A scorecard assessing the effectiveness of government commitments to the charity sector. It captures insights into the sector’s confidence, government policy successes and areas requiring improvement. It provides an adverse assessment on the federal government’s failure to act on its own reform agenda, and to ease the burden on organisations that are delivering urgent cost of living help to those most in need. 

Substantial, targeted action is needed to bridge the gap between policy commitments and outcomes to ensure charities can continue to support the Australian community. 

Key findings

• Despite positive engagement, the federal government’s actual performance in delivering on its promises is widely regarded as inadequate, reflecting a failure to translate policy intentions into impactful action.
• 77% of leaders said there was insufficient action to ensure government tenders and grants adequately funded staffing levels, fair wages and conditions.
• 84% responded negatively to the lack of progress in cutting red tape and reducing costs.
• While some small progress is noted in areas such as protecting advocacy rights and establishing reference panels, these efforts are overshadowed by significant inaction on core issues like funding reform, digital transformation and reducing red tape.
• The ongoing lack of substantive progress in critical areas, especially those that directly affect the operational capacity of charities, highlights the misalignment between the Government’s stated priorities and its execution.
• For a sector already facing mounting challenges, this lack of follow-through further exacerbates existing pressures and limits the ability of charities to meet growing community needs.