Commissioned by Connecting Up Australia (CUA), the purpose of the project is to inform possible responses, programs and services that address the issues that have emerged.

The project categorised responses from research participants under the following headings:

• Structure and resourcing of the sector
• Government funding
• Fundraising and alternative income development or social enterprise
• Human resources volunteers, staff, board
• Research, capacity development and evaluation.

The project found many common issues amongst the sector, and many comments echoed the findings of the Productivity Commission. A key conclusion of the project was that the industry should present a united front and share information for the benefit of the whole sector.

CUA executive Karen Gryst said “We need to work together and have a national focus – to be more visible and valued by government and peak corporate bodies.”

She said that it was no surprise that the social sector is poorly paid and burned out.

“We need more investment in social innovation and support for capacity development and technology infrastructure,” she said.

“There is a need for government to harness the quality of small battlers and adjust the competitive tendering model so they are not disadvantaged by the big, more visibly successful charities.”