Supporting Communities – delivering better services to those in need

Supporting Communities – delivering better services to those in need

A McGowan Labor Government will work with the community sector to ensure that we maximise every opportunity to deliver quality services to Western Australians in need.

With our economy slowing and unemployment rising, more Western Australians were relying on the community services sector to make ends meet.

It is vital for the community services sector to be able to provide efficient and effective services for those in need without being bogged down by bureaucracy when dealing with the State Government.

Western Australians who need to access community services often face the complex task of dealing with community services organisations as well as multiple government departments.

We have an opportunity to break down the barriers between government departments and the community services sector to improve the effectiveness of funding to those in need.

A McGowan Labor Government will work with the community services sector to break down those barriers to ensure funding reaches those in need in an effective way. We will also bring together multiple agencies and stakeholders to develop better community services in consultation with each other

A McGowan Labor Government will introduce key reforms to slash red tape and reduce waste for the community sector by:

·         Introducing consistent tendering rules across government to provide consistency and certainty to community sector agencies

·         Providing improved funding security to the community sector by aligning the duration of contracts across government departments

·         Trialling a collaborative tendering process so community agencies can work together in service delivery

·         Reporting every two years on the health of the community services sector to identify further reform and improvement in the relationship with government

“I hate to see community sector agencies wasting money dealing with government bureaucracy when that time, money and effort should be spent on delivering services to those in need,” WA Labor Leader Mark McGowan said.

“We have an opportunity to break down the barriers between government departments and the community services sector to improve the effectiveness of funding to those in need.”

Shadow Minister for Community Services Simone McGurk said WA Labor’s plan recognised the value of the community services sector to Western Australia.

“The sector has told us what they need from Government to improve service delivery. With this plan we will ensure funding reaches those West Australians that need it most,” she said.

“The community sector does more for Western Australia than what can be measured in financial terms. It doesn’t just support Western Australians in need, it also builds better communities.”

Click here to download the ‘Supporting Communities’ policy