Social value belongs at the centre of how government spend
Why the Queensland Government is putting social value at it's centre
At Convene 2026, Queensland Treasurer the Honourable David Janetzki MP made the case that social value belongs at the centre of how government spends, and that delivering it is a job for all of us.
The Queensland Government already spends around 85 per cent of its state budget, roughly $100 billion a year, through social services departments. A third goes to health and a fifth to schools, before any funding for infrastructure or police services. Queensland Government's ambition is clearly centred on service to its people, and it's logical that putting community first should mean holding social value at the centre of how government spends.
If most public money is already spent on community needs, social value is not a niche or new interest for government. It is the core of the job, and the real question is how to get more of it from every dollar. That was the through-line the Treasurer brought to the Convene stage in Brisbane last week. He was also quick to point out that it is not government’s work alone.
"I'm not going to say 'I', this is all about 'we'… because it's not just about the government. It's about all of us and how we can make our own contributions to change."
Proof is what moves decision making
The Treasurer's belief in this work was shaped long before politics, on a family dairy farm that supplied a local cooperative and through ten years as General Counsel at a mutual bank. But it was the evidence from Vanguard Laundry, the Toowoomba social enterprise he helped found, that made the case.
Vanguard was set up to get people with serious barriers to work back into jobs and has since helped hundreds of local people into employment. A Swinburne longitudinal study found the benefits went well beyond employment, with social outcomes such as fewer presentations to Toowoomba Hospital's mental health units, lower rates of smoking and more secure housing.
The Treasurer acknowledged Social Traders' work in this area, and the value of "collecting the right kind of data to make it easier for those of us in government wanting to make evidence-based decisions." Through Social Traders' work in mapping the collective impact of social enterprise across a range of social indicators, the case for social value has never been stronger.
Convene 2026 audience
Government is building the market
"Previously in Queensland, social enterprise or social impact was at the periphery. I wanted to bring it to the heart of the government into a central agency."
In two years, Queensland has set up an Office of Social Impact within Treasury, a $20 million a year Social Entrepreneurs Fund and a roadmap for social enterprise and impact investing. Fourteen investments have been made in the first round of its Impact Revenue Investments program, and a Partnering for Impact program is ready to launch.
The bigger opportunity ahead is 2032. With 17 Olympic and Paralympic venues and major road and rail projects underway, Brisbane has a procurement pipeline few cities ever see. Paris 2024 showed what is possible, with the Treasurer sharing how around 500 social enterprises were involved in the Paris Games, 10 per cent of all jobs went to people who had been distanced from the labour market, and 11,000 seats at the Aquatic Centre were made from recycled plastics by a social enterprise.
The Honourable David Janetzki MP, Queensland Government Treasurer at Convene 2026
This is a job for all of us
One of the take-aways from the Treasurer’s session was how the government can set the direction, fund and buy from social enterprise businesses. But with growing need and limited budgets, it cannot deliver social value on its own. There is a role for corporate organisations to play, in putting social value front and centre.
"When you have infinite need matched with finite resources, and governments face those challenges, we need all of you in this room, no matter your cause or your aspiration."
His challenge to corporate leaders was simple: "Keep a little bit of the magic in the board papers." A nod to Tara Anderson’s (CEO, Social Traders) welcome address prior, inspiring the room to put people front and centre of the economy, invoking how magical thinking (having heart) and practicality can go hand in hand.
For business leaders, that means treating social performance as a question for the board, not a side program. Ask where your spend goes, who it employs and what it changes for people. And start those conversations with social enterprises now, well before the contracts for 2032 and beyond are written.
This article was written by Humans of Purpose in partnership with Social Traders.
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