Pre-Budget Submission 2021-2022 - Victoria APRIL 2021 - Australian ...
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Pre-Budget Submission
2021-2022
Victoria
APRIL 2021
2
Enquiries regarding this submission can be directed to:
Anneka Farrington
Branch Service Coordinator, AASW VIC
03 9320 1000
aaswvic@aasw.asn.au
Charles Chu
AASW Social Policy and Advocacy Officer
03 9320 1000
Charles.chu@aasw.asn.au
2
The Australian Association of
Social Workers
The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) is
the professional body representing more than 14,000
social workers throughout Australia. We set the
benchmark for professional education and practice in
social work, and advocate on matters of human rights,
discrimination, and matters that influence people’s
quality of life.
The Social Work Profession
Social work is a tertiary qualified profession recognised internationally that pursues social justice
and human rights. Social workers aim to enhance the quality of life of every member of society and
empower them to develop their full potential. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective
responsibility and respect for diversity are central to the profession, and are underpinned by theories
of social work, social sciences, humanities and Indigenous knowledges. Professional social workers
consider the relationship between biological, psychological, social and cultural factors and how they
influence a person’s health, wellbeing and development. Social workers work with individuals,
families, groups and communities. They maintain a dual focus on improving human wellbeing; and
identifying and addressing any external issues (known as systemic or structural issues) that detract
from wellbeing, such as inequality, injustice, and discrimination.
3
Our vision to a just society in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic
Our vision is for a cohesive, inclusive and just society in which it is possible for everyone to thrive,
flourish and develop their full potential. 2020 has provided lessons for the whole community,
especially official decision makers in what is required to ensure this outcome. The AASW believes
that these lessons clearly illustrate that all aspects of our well being are deeply intertwined, and that
we can no longer ignore the connections between our economic success, the strength of our
communities, our responses to inequality and the health of our environment. Consequently, we call
for the adoption of a holistic, proactive approach to all dimensions of health and well-being
encompassing income levels, housing, safety from violence, mental health, climate action and
Reconciliation.
Social workers are on the front lines supporting individuals, groups and communities to manage the
impacts of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Everyday, social workers are engaging directly with
people across a wide range of health and social supports and services to address the devastating
impacts that this pandemic is having on the lives of so many Australians. From previous pandemics
to global conflicts, social workers have and will continue to play a vital role in crisis, recovery and
long-term reconstruction efforts. Social workers have been a key part of the Victorian government’s
response to COVID-19 and as a profession we have been working in partnership and collaboration
with key stakeholders.
COVID-19 has had far-reaching impacts across all aspects of peoples’ lives, in particular for
Victorians. We recognise the impacts that the pandemic has had on the general community,
including our members. Social workers, like many health professionals, are deeply concerned about
the impact of COVID-19 on their well-being, the people to whom they provide services, their
families, and others in the community. With this in mind, the Victorian State Budget 2021-22 must
continue to address the myriad impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and recovery and ensure that no one
is left behind.
Our recommendations address the following areas:
• Mental Health
• Family Violence
• Child Protection
• Housing and Homelessness
• Reconciliation & Closing the Gap
• Climate Action
• Hospital Social Work and End-of-Life Care
4Mental Health
Social workers are an integral part of the mental health workforce and our members deliver services
across a range of settings throughout Victoria. In particular, Accredited Mental Health Social
Workers (AMHSW) work with people across the lifespan (including children, adults and older
persons) and provide a unique contribution to the mental health space in their holistic approach to
working with a person. The advanced training that is expected of AMHSW prepares and provides
them with the skills for working with people with very complex presentations and co-morbidities.
The AASW strongly advocates for greater investment in community mental health and for programs
focused on both prevention and early intervention. Our members have recognised that the mental
health system has been ‘hollowed out’ since the previous budgets focus on acute mental health care
in hospitals, instead of primary and secondary internventions in community mental health services.
According to the Final Report to the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System, the
mental health system has become so crisis-driven that many people have fallen through the cracks
as their mental health conditions are either ‘too severe’ for GPs and ‘not severe enough’ for hospital
admissions. Our submission to Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System has detailed
the horrifying stories of people waiting for days, if not years, to access community mental health
services. The situation has further deteroriated during the COVID-19 crisis with multiple strict and
enduring lockdowns. Our members in all lines of service report increased demand for mental health
care since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As poor mental health often correlates with other
social vulnerabilities, such as homelessness and alcohol and other drug dependency, it is urgent
that the Victorian Government address the issues that make the mental health system inaccessible
to many. The report to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System has detailed
recommendations on the fiscal commitment required to build more community mental health
facilities and to strengthen primary and secondary intervention programs to meet the diverse needs
of the ‘missing middle’. To repair the broken foundations of the Victorian Mental Health System, the
AASW welcomes all the recommendations of the Royal Commission and highly encourages the
Victorian Government to significantly increase its investment to implement all recommendations
from the Commission’s Final Report, as this is a re-investment to the Victorian community.
