Support for the community sector

Join the VCOSS Disaster Resilience Network 

The VCOSS Disaster Resilience Network is a space for Victorian community organisations to present and discuss key lessons and best practices in disaster resilience, and share upcoming reports, consultations, and events.  

The Network meets every two months online, with updates sent in between meetings. 

To join, please sign up here or email Lucy Manne, Disaster Resilience Policy Advisor

Useful resources

Vic Emergency website and app: The Vic Emergency app and website provides a centralised location to access emergency information and warnings.

DFFH’s emergency management policy and resources: DFFH’s website contains a range of helpful resources, including:

• The social services emergency management policy
• A guide to emergency psychosocial supports
• Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness

Victorian Emergency Management Planning Toolkit for People Most at Risk: The Planning Toolkit is a practical resource providing a range of guidance and support materials, to help emergency management practitioners to consider and plan for the needs of groups of people and communities most at risk in emergencies.

The Country Fire Authority’s People at Higher Risk resources: The CFA has developed a range of resources to build the capability of the Community and Social Service Sector to develop bushfire plans with their clients at greatest risk in a bushfire.

ERV’s resource library: The Emergency Recovery Resource Portal provides a central point to access resources for the disaster recovery workforce in Victoria.

The Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub: The AIDR Knowledge Hub is a national, open-source platform that supports good practice in disaster resilience.

Emergency Management plans

• The State Emergency Management Plan explains Victoria’s emergency management arrangements, including the roles of different agencies.
• Regional Emergency Management Plans can be found on the EMV website.
• Contact your local council for your Municipal Emergency Management Plan.

Resources for community members 

Emergency assistance and payments  

Centrelink and Disasters – Tips and Common Issues (Social Security Rights Victoria): Information on disaster and crisis payments, Centrelink, and mutual obligations. Includes contact information for SSRV. 

Emergency relief support (Australian Red Cross): Information on emergency relief payments for people on temporary visas, including how to apply.  

Emergency assistance and accommodation (Disaster Legal Help Victoria): Information on emergency relief payments, financial counselling services, and short-term emergency accommodation. Includes contact details for Safe Steps (family violence support) and Department of Fairness, Families and Housing. 

Replacing lost documents (Financial Counselling Victoria): How to replace lost or damaged identification documents (passports, citizenship certificates, driver’s licences, certificates from Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, damaged banknotes).  

Insurance 

Steps to take after a disaster to stay safe and start your insurance claim (Vic Gov): This webpage contains information about starting an insurance claim after a home has been flooded, but is also applicable to bushfire. 

Practical information on what to do during and after a disaster (Insurance Council of Australia): A series of articles from the Insurance Council of Australia about insurance before and after a disaster. 

Insurance law (Financial Rights Legal Centre): fact sheets to help answer insurance questions and concerns. 

Legal assistance  

Do you need legal help after a disaster? (DLHV): Web link, QR code, and phone number for Disaster Legal Help Victoria.  

Disaster Legal Help (Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service): Contacts for assistance from VALS for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians. Includes a checklist of areas one may require assistance with (e.g., housing, debt, employment, insurance, etc).  

Disaster support for renters (Tenants Victoria): Guidance around rights and responsibilities, and seeking legal support, for renters after a disaster. 

Legal Health Check (Disaster Legal Help Victoria): Assists with the identification of legal needs and issues., with a corresponding resource for each legal area (e.g., safety, court, housing, insurance, employment, money, children, crime, legal documents).  

Email disasterlegalhelp@vla.vic.gov.au for further assistance.  

Recovery and psychosocial support 

Coping after a crisis (Australian Red Cross): What you or others might experience after a crisis, and how to manage it. Includes information about returning home after a crisis, cleaning up, maintaining wellbeing and staying healthy.  

Dr Rob’s six tips for disaster recovery (NZ Red Cross): Dr Rob Gordon is a psychologist and disaster recovery expert. In this video he provides six tips to assist people in the immediate aftermath and months following a disaster. This video was recorded after the 2013 NZ earthquakes, but is applicable to all disasters.  

