The Community Council for Australia is committed to achieving positive changes for Australia through strengthening the role and effectiveness of charities and not-for-profit organisations.

Most debates about Australia’s future have been limited by a seemingly myopic fixation on the type of economy to be achieved. Australians are more than individual tax paying economic units. Our productivity, innovation, skills and achievements are actually grounded in flourishing communities within our schools, workplaces, families and local neighbourhoods.

In 2015, a group of 60 leaders from across the charities and not-for-profit sector were asked to consider and discuss ways in which they might describe the Australia we want. Through this process a listing of key values was identified. The leaders then developed measures that would show whether the values they had prioritised were being achieved.

This second report presents a comprehensive review of Australia’s performance against these agreed values-based measures. It is the continuation of a journey to a better Australia, a journey we need to imagine, plan for, enact and monitor. It is about all of us owning the Australia we want.

The charities sector in Australia is committed to building flourishing communities. Our role is to work hard at achieving better outcomes for Australians, to deliver better results on the key indicators outlined in this report. The more people join and support charities in this work, the more effective we can be.