Community Sector
Reform Program
Update – November 2013
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What is the Community Sector Reform Program?
The ACT community sector is experiencing a period of intense pressure due in part
to rapid sector maturation and national reform. In response, the ACT Government
has established a Community Sector Reform Program to support the sector through
change. The Program aims to build the capacity of organisations to meet the
challenges these changes will entail and ensure the sustainability of the sector and
the essential services it provides.
The Program is a coordinated suite of reform projects to address the community
sector’s capacity to adapt to the challenges facing it. Many challenges are common
to all organisations, regardless of their size or area of service delivery. The Program
operates in the context of reform initiatives being undertaken in other states and
territories, as well as national sector reforms such as the National Disability
Insurance Scheme, the establishment of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit
Commission (ACNC) and the community sector Equal Remuneration Case.
The Reform Program includes projects addressing:

the community sector Equal Remuneration Case;

red tape reduction;

sector development;

business cost reductions; and

the development of a community sector outcomes
framework.
The Reform Program is assisted by a Community Sector Reform Advisory Group
(CSRAG) comprising representatives from CSD, Health, and ten community sector
chief executives from different elements of the wider community sector. This group
meets regularly to receive reports from the Reform Program and to advise the
Program on the development and implementation of the reform projects.
This document is available on the Open Government website:
http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/open_government
If you have any questions or comments please contact Robert Gotts, Director of the
Community Sector Reform Program at Robert.Gotts@act.gov.au
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Red Tape Reduction Project
Red tape reform for the community sector is about achieving the most effective
relationship possible between government and the community sector. This entails
examining the many processes and requirements in this relationship that place
demands on the sector and government, including reporting requirements, regulatory
compliance and face-to-face contact.
The Project’s objective is that the demands of the relationship, both in a regulatory
and funding agency context, be the minimum necessary to be consistent with the
shared responsibilities of the sector and the ACT Government and to achieve the
best outcomes for each and the ACT.
Regulatory Red Tape Reduction
Initial meetings have been held between the ACT and the ACNC on carving out
ACT charities registered with the ACNC from compliance with ACT legislation. This
work is on hold, following the change of Federal Government in September 2013.
However, the Reform Program remains committed to reducing regulatory duplication
wherever possible.
Work has progressed on the construction of a comprehensive data model of the
reporting requirements (such as regulatory and compliance reporting) on ACT
community sector organisations. This model was required as foundational work
towards identifying and addressing duplication of reporting across the
ACT Government. The model will also contribute to the development and
implementation of the Outcomes Framework. The model is currently being tested
within CSD and is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2013.
Funding Agency Red Tape Reduction
The Red Tape Forum held in February 2013 collected comprehensive information,
from a broad range of community sector leaders, on the issues causing the most
pressure for community organisations. The key red tape issue identified from the
Forum and documented in the Forum Report (available from the Open Government
website: http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/open_government) was the need to reform
community sector procurement, contracting and reporting. Following the report, the
Minister for Community Services sought options on reforming these areas, for
consideration by the Government.
The Reform Program, following an extensive inter-sectoral consultation process,
including the CSRAG and a whole of government working group, has prepared a
submission which includes recommendations for the reform of procurement,
contracting and reporting, to be considered by Cabinet before the end of 2013.
Detailed planning for the implementation of the red-tape reforms across the ACT
Government can begin following a decision from Government.
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Next steps for the Red Tape Reduction Project

Following a decision by the Government on the red-tape reduction reforms,
the Reform Program will begin to develop appropriate implementation plans, in
consultation with the sector.

