Helping young offenders turn their lives around

A new Townsville service run by Mission Australia is helping to change the lives of young people just released from youth detention.

The Supervised Community Accommodation pilot opened its doors last November and has already helped prevent youths from reoffending or ending up back on the streets.

The pilot was officially launched on Friday by Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers Senator Jan McLucas, Member for Townsville Mandy Johnstone and Mission Australia’s Queensland State Director, Penny Gillespie, during National Homeless Persons’ Week.

Ms Gillespie said the program is a Queensland first, aimed at reducing rates of homelessness and recidivism.

“This program provides 24 hour, seven day a week supervised accommodation for young males who have just come out of detention and don’t have anywhere to go,” Ms Gillespie said.

“It’s about helping those young people to transition back into the community and get a fresh start in life – so they don’t become homeless, and don’t become repeat offenders heading back to detention.

“We know that young people coming out of detention face real challenges and without the necessary support many can end up homeless or return to a life of crime.

“Through this service, our staff work with the young people to help them make positive decisions about their future, to find secure long-term accommodation and to get back to school or into work.

“We also place a great focus on reconnecting with families and support networks, which will help the youths stay on track in the future.

“The program is already achieving great results, with a number of young offenders who have accessed our service now back at school or starting new jobs – making a positive contribution to their community.

Ms Johnstone said the Queensland Government was pleased to be funding this important service, with $3 million committed over three years.

“We know that there is genuine concern about youth homelessness in Townsville and young people coming out of detention are particularly vulnerable,” Ms Johnstone said.

“The Mission Australia staff who work at this service are dedicated individuals with the experience and knowledge to help these young people get the support they need to get their lives back on track.

“This is not only helping to build a better future for these young people, it is also helping to make our whole community safer by preventing homelessness and youth crime.”

Senator McLucas said the service is playing an important part in the Gillard Government’s efforts to reduce homelessness around Australia, through the Homelessness National Partnership Agreement.

“This pilot is a great example of how grass roots community services can make a real difference to reducing homelessness across Australia,” Senator McLucas said.

“Ensuring these young people have a safe place to call home is an essential part of helping them turn their lives around.

“The service is providing a roof over the heads of some of our more vulnerable members of the local community and helping them to stay connected and lead productive, healthy lives.”

The Supervised Community Accommodation service targets primarily 16-18 year old young males who:

• Are residing in Townsville catchment areas 


• Are leaving detention on either a Supervised Release Order or bail 


• Are homeless or at risk of homelessness 

The service can support up to 4 young people at any time and Mission Australia works intensively with them for up to 6 months.

Mission Australia is working collaboratively with the Queensland Department of Communities, Youth Justice, and Cleveland Youth Detention centre to deliver the pilot under the State Government’s Youth Housing and Reintegration Service (YHARS).

Photo: From left, Senator Jan McLucas, Service Manager Judy Paton, State Director Penny Gillespie and Member for Townsville Mandy Johnstone.

FAHCSIA Media Release: Improving financial literacy in Indigenous communities

More than 17,000 Indigenous Australians living in remote communities have been supported to help manage their money through a joint Australian Government and ANZ bank initiative that is marking its five year anniversary today.

MoneyBusiness has helped Indigenous families and individuals with budgeting, saving and making informed financial decisions.

It was developed in consultation with Indigenous people and designed specifically to address local financial issues in remote and regional Australia.

In most cases local Indigenous people employed by community organisations deliver the service one-on-one, in family groups or in community workshops.

In one example, a Northern Territory man had been considering a costly car loan before he attended a MoneyBusiness workshop on "making your money last until payday".

The workshop helped him set up a family budget which identified that the loan would cost him more than he could afford to repay with his current spending.

He decided not to apply for the loan and with his new family budget in place he was able to save for part of the cost of the car and subsequently take out a loan with reduced repayments.

MoneyBusiness was first piloted in 2005 in Katherine, Tennant Creek, Nguiu (Tiwi Islands) and Galiwinku (Elcho Island) in the Northern Territory, and Geraldton and Kununurra in Western Australia.

It is now delivered by more than 120 workers in 215 remote sites in the NT, WA and Queensland; 72 per cent of these workers are Indigenous.

MoneyBusiness includes nine education workshops on issues such as planning for the future, making money last until payday and tenancy agreements and makes learning enjoyable with large picture prompt cards, a board game, and DVDs.

The life size edition of the board game has been particularly successful in engaging young children in schools.

The Australian Government has invested $356,000 in the MoneyBusiness education tool over five years.

