VCOSS budget submissions

VCOSS produces a formal submission to the Victorian Government each year, detailing the policies and approaches we believe should be funded.

These submissions are the result of extensive consultation with VCOSS members and partners, including frontline service agencies, affected communities, people with lived experience of poverty and disadvantage, and other peak bodies.

They contain specific recommendations to make Victoria fairer and more equitable, so every Victorian and Victorian community can experience wellbeing. Their scope is limited to actions the Victorian Government can take, and that require funding through the regular budget process.

The annual VCOSS Victorian Budget Submission is in addition to our regular output of policy submissions and flagship reports.

 

2022 — The way forward

Specific, achievable recommendations to embed wellbeing at the core of Victoria’s post-COVID recovery.

This submission broadly makes two types of recommendations ahead of the 2022 Victorian Budget:

  • Short-term measures to immediately help people — and the frontline services that support them — to recover from the worst of COVID, and
  • Long-term measures to address systemic challenges and entrenched disadvantage, and allow us to build back better.

Both approaches must be embraced for Victoria’s recovery to be inclusive and comprehensive.

Read more

2021 — Building our fairer future

This submission contains more than 50 fresh policies and approaches to drive positive and lasting social change in Victoria. But really it can be boiled down to three main elements. Victoria should:

  • Embrace policies that support and empower all people,
  • Fund social service bodies to strengthen communities, and
  • Become a ‘wellbeing economy’, so we can track our progress and success.

   Download Budget Submission

2020 — A State of Wellbeing

  • Shift to a modern wellbeing budget
  • Urgently boost funding to frontline mental health
  • Stop stealth funding cuts to community organisations
  • End the damaging funding ‘drip-feed’ to service providers
  • Progress self-determination for Aboriginal Victorians
  • A Big Build to End Homelessness
  • Make homes safe and liveable for low-income Victorians
  • Close service gaps for people with disability
  • Continue the pivot to crime prevention
  • Make public education genuinely affordable
  • If a young person is in state care, look after them until they’re 21
  • Support communities to confront climate change

   2020 Budget Submission

2019 — Delivering Fairness

  • Make education affordable
  • Supercharge social housing construction
  • Stop homelessness before it starts
  • Upgrade homes and expand concessions to cut bills and boost wellbeing
  • Meet demand for community service workers
  • Complement free TAFE to help struggling learners
  • Replace child prisons with better alternatives
  • Better support people leaving prison
  • Boost community services quality and innovation with indexation certainty
  • Foster strong, nurturing families Invest in prevention and early intervention services for families.
  • Ensure that people experiencing mental illness continue to get the support they need
  • Stop disability service gaps emerging

Past Victorian Budget submissions

For enquiries please email vcoss@vcoss.org.au