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BUDGET June 15th HIGHLIGHTS
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A $2.9 billion total housing investment plan to boost housing supply across Queensland was announced. The Government is increasing the supply of social and affordable housing by almost 10,000 over the life of the Housing Strategy, including 7,400 new builds over the next four years.
The new Housing and Homelessness Action Plan (2021-2025) was also released on budget day.
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- Fast-track projects and initiatives that will increase the supply of social housing
- Seek proposals to develop under-utilised
state land
- Deliver mixed-use developments
- Deliver more support for women and families experiencing domestic and family violence or homelessness.
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Access the Treasurer’s full budget speech here
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Three-day lockdown announced
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From 6:00pm Tuesday 29 June
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The Premier and Minister for Trade, the Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced a three-day lockdown for parts of Queensland effective from 6:00pm Tuesday 29 June.
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Impacted local government areas include Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Moreton
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Bay, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley, Somerset, Townsville (including Magnetic Island) and Palm Island.
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In addition to the above-mentioned areas, there are other restrictions for people in the rest of Queensland.
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For more information on the Queensland Health Restrictions, click here
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Delivery of housing and homelessness services during lockdown
Housing assistance is an essential service for government, including community housing and specialist homelessness services. It is expected these services will continue to operate.
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Housing Service Centres across the state will remain open and continue to provide essential housing services to the community. Customers are encouraged to contact their local Housing Service Centre by telephone before visiting and adhere to Queensland Health advice.
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Housing help is available for people who need it. Anyone experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness can call the 24/7 hotline on 1800 474 753, or your local Housing Service Centre, where trained staff are available to assist.
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No persons outside of the lockdown areas should be brought into an impacted local government area for
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Supporting young people to reduce housing stress
and start a future that means something to them
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Wednesday 28th July 2021, 1:00PM - 2:00PM AEST
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Presenters: Heather Nancarrow, Hayley Boxall,
Emma Rogers and Jackie Wruck
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This Child Family Community Australia webinar will explore a capabilities approach and how it can apply to young people experiencing housing and related stressors.
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Specifically, the webinar will:
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- Explore COVID-19’s impact on young peoples’ experiences of homelessness
- Provide an overview of a capabilities approach and its application to work with young people
- Provide a case study example of a capabilities approach in action as a response to housing and other stressors.
This webinar will be of interest to professionals working with young people across mental health, housing, out-of-home care, education and other child, youth and family services.
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Register for this free webinar here
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Housing key workers in Australian cities
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Wednesday 14th July 2021, 11:00AM
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The scoping study examined evidence of housing affordability challenges amongst a range of key worker occupation groups in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as whether governments in Sydney and Melbourne and select international jurisdictions (the USA and UK) consider key worker housing needs and how they support key workers to access appropriate housing.
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The webinar will include a research presentation, followed by an industry response from Leonie King and an audience Q&A facilitated by Dr Michael Fotheringham, Managing Director at AHURI.
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Register for this free webinar here
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Foyer Life Conference
Showcasing Foyer Life and bringing together young people, policy makers, accredited/accrediting Foyers, practitioners and those with a passion to end youth homelessness from across Australia to learn, engage and network together.
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Featuring a range of speakers and topics over 2 days, to share how the evidence informed Foyer model and supporting partners/stakeholders can collaborate and commit to ending youth homelessness at a national, state and local level. Showcasing topics such as:
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- The lived experience by our young people
- Innovation, policy and funding within youth homelessness sector
- Culturally safe and diverse Foyers
- Impact and outcomes for young people post Foyer Life
- Accreditation, practice, development and Advantaged Thinking
For more information and to secure your
Early Bird tickets, click here
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Housing Legislation
Amendment Bill 2021
On 18 June 2021, Hon Leeanne Enoch MP, Minister for Communities and Housing, Minister for Digital Economy and Minister for the Arts, introduced the Housing Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 (Bill) into the Queensland Parliament. The Bill was referred to the Community Support and Services Committee (committee) for detailed consideration and report by Friday 6 August 2021.
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The committee is seeking submissions on the Bill by 12:00pm on Tuesday 13 July 2021.
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Further information is available here:
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An information sheet which provides guidelines on making a submission can be found here.
