By Dr Greg Ogle, Senior Policy Officer, SACOSS
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Media
Read our latest media releases, catch up on anything you missed from the our radio program Small Change, and comment on issues and ideas in our blog.
Four Reasons Why Digital Transformation Matters for the Community Services Sector
28 February 2019
Not everyone can afford to be online
27 January 2019
Digital engagement can come at a hefty price for anyone who doesn’t have access to cheap and reliable data streaming or digital literacy.
The challenges get greater as more government services and businesses go online.
In the past month, how many of us registered our car, renewed our licence, registered with My Aged Care, got information fromCentrelink or the NDIS, or booked a show or holiday online?
Similarly, education has gone online and children also use it for sport and to maintain their friendships.
New standard contracts big boost for SA not-for-profits
18 January 2019
The not-for-profit (NFP) sector is set to receive fairer funding terms and easier-to-use templates when applying for grants and procurement of services.
By standardising contract templates, NFPs will benefit by saving time and money on what was an inconsistent and often onerous process.
Beware water revenue blowing holes in budget
8 January 2019
SACOSS today expressed concern at reports that a proposed revaluation of SA Water’s asset base could lead to a multi-million hole in the state budget revenue.
The revaluation discussion has been triggered by a series of reports by Lew Owens. The latest of these, “A Cautious Conclusion”, was written by Mr Owens in his capacity as Independent Inquirer into water pricing as appointed by Treasurer Rob Lucas last year.
Electricity consumers saved around $15M by regulator decision
7 January 2019
SACOSS has applauded the Essential Service Commission of South Australia’s (ESCOSA) Decision on reliability standards released today because it will help keep a lid on electricity prices.
“The Commission has listened to consumers who really don’t want to pay for overinvestment in reliability and too much for inconvenience payments either,” says Jo De Silva, SACOSS Energy Policy Lead.
High costs and massive energy debts: AER Report paints gloomy picture of SA’s energy costs
13 December 2018
SACOSS has greeted today’s performance report from the Australian Energy Regulator with enormous disappointment, noting that low income households were likely to be experiencing even greater hardship.
SACOSS CEO Ross Womersley said, “This report again confirms that SA has the country’s highest priced standard offers and thus the least affordable energy in the National Electricity Market (NEM), with 11.2% of a low income household’s disposable income being spent on electricity.
SACOSS welcomes SA Parliament Committee support for unemployed
6 December 2018
The South Australian Council of Social Service has welcomed the release of the interim report of the Parliament Select Committee on Poverty in South Australia. The Committee made six recommendations to alleviate poverty in South Australia, with the first being a call on the Federal Government to make a meaningful increase to the rate of the Newstart Allowance (and other base allowances) as a matter of urgency.
Survey shows South Australians in poverty are dreading Christmas
30 November 2018
ACOSS and SACOSS will outline the results of an online survey of Newstart and Youth Allowance respondents, which has found:
• 90% of South Australian respondents were not looking forward to the holiday season due to the cost
• 81% of SA respondents felt their low income would prevent them from being able to spend time with family and friends over the holiday period.
Petrol price volatility hits the poor hardest
22 November 2018
Hand-wringing over the high cost of petrol does little to help those hardest hit by price volatility – but there are things governments can do to reduce cost-of-living pressures.
Petrol cost and volatility hitting poor and regional consumers hardest: Instead of handwringing on prices, Gov needs to act on affordability
22 November 2018
SACOSS is today releasing our latest cost of living report highlighting the impact of high petrol prices and their volatility, particularly on lower income and regional consumers.
SACOSS CEO Ross Womersley says, “Over the last two years fuel prices in Adelaide have risen 30% (as per the latest figures from the end of the September quarter), and the average South Australian household now spends around $50 a week on petrol.”
“We’ve seen fuel prices go up and down...