VICTORIA TAKES STEP TOWARDS SERVICE SECTOR REFORM

At the launch of Professor Shergold’s report Service Sector Reform: A roadmap for community and human services reform, the Hon Mary Wooldridge today announced the establishment of the Community Sector Reform Council.

The Council will bring government and the community sector together to deliver improvements to the wellbeing of disadvantaged and vulnerable Victorians.

The new Council, to be co-chaired by Department of Premier and Cabinet Secretary Andrew Tongue and VCOSS President Micaela Cronin, will offer opportunities for the government and sector to collaborate to enhance supports available to Victorians reliant on community services.
Professor Shergold’s wide-ranging recommendations include suggestions for ways the government and the community sector can embrace new approaches to improving service delivery across the state.

A key theme through the consultation process has been the need for an increased focus on outcomes for vulnerable children and families receiving services. The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare has been working with the child and family services sector to create an outcomes framework to assess the effectiveness of services delivered to vulnerable children and families, and is committed to ensuring that models of service delivery are performing as effectively as possible.

The child and family sector looks forward to ensuring resources reach the communities that need them. The recommended place-based approaches can deliver resources where they are needed, as different communities across the state have vastly different circumstances and needs. While we are currently seeing resources lag behind needs in areas experiencing rapid growth and some rural areas are declining, it is clear that the best way to address the delivery of services is with careful consideration of the specific requirements within particular regions and communities.
Deb Tsorbaris, CEO of the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, has welcomed the release of the final Shergold report, stating that “while this is the end of this phase of the reform project, we are entering a new stage for our sector… we thank Professor Shergold and the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) – including its Chair Micaela Cronin – for their leadership throughout the project.”

The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare looks forward to working with government and the new Council to advance the wellbeing of Victoria’s children and families.