Complete the development of the reporting data model.
Sector Development Program
Some aspects of the Community Sector Reform Program are being delivered through
a co-contribution from the community sector that is 0.34% of total funding for
contributing organisations. A significant proportion of the money from the
co-contribution, augmented by additional funds provided by the ACT Government,
has been pooled to provide development opportunities for community sector
organisations and leaders in the ACT. Pooling the resources in this manner provides
a resource that would otherwise have been beyond the reach of most community
sector employers.
The Sector Development Program comprises a number of initiatives, co-developed
with the sector, designed to increase the strategic management and governance
skills across the sector, and improve the sector’s resilience in a rapidly changing
environment. The strategy of the Sector Development Program is that by developing
the skills and capabilities of the leaders of the sector to effectively meet the
challenges and reform pressures facing their organisations, the sector as a whole will
best be able to navigate the changes facing it.
The first module of the program, a Governance and Financial Management
Initiative, gives organisations access to a consultancy service, providing professional
assessment and advice on financial management, governance arrangements and
business planning. This first module is underway and fully allocated, with twenty
organisations approved. A further seventeen organisations have put their names on a
waiting list should the module be available in the future.
The remaining modules of the sector development program will address:





Leadership and communicating with influence;
Collaboration and strategic alliances;
Sustainability and risk management;
Tendering and procurement; and
Working with Government and Framework for Secondments.
These modules are being co-developed with CSRAG and the sector, with assistance
from content and design specialists Exhale Consulting. This co-design process has
now produced comprehensive draft outlines for the remaining modules. The
community sector was invited to provide feedback by 22 November 2013 on a
consultation pack, comprising letter and draft module outlines. The consultation pack
is
available
from
the
Open
Government
website:
http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/open_government.
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Comments beyond this date are welcome and where possible will be incorporated
into the final development and planning of the Program.
An intensive Focus Group Workshop, involving a broad range of community sector
representatives, was held on 21 November 2013 to work with the Reform program
and Exhale Consulting to further refine the content and design of the Sector
Development Program. The final stage will be to incorporate sector comments and
the delivery methodologies for the component modules, to commence delivery in
early 2014. The diagram below outlines the design process of the Sector
Development Program.
Whole sector
consultation on
the scope of a
sector
development
program

Development
priority areas
expressed as
“modules”
Initial Modules
Dec 2012 - Feb 2013
Working w/
Government

Draft
module
designs
Sept – Nov 2013
February 2013
Strategic
Alliances
Secondments
Business
Mentoring Collaboration
Governance & Tendering &
Financial Mgmt
Procuring
CSRAG
Focus Group
Workshop
21 Nov 2013
Co-design
of content
& delivery
strategy
Reform
Program
Sept–Nov 2013
Designed and
developed
with CSRAG

Delivery of
first tranche

Exhale
Written
comments
from whole
of sector
Final module
designs
December 2013
Consulting
Feb-May 2013

Delivery of
modules

From Feb 2014
Sept 2013-Jun 2014
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Next steps for the Sector Development Project

Continue rolling out the Governance and Financial Management Initiative to
approved organisations;
 Finalise Co-design of the content and delivery of remaining Sector
Development Program modules. The Reform Program and the Focus Group
will consider comments from the sector, finalise design and prepare delivery;
 Undertake planning to begin delivery of Sector Development Program in early
2014; and
 Work with Disability ACT and the National Disability Insurance Scheme to
identify other development tools and opportunities to assist the Disability and
wider sector to develop the skills required for organisational success.
Outcomes
Reform Program has conducted a number of outcomes planning workshops with over
35 CSD staff and community sector representatives from the Social Housing and
Homelessness Services (SHHS) Program. Once complete, the SHHS Program
Outcomes Framework will provide a coherent, logical structure that maps program,
directorate, ACT and national-level outcomes to ACT services and also moves
service management away from a focus on outputs.
Two half-day workshops in October and November 2013 have mapped high-level
homelessness outcomes from National Partnership Agreements (NPAs) to ACTspecific services and outcomes. The group then worked together to identify key
indicators for the core set of ACT SHHS outcomes. A smaller joint Governmentsector working group will now work with the Reform Program to refine the outcomes
and indicators to a point where they can be tested with stakeholders and then
incorporated into agreements.
The Reform Program will continue to work with CYFSP and SHHS and the sector to
ensure this important work is progressed in a collaborative and methodical way.
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