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Inquiry into social isolation
and loneliness in Queensland
On 27 May 2021, the Queensland Legislative Assembly agreed to a motion that the Community Support and Services Committee inquire into:
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- The nature and extent of the impact of social isolation and loneliness in Queensland
- The causes and drivers of social isolation and loneliness, including those unique to QLD
- The protective factors known to mitigate social isolation and loneliness
- The benefits of addressing social isolation and loneliness
- How current investment by the Queensland Government, other levels of government, the non-government, corporate and other sectors may be leveraged to prevent, mitigate and address the drivers and impacts of social isolation and loneliness across Queensland
- the role, scope and priorities of a state-wide strategy to address social isolation and loneliness, considering interactions with existing Queensland and national strategies.
The Committee is required to report to the Legislative Assembly by Monday 6 December 2021.
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The Committee invites written submissions on the inquiry from interested stakeholders and members of the public. The closing date for lodging written submissions is 5pm, Wednesday 18 August 2021.
Written submissions should be emailed to
CSSC@parliament.qld.gov.au
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Documents relating to the Committee’s inquiry can be found here
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Changes to the
Queensland Criminal Code
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New legislation effective from the 5 July 2021 will now require every adult in Queensland to report information relating to child sexual offences committed in relation to a child under 16 years of age to the Queensland Police Service. Failure to do so is punishable by 3 years in prison.
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The Queensland Criminal Code (Child Sexual Offences Reform) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 received assent in Parliament on the 14 September 2020.
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- all adults must report sexual offending by adults against children to the police unless they have a reasonable excuse
- adults in an institutional setting (e.g. including those working or volunteering at a school, church, sporting club or care service) must protect children from the risk of a sexual offence being committed against them by an adult associated with an institution.
For these laws, child means a person under 16 years, or a person under 18 with an impairment of the mind (as defined in the Criminal Code).
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The ‘failure to report’ offence outlined in Section 229BC of the Queensland Criminal Code goes beyond the recommendations of the Criminal Justice Report released by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which limits the mandatory reporting obligations to those adults associated with institutions.
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On Wednesday 16th June, QYHC were fortunate to have the following presenters:
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Julie Sarkozi - Women’s Legal Service Queensland.
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Katrina Jefferson - Youth Advocacy Centre.
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Stephanie Anne - ZigZag/Queensland Sexual Abuse Network.
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These presenters also responded to the many questions being raised.
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QYHC is working with the presenters to further assist the sector via a practice forum. More information coming soon.
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To read more about the Laws targeting sexual offences against children, click here
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Adjust our settings:
An approach to cyberbullying
In line with the recommendations of Adjust our settings – A community approach to address cyberbullying among children and young people in Queensland; Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy have developed internet-based resources in consultation with QYHC. View here
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In October 2020, the Human Services Quality Framework (HSQF) was amended to include a requirement to have anti-cyberbullying policies and procedures in place. View the HSQF User Guide here (refer to page 100).
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NAIDOC Week
Heal Country, heal our nation
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Heal Country! – calls for stronger measures to recognise, protect, and maintain all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage.
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Global Day of Parents
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The Family Inclusion Network (FIN) SEQ Team recently hosted the Green Shoots Forum on the 1st June to mark the UN’s Global Day of Parents. Hon. Leanne Linard MP, Minister for Children and Youth Justice and Minister for Multicultural Affairs opened the forum which highlighted the perspectives of parents. The forum recording can be viewed here
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Make Renting Fair in Queensland
Have you had a difficult rental experience?
Make Renting Fair in Queensland wants to hear from you!
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QYHC is a member of the Make Renting Fair in Queensland campaign, calling on the State Government to make changes to the proposed tenancy legislation to ensure that Queensland renters are given a fair go.
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The campaign wants to highlight real life experiences that demonstrate how difficult it is to be a renter in Queensland, particularly for young people.
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If you have had any difficult experiences being a renter in Queensland, please get in touch with Chantelle from Make Renting Fair in Queensland info@makerentingfairqld.org.au or 0421 234 989
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To sign up to updates or if you have any questions, you can visit the Make Renting Fair in Queensland website here
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ASSIST CAFÉ SMART TO SUPPORT OUR ORGANISATIONS
You can join in by asking your local café to assist. Information you can offer them:
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- This is a coffee industry event which sees hundreds of cafes and their customers get involved to help local organisation/projects like YOURS!
