs,” said SVA’s CEO Rob Koczkar.

“The fund could unlock opportunities for the development of innovative service and finance models and attract co-investment from the private sector in important social initiatives.

“Private capital is never going to replace the need for ongoing investment by government in critical services, but there is scope for it to have significant impact in areas including affordable housing supply, social impact bonds (SIBs) and social enterprise development.”

The Fund is accompanied by two pilot programs – one to improve parenting skills for vulnerable families where parents have mental health issues or are in jail and support them in the first 1000 days of their child’s life. The second pilot will support young people exiting out of home care and provide them with targeted support and priority access to education, housing, employment services, legal services and health assessments.

“These are the kind of programs which have the potential to have a significant social impact, by changing the life trajectory of people experiencing disadvantage and reducing the cost of welfare over time,” said Koczkar.

“SVA believes tonight’s announcements should be part of a broader strategy for social innovation. While we’ve seen a number of promising developments, we’re yet to see these pulled into a comprehensive strategy that will fully leverage the investment the government has made to date.

“A comprehensive social innovation strategy would help galvanise action and collaboration across each of the sectors of our economy with a stake in our collective prosperity and wellbeing.”