AASW Recommendation:
• That the Victorian Government commit to the significant and timely investment in the
implementation of all recommendations from the Final Report of the Royal Commission into
Victoria's Mental Health System.
Relevant AASW Position and Statement:
• AASW Submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System
5Family Violence
Family violence is a gendered crime: it is most commonly perpetrated by men, against women. It
also deeply affects children. In Victoria, the male offender rate was over four times higher than the
female offender rate with 489 male FV offenders per 100,000 males and 97 female FV offenders per
100,000 females in 2019 - 2020. 1 The causes of family violence are complex and include factors
that operate at the individual level as well as across the whole of society. Factors such as
community attitudes towards women and gender inequality are experienced across all aspects of a
woman’s life, even if she is not directly subjected to violence against herself. While we welcome the
introduction of the Safe and strong: A Victorian Gender Equality Strategy and its whole-of-
government approach to address gender equality, sustained and long-term funding are needed to
support the health and wellbeing initiatives outlined in the strategy. In particular, significant
investment is needed to continue to address key services gaps, such as the mental health
prevention services for young women and the abortion service for women living in rural and remote
Victoria.
Our AASW members support, assist, and advocate on behalf of women, children and men affected
by family violence and are integral to the delivery of services in the field. In our recent submission to
The Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor, members who work in the family violence
sector reported that the roll-out of the Orange Door was well-intentioned in its aim to address the
fragmentation of family violence services, but it was introduced too rapidly and services were not
funded adequately to obtain quality staff and to ensure the consistency of service delivery. In the
next budget. In addition, a comprehensive guide to the reforms that are needed across the service
system is contained in the recommendations of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family
Violence. It details the critical need to provide adequate funding for a vast range of family violence
and support services. Currently, there are two main areas that need to be funded as a matter of
urgency. First, only 3% of the family violence budget is spent on primary prevention. The AASW
endorses VCOSS’ recommendation that the Victorian Government should spend on family violence
prevention to at least 10% and ensure primary prevention activities and programs are funded for at
least two to three years. 2 Second, the demand for specialist family violence services has increased
due to COVID-19 and the 2019-20 Bushfire. Therefore, funding to these services need to be
increased so that they can cover higher operational costs and retain experienced workers who are
experts in working with complexities.
AASW Recommendations:
• That the Victorian Government continue to provide long-term funding for the front-line
service system that responds to victim-survivors who experience violence, including family
1 https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/recorded-crime-offenders/latest-
release#family-and-domestic-violence-statistics
2 https://vcoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/VCOSS-fairness2021-web.pdf
6violence services, sexual assault services, emergency housing services, and women health
services.
• That Victorian Government allocate 10% of the family violence budget to primary prevention
services and activities.
• That the Victorian Government continue to fund the implementation of the Safe and strong:
A Victorian Gender Equality Strategy, in particular, strengthening the mental health
prevention services for young women and making abortion services for women living in
regional and remote Victoria more accessible.
• That the Victorian Government continue to invest in all services provided by the Orange
Door.
• That the Victorian Government provide additional funding to the Orange Door centres and
partner services in regional areas to ensure the consistency of service provision across
Victoria.
• That the Victorian Government invest in outreach programs that collaborate with different
sectors to provide services for victim-survivors of family violence.
Relevant AASW Position and Statement:
• AASW’s Position Statement: Family Violence
Child Protection
With our commitment to the best interest of the child, we respond to the critical issue of ensuring the
safety and wellbeing of children and young people, and in particular, the most vulnerable children
and young people in our community. The AASW believes that early intervention and prevention
services are crucial to provide families with adequate resources and skills to support the healthy
development of a child and to meet the diverse needs of vulnerable families.
We commend the Victorian Government for the significant commitment to responding to the critical
issue of ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Victorian children and young people particularly the
most vulnerable. We have been pleased to see that there has been growing investment in evidence-
based preventative measures and therapeutic work with children and young people in the the State
Budget 2020-21, including funding an increase in Victoria’s child protection workforce, the
permanent extension of the Home Stretch program and a $51 million investment in family
preservation and reunification services over the next four years. While we commend the substantial
investment in all lines of interventions, this budget does not fully implement the recommendations of
the Victorian Ombudsman report in response to The investigation into complaints about assaults of
five children living in child protection residential care units. The AASW recommends that the 2021-
22 State Budget demonstrates the Victorian Government’s continued commitment to fund child
wellbeing and family support services and fully implement the recommendations identified in the
Ombudsman’s Report.
