ACOSS argues that budget spending should focus on solutions to service shortfalls such as child care, health care, assistance for jobless people, education and addressing indigenous disadvantage.

This plan aims to improve the quality, affordability and fairness of Australia’s child care and preschools system. ACOSS proposes expanding Child Care Benefit, linking its value to the cost of good quality services, axing the Child Care Rebate and creating a national system which gives parents more information about the quality of services, keeps prices...

While welcoming the changes to make some exempt from losses in income and activity requirements, this submission highlights the many flaws in the welfare to work legislation.

Proposed changes to the Disability Support Pension would increase hardship for 120,000 people with disabilities, according to this report, without significantly reducing the number of people on social security. The report expresses support for the government's goal of increasing workforce participation for people with disabilities, but argues that this can only be achieved through more...

Lack of funds meant 68 per cent of community services surveyed were not able to help all the people who sought assistanceaccording to this report. The survey found a 6.5 per cent increase in the number of times people were turned away from a community service in 2003-04 compared to the previous year. Surveyed organisations...