Young People and Disasters Resource Hub (Youth Affairs Council Victoria): Bushfire resources for Victorians with disability, and resources for disaster preparation.

Blktrx service directory (VACCHO): Find culturally safe and responsive mental health, social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) and suicide prevention services to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, families, communities and workforce across Victoria

For other support, please visit a recovery hub, call the numbers available on Vic Emergency’s website, or call the recovery line. 

Emergency preparedness 

Protect what matters most (Australian Red Cross): A disaster preparedness guide to help prepare an emergency plan.  

Resources to help you (Australian Red Cross): A range of resources around how to help after a disaster, preparing for disasters, multilingual preparedness resources, responding to disasters, and recovering from disasters. 

Health

Virtual women’s health clinic Free, specialist reproductive and sexual health care.

The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department Ambulance Victoria: The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department allows you to access care for non-life threatening emergencies, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You will be connected to doctors and nurses via a video call and receive medical advice from the comfort of your home.

Family Violence

During the recovery phase family violence increases and services are harder to access.  Family violence can happen to anyone.

Dial Triple Zero 000 if you are in immediate danger.

1800 Respect

• For people experiencing or at risk of experiencing sexual assault, domestic or family violence.

Call 1800 737 732 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Child Protection

For children and young people whose safety is at risk – after hours Child Protection Emergency Service.

Call 13 12 78 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 am Monday to Friday (24 hours on weekends and public holidays).

Child protection contacts

• Men’s Referral Service

The Men’s Referral Service is the national counselling, information and referral service for men who use violence and abuse to change their behaviour. They can have a conversation with you, help you with some short-term tactics and put you in touch with some supports that can help you along the journey.

Call 1300 766 491 available 24/7.

Men’s Referral Service

• Orange Door

The Orange Door provides help for adults, children and young people who are experiencing family violence.

Orange Door

• Safe Steps

For women and children who are victims of family violence.

Call 1800 015 188 crisis phone line 24/7.

Safe Steps

• Sexual Assault Crisis Line

For victims of sexual assault.

Call 1800 806 292 after hours from 5:00 pm to 9:00 am (including weekend and public holidays).

Sexual Assault Crisis Line

Resources for community service organisations  

Emergency management information for service providers from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).  DFFH’s website includes several key resources for community organisations:

o   Social services sector emergency management policy;

o   A guide to emergency psychosocial supports;

o   Victorian Emergency Management Planning Toolkit for People Most at Risk; and

o   Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP) Toolkit.

Total fire bans and fire danger ratings (CFA): Includes current ratings and status of fire bans.  

Relief and recovery 

Disaster Legal Toolkit (Justice Connect Not-For-Profit Law): Guidance to help your not-for-profit organisation navigate disaster-related legal questions and issues. 

Youth-Focused Disaster Recovery Protocol (Youth Affairs Council Victoria): This protocol has been developed for all levels of government and community services who engage with young people in disaster affected areas. It provides guidance on key matters for inclusion in post-disaster recovery and rebuilding to ensure positive outcomes for young people. 

Bushfire safety and preparedness 

Fire Safety for the Care Sector (CFA): Resources, links, and information community service organisations can use to enhance bushfire safety for clients.  

Bushfire Preparedness (CFA): Slides, including info and links, on how to prepare for bushfire safety as a community service organisation. 

Victorian emergency preparedness briefing for community and not-for-profit organisations (Emergency Management Vic): Slides, including info and links, on emergency management arrangements in Victoria, risks and priorities for the 2025-26 high risk season, relief and recovery.  

Find your fire weather district (CFA): Map and search function for the nine Fire Weather Districts based on council boundaries. 

Preparedness for the 2025-26 high risk weather season (VCOSS Disaster Resilience Network): Meeting recording, minutes and slides from the November 2025 meeting.  

Victoria’s State Emergency Management Plan (Emergency Management Vic): Provides the details of emergency management arrangements at a state level. 

Young People and Disasters Resource Hub (Youth Affairs Council Victoria): A range of resources to enable organisations to empower young people in bushfire recovery, including a guide to meaningful youth engagement, use of trauma informed language, and more. 