7AASW Recommendations:
• That the Victorian Government continue to invest in all child protection and wellbeing, and
family support services to support vulnerable children and families.
• That the Victorian Government commit to make substantial investment to implement the
recommendations from the report to Investigation into complaints about assaults of five
children living in child protection residential care units.
Relevant AASW Position and Statements:
• AASW Child Wellbeing and Protection Position Paper (2020)
• Media Release – Child Protection Week 2018
• AASW Submissions relating to children, families and young people
Housing and Homelessness
The AASW believes that safe and secure housing is a human right and being deprived of this right
severely undermines a person’s mental, physical and social wellbeing. It is of critical importance for
the Government to address the current housing crisis to ensure that every Victorian has a place to
call home. The 2020 Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot found that out of 1,201 private rentals,
none were affordable for a person on the Disability Support Pension, JobSeeker, Youth Allowance,
or Parenting Payment Single without the Coronavirus Supplement. Meanwhile, in Victoria alone,
there is a waitlist of 82,000 people seeking public housing, highlighting the extreme shortage and
limited access there is to affordable housing. A key contributor to this situation is the severe lack of
funding for housing projects that could provide accommodation for people in need. The AASW
refers to our submission to Inquiry to Homelessness in Victoria, which details the scope of
homelessness from a social work perspective and provide a list of extensive recommendations.
The AASW commends the $2.7b provided in 2020-21 to build 12,000 new social and affordable
homes across metro and regional Victoria, under the Big Housing Build. This investment will build
9,300 new community housing homes, replace 1,100 public housing homes and build 2,900
affordable and market homes. Further, we welcome the investment of $150.8 million over the next
four years to extend emergency hotel accommodation and provide support to transition to long-term
housing for up to 2,000 Victorians experiencing homelessness. While we commend these
investments, the legislation that authorises COVID-19 Emergency Measures to protect renters from
financial hardship and housing insecurity has just ceased and there appears to be no fiscal
commitment to build more public housing. We are worried that many vulnerable Victorians who are
not eligible for social housing due to their complex needs will struggle to secure private rentals or
other forms of housing. The AASW recommends the Victorian Government maintains its
commitment in the budget 2020-21 to ensure that vulnerable people do not fall into homelessness
once all income support and renter protection measures are wound back.
AASW Recommendations:
8• That the Victorian Government invest in a form of the Secure Tenancy Guarantee Scheme
that provides a rent subsidy to all young people leaving care so that they pay no more than
25 per cent of their income for their housing up to the age of 25.
• That the recommendations relating to housing from the 2015 Victorian Royal Commission
into Family Violence, in particular, private rental brokerage, head leasing properties, and
increasing beds in refuges, be given more funding to meet the increase in demand.
• That programs similar to Home at Last, managed and delivered by Housing for the Aged
Action Group, and similarly the federally funded Assistance with Care and Housing
program be properly funded, including funding for brokerage, and implemented state-wide
to cohorts whose underlying needs require extra support to secure appropriate housing.
• That the Victorian Government further increase the public housing stocks and commit to
continued renewal of the current stocks.
Reconciliation and Closing the Gap
Social workers are committed to advocating on matters of social inclusion, social justice and human
rights. Through our collective actions, including our Reconciliation Action Plan, the AASW
demonstrates our commitment to our core values and objectives as they apply to addressing past
and continuing disadvantages imposed on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. This is
driven by a focus on learning from the past and building meaningful relationships in order to work
together for a more just Australia.
The AASW acknowledges the recent budget announcement of $20m in 2020-21 for a service
delivery fund for Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and Aboriginal Community
Controlled Health Organisations to improve targeted support services as part of the Workforce
Recovery program, and $335.3 million over the next 4 years to support earlier intervention in the
children and families system to improve outcomes for Victorian children and to reduce entries into
out–of–home care. However, we are still aware that Aboriginal children and young people are
significantly overrepresentated in the out-of-home-care system and the criminal justice system in
Victoria. Therefore, while we welcome these recent budget announcements, the AASW
recommends that the government further its investment to ensure self-determination of Aboriginal
and/or Torres Strait Islander communities in Victoria.
AASW Recommendations:
• That the Victorian Government continue its investment to meet the National Closing the Gap
target.
• That the Victorian Government continue its investment to support Aboriginal Community-
Controlled Organisations to further progress the transition of services for Aboriginal and/or
Torres Strait Islander Victorians to community-controlled organisations.