- We are asking cafes to donate $1 from every coffee sold on Friday August 6th.
- They can raise more by asking their customers (in venue or online) to donate the extra cost of a coffee.
- It’s a great way for them to build reputation and customer loyalty and help their community.
- Their roaster may help with donated beans – we have signed up Roaster Partners on the website, but any roaster can help out.
- Cafes can sign up scanning the QR code with their phones; through our website; or simply contacting me (my contact details are on the flyer too)
- Once they have signed up, a few days later they will be featured on our interactive map so coffee drinkers can find them - and they’ll be a part of our #cafesmart #helpyourhood social media campaign.
- CafeSmart is also a great story for local media – it’s a national week of action that connects the community to local issues and local organisations.
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For more information, click here
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Find services in oneplace
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oneplace is an online directory for Queensland parents, families and professionals that lists community service throughout Queensland. There are more than 58,000 services that provide help with a range of issues including parenting, domestic and family violence, legal issues, mental health and counselling, housing, financial and food assistance. It is free and easy to use.
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Discrimination and sexual harassment:
A guide for young people starting work
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This new resource aims to help young people clarify what their rights are at work, what types of behaviour are not only unacceptable but unlawful, and how to make a complaint if they experience discrimination or sexual harassment on the job - because everyone is entitled to be safe and feel respected at work.
The new guide is available here
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Human Rights in Housing and Homelessness
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WORKSHOP: Giving 'proper consideration' under the Human Rights Act 2019 (QLD)
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Making a decision or acting in a way that gives ‘proper consideration’ to human rights requires service providers to ask: which rights are relevant, what is the impact of my action or decision, and is a limitation reasonable and justifiable?
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Giving ‘proper consideration’ to a person’s human rights in complex situations is not always second nature, but to meet your obligations under the Act it needs to become a cornerstone of your decision-making process.
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At July’s Human Rights Housing and Homelessness workshop we help build your confidence in giving consideration under the Act, so you become fluent in human rights decision making.
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You will work through case studies to practise the process of giving consideration.
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Thursday 15th July, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
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Location: Online via Zoom
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For more information and to register, click here
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RESOURCES: Introducing the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) to new staff and others
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The following resources are introductory, designed to introduce the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld). These are helpful resources for staff and board member induction processes.
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CENSUS is TUESDAY 10TH AUGUST 2021!
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics is working with the housing and homelessness sector in preparation for Census 2021. QYHC is working with Census staff to assist them in ensuring the most accurate count of Queensland’s homeless young people possible. We’re currently identifying hot spots for young people sleeping rough and those couch surfing.
If you have any information to share, please contact Lorraine on 0448 073 463
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Assist young people experiencing homelessness be counted in the Census
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Every five years, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) counts every person and household in Australia. It gives us a snapshot of who we are and tells the story of how we are changing. This year Census night is Tuesday, 10 August.
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Ever wonder how Census data is used? To find out, watch a short video here
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Become a Census Community Field Officer
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Support young people experiencing homelessness to complete the Census. The short-term roles (July – September 2021) are available nationwide and offer flexible working hours. If you have experience in the community sector and are passionate about giving people experiencing homelessness a voice, you can register here. Recruitment requires that people register with a code, please contact Cim Rodgers for further information on 0428 171 898.
Recruitment is closing soon.
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YMCA and TAFE
Automotive Certificate
Do you know of someone who lives and breathes cars? That has an endless passion for fixing and modifying vehicles?
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The YMCA can help make car passion an employment reality via a Certificate II in Automotive with TAFE QLD. Over a 12 week period you’ll gain knowledge that will help accelerate you into the industry and fast track your way to a potential apprenticeship.
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Located at Mary St Kingston. You can also find out more on YMCA’s Instagram, Facebook or via phone. For the application form contact 0436 603 641.
Next intake starts on the 5th of July!
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BRISSC’s podcast
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Floxy’s Closing Reflections
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Master of Social Work Student Floxy has spent the past few months with us. In this article, she reflects on some of her experiences at QYHC whilst focusing on her observations on the differences and similarities of life for young people in her home country in comparison to Australia. Read here
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