Community Recovery Toolbox

East Gippsland Shire Council’s Community Recovery Toolbox provides useful information to support communities across East Gippsland. It will help local groups establish and build recovery processes before and after an emergency.

Reflections and Lessons Learned by the Community Recovery Committees (CRCs) of the 2019-20 East Gippsland Bushfires.

The Reflections and Lessons Learned by the CRCs report captures the experiences of the CRCs from the 2019-2020 black summer bushfires and what they thought worked well, opportunities for improvement, and what to pass on to help communities in future events.

‍Reflections and Lessons Learned – Executive Summary

Reflections and Lessons Learned – Report

Reflections and Lessons Learned – video

Inquiry into the 2026 summer fires across Victoria

The Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee has announced a Parliamentary Inquiry into the 2026 summer fires across Victoria. The deadline for submissions is 19 April 2026.

It is crucial to have as many community voices and community organisations putting in submissions as possible. This will ensure community voices, leadership, and recovery priorities are front and centre in this Inquiry.

VCOSS has prepared a submission guide for community organisations. Please consider putting in a submission, and reach out to VCOSS’ Disaster Resilience Policy Advisor, Lucy Manne, if you have any questions or would like support in relation to this Inquiry: lucy.manne@vcoss.org.au

Reimagining What’s Possible

On Monday 6 October, more than 350 community and social service leaders from across Victoria came together at Melbourne Town Hall for the first major gathering of its kind since COVID.

It was a chance to talk, listen and plan, to strategise about the big issues facing our sector and the communities we serve.

We’re incredibly grateful for the insights and perspectives provided by an amazing lineup of speakers and facilitators. Emceed by Wren Rapture, this included Treasurer Jaclyn Symes, Opposition Leader Brad Battin, Uncle Perry Wandin, Kos Samaras,Tony Barry, Prof. Jo Barraket AM, Dr Jill Gallagher AO, Sarah Davies AM, Ahmed HassanOAM, Margherita Coppolino, Dr Alison Roberts, Stefan Gruenert and Chris Christoforou.

And as Matthew Schulz said in a wrap-up of the day for the Institute of Community Directors Australia, the formal panels provided a springboard for what was in many ways the main event: “a chance for community leaders to converge to consider the sector’s challenges and create momentum for coordinated action.”

In four afternoon workshops, provocateurs Bill Mithen, Noel Lim, Erin Turner and Ilo Diaz inspired big thinking and bold discussion in themed sessions designed to encourage cross-sector collaboration..

The expertise and insights contributed to this event will be used to shape our shared advocacy and priorities for 2026 and beyond. If you would like to learn more, we’ve created this post-event summary that highlights what we heard across the sessions.

Thank you to everyone who made the VCOSS Community Sector Summit so special.

About the partnership

In September 2018, the Department of Education and Victorian Council of Social Service signed a Partnership Agreement.

This Partnership Agreement built on previous commitments, and stood in recognition of the community sector’s critical role in the development of policy, the delivery of services and the improvement of outcomes for all Victorians, particularly those who are vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage.

DE and the community sector are committed to increased collaboration, consultation and engagement.

Key principles

The Partnership Agreement emphasises cooperation and commitment to the following principles:

• a shared vision to achieve the best possible learning and development outcomes for all Victorians, particularly people who are vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage
• mutual respect for each partner’s autonomy and responsibilities, while recognising that true partnership may require change, innovation and risk
• collaboration and the fostering of opportunities to work together on issues of mutual benefit or concern
• communication, consultation and engagement on decisions by one partner that will impact upon the other
• transparency of financial relations between the DE, VCOSS and the sector, subject to relevant legislation and policies
• a relationship that celebrates success, addresses challenges and acknowledges contributions to outcomes that are achieved
• joint leadership of the partnership, including joint agenda setting.
  

Significant achievements

The establishment of the Victorian community partnership governance group, which provides a regular forum for relationship building, policy development, and the exchange of information.

Best Start, Best Life reforms (Pre-Prep/Priority Cohorts