9Relevant AASW Position and Statements:
• AASW Reconciliation Action Plan 2020-2022
• Media release: Australia Day continues as an open wound for Australians
Climate Action
Climate Change and Social Justice
The responsibility of government is to create the conditions under which everyone can flourish and
thrive. This encompasses the natural environment as well as the social and economic conditions.
The changes confronting Australia’s environment as a result of global warming are already profound
and extensive, making climate policy an urgent responsibility of the Victorian Government. Social
workers observe that although the consequences of climate change are affecting the entire
population, the economic and social burden is falling most heavily on already vulnerable people.
The Bushfires of 2019-2020 demonstrated that the changing climate can cause a catastrophic
outcome for regional Australians and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities across
Australia, many of whom lost their homes and require ongoing mental health support. Many social
workers in regional Victoria work with people who lost their homes and possessions. In the State
Budget 2021-2022, the government must clearly demonstrate its commitment to progress climate
action to prevent future catastrophies.
Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an important mechanism through which the
government can address some of the biggest challenges currently facing Australia, and the world,
with a particular focus on human rights and social justice. The implementation of the SDGs seeks to
provide meaningful and sustainable solutions to addressing the major challenges we are facing at a
local and global level. Currently, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning is
utilising this framework for climate actions. We have seen positive policy outcomes, including the the
recent announcement to allocate $205.6m in 2020-21 to develop new clean energy projects and
reduce power bills for households and $152.2 million in the next 4 years for solar panel rebates for
42,000 additional homes, as well as 17,500 solar battery rebates with no more postcode restrictions.
Therefore, the AASW recommends the Victorian Government continue to invest in initiatives that
transition away from non-renewable energy and achieve zero-emission target.
AASW Recommendations:
• That the Victorain Government continue its investment to achieve strong emissions
reductions to reduce the current and future health impacts and risks associated with
increasing global temperature, sea level rise, and food and water insecurity, and respiratory
health.
10• That the Victorian Government invests in the development and implementation of other
Sustainable Development Goals in Victoria
Relevant AASW Position and Statements:
• AASW calling on all Australian governments to make serious commitments to meeting the
2030 Goals.
Hospital Social Work and End-of-Life Care
Social workers bring a unique, non-medical perspective to health care, with a cultural, systems,
person-in-environment focus. They work in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and community health
centres to provide essential services for vulnerable people. We endorse the growing acceptance of
the principle that people can exercise informed choice over the services that they will receive.
Empowering people to exercise control in their lives is consistent with a rights-based approach to
human wellbeing and promotes the principle of self-determination that social work has long upheld.
Nevertheless, we understand that ensuring that individuals can exercise choice will not
automatically overcome the structural causes of injustice.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significance of hospital workforce and many social
workers work in a health setting to assist people in discharge planning and service referrals. The
AASW recognises the State Budget 2021-2022 needs to have a strong commitment to strengthen
the health workforce, especially in regional Victoria. Our members told us that people in regional
Victoria often travel for more than an hour to access the nearest health service, not to mention
specialist health services that are often located in metropolitan areas. In addition, AASW members
told us that the options for end-of-life-care in the home are scarce and cannot meet the demand of
people who want to pass away at home with dignity and self-determination. Therefore, we support
the Victorian Government initative to expand the provision of hospital services at home by investing
$116.5 milion over the next three years to meet growing demand for hospital services in the home,
including dialysis, chemotherapy and palliative treatment. This has to be continued alongside the
strengthening of regional health workforce that meets the demand of vulnerable Victorians.
AASW Recommendations:
• That the Victorian Government continue to invest in regional health services and workforce
to meet the diverse needs of regional Victorians.
• That the Victorian Government strengthen its investment to the provision of end-of-life care
at home to ensure the self-determination of Victorians.
Conclusion
While the State Budget 2020-21 made many promising fiscial commitments, those signficant funding
allocations must be sustained for the State Budget 2021-22 and the years to come. Social workers
work with many of the vulnerable Victorians whose quality of life have been and will continue to be
11impacted by measures that are within the control of the Victorian Government during all stages of
the COVID-19 pandemic. The AASW calls on Victorian Government to continue to proactively invest
in the programs and services that will serve to ameliorate the myriad impacts of COVID-19 with a
view to ensuring that Victoria is a fair, just and safe place for all Victorians.
12© Australian Association of Social
Workers
Level 7, 14-20 Blackwood Street
NORTH MELBOURNE VIC 3051
PO Box 2008
ROYAL MELBOURNE HOSPITAL VIC
3050
P: 03 9320 1000 www.aasw.asn.au
E: socialpolicy@aasw.asn.au
www.aasw.asn.au
ACN 008 576 010
ABN 93 008 576 010
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