Media Release issued by Julie Collins MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Community Services, and Jenny Macklin MP, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

Grandparent support group launched in Goulburn

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that there are 14,000 grandparent families caring for children in this country. And it’s thought many more grandparents are not included in official statistics because they are unaware of where to turn for financial, practical and emotional support.

For this reason, Mission Australia – in partnership with the Council of the Ageing and Grandparents Relative and Kinship Carers Alliance – has launched a weekly support group for grandparents in the Goulburn area who permanently look after their grandchildren.

The group of about 20 grandparents – mostly grandmothers – will meet on a weekly basis in Mission Australia’s Goulburn Community Services office with Mission Australia staff providing information they require and arranging guest speakers.

Mission Australia’s Southern NSW Operations Manager, Cheryl O’Donnell, said the grandparents who attended last Friday’s launch barbecue and information session at Mission Australia’s Goulburn office were relieved to find local support.

“One of the ladies who attended had recently taken on the carer role of her grandchild,” Ms O’Donnell said. “It was pure chance that she saw the notice in the newspaper. It happens to so many older people and they just have no idea where to go for support.

“In fact, a number of grandparents in the group said they received children with only the clothes they had on, and the biggest issue they faced was how to deal with the trauma that comes with these children.

“The majority find themselves caring for their grandchildren unexpectedly. Often it’s because of parental substance abuse, parental incarceration, mental health issues, child neglect or abuse, domestic violence or the death of a parent.

Ms O’Donnell added that taking such a hands-on role late in life can be a major emotional and financial strain.

“As almost two-thirds of grandparent families rely on a government pension, benefit or allowance as their main source of income, many find themselves tapping into their lifetime assets and savings as they attempt to support their grandchildren,” she said.

“We know many grandparent-carer families go under the radar and are not included in official statistics. That means government policies aimed at supporting grandparent-carers are lagging behind, and subsequently, so are the number of services available.”

One service that has been particularly effective in providing support is the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program – which is run by Mission Australia in Nowra in partnership with the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in Nowra (NSW).

Operating since 2004, it helps around 50 grandparents who between them care for approximately 40 grandchildren at any one time.

“We know the program works from the research we’ve undertaken with grandparents who are part of the program. It’s been invaluable in providing them with guidance in raising their grandchildren, helping them deal with stress, addressing legal difficulties and giving them access to a social network of other people in the same situation,” said Ms O’Donnell.

“We think rolling out programs similar to this in other areas around the country would be extremely beneficial, particularly for providing grandparent-carers with the social and legal support they so often need. But there’s room for more action in this area.”

FAHCSIA Media Release: Release of legal advice on gambling reform

The Australian Government today released legal advice - PDF [1.0MB] on the Commonwealth's power to legislate for important reforms to address problem gambling.

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, agreed with the Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, to commission this legal advice. The Prime Minister and Mr Wilkie also agreed that the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform would be informed of the legal advice.

The Australian Government is committed to working with the states and territories and industry to introduce key reforms which address the harm from problem gambling, including a full pre-commitment scheme for poker machines.

State and territory governments are responsible for the regulation of the gambling industry, except for online gambling.

However, problem gambling is a serious issue and the Australian Government believes more must be done to help problem gamblers and their families, particularly by reducing the harm caused by poker machines.

Research shows that three-quarters of severe problem gamblers have problems with poker machines.

Problem gambling can destroy families and ruin lives.

Problem gamblers spend an average of $21,000 a year on gambling.  That's a lot of money by anyone's standards – money that isn't being spent on food, bills or the family mortgage.

We have written to Mr Wilkie, as Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Gambling Reform, to our state and territory colleagues on the Council of Australian Governments Select Council on Gambling Reform, and to Professor Peter Shergold AC, Chair of the Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling Reform, to provide them with the legal advice.

The advice from the Australian Government Solicitor confirms there are a range of constitutional heads of power available to the Australian Government, including corporations, trade and commerce, telecommunications, banking, currency, taxation and territories powers.

While this advice identifies the legislative options available to the Commonwealth, the Australian Government remains committed to reaching an agreement with the states and territories to progress these important reforms.

Gambling is a legitimate industry and a valued form of entertainment for many Australians. We will work with industry to implement these reforms in a staged, evidence-based way. We have established the Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling, chaired by Professor Peter Shergold AC, to seek advice from the industry, academics and gambling support services on how to best implement the reforms.

The Productivity Commission recommended the Commonwealth intervene if the states and territories do not agree to implement gambling reforms Australia wide.

Media release issued by Hon. Jenny Macklin MP, Minister for FAHCSIA and Hon. Bill Shorten, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation