Federal budget highlights

Last night Social Traders was in Canberra for the Federal Budget. Social enterprise and certification were on the agenda, a huge step forward for social enterprise!

I joined the pre-budget industry event hosted by Daniel Mulino MP and Senator Deborah O’Neill, then the lock-in at Parliament House. Our Chair Sally Powell attended the ALP Federal Budget Reception at the National Press Club.

Budget commitments to social enterprise and certification

It was fantastic to hear and continue to discuss the government’s commitment to backing social enterprise.

There was a package for Employment Services Reform and Small Business Support which included:

“providing $21.9 million to support social enterprises and employers to engage job seekers through paid employment placements of up to six months. This includes grant funding of $1.5 million over two years to support the certification of an expected 500 Work Integrated Social Enterprises.” (p6).

The WorkFoundations package recognises the importance of jobs-focused social enterprises in employment for people most shut out of work.

The budget commitments come in response to the Inquiry into Workforce Australia Report and the recommendations in our question on notice response to the Inquiry with our sector partners.

The Workforce Australia Inquiry recommended: “a critical first step to integrating social enterprise into the employment services system is to ensure there are arrangements in place to ensure the legitimacy of those enterprises and the value of services they deliver. Social Traders certification process is evidence based, transparent and mature and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. It is already being used by the Victorian, New South Wales and Queensland Governments and is under consideration elsewhere and should be endorsed by the Commonwealth Government.” (p410, Rebuilding Employment Services).

See all the recommendations and social enterprise mentions in the full report here.

Check out Social Traders submissions (No.298) including question on notice here.

Building on a year of momentum with Federal Government

The new support for social enterprise follows the Federal Government’s commitments made over the last year. Firstly to ‘backing social enterprise’ in the Employment White Paper. Then the recommendations in the Workforce Australia review including social procurement, social enterprise strategy, certification and funding for social enterprise. And most recently the recommendations in the Inquiry into Economic Dynamism report including social procurement and certification.

This is another step forward for our sector. It recognises the value social enterprises bring and will enable the sector to grow.

Thank you to all the Federal Government representatives who met with us over the last year – Ministers and departmental staff across DSS, NDIS, DEWR, PMC, Treasury and Finance, as well as many MPs.

Big thanks to our partners who have stood shoulder to shoulder with us in advocating for the social enterprise sector. We’re always stronger together.

Reflecting on our journey

And let's not forget the journey that brought us here! Over the past 16 years, Social Traders has been on a mission to build a thriving social enterprise sector - partnerships with State Governments, certifying over 600 social enterprises, building the social procurement market with 160 business and government buyers, and sharing insights from the sector’s deepest dataset to support sector advocacy. It's rewarding to now see the positive progress at Federal level.

As we look ahead, let's continue to leverage this momentum to create a thriving social enterprise sector and drive even greater impact for a fairer, more equitable and sustainable economy for all.

Warm regards,

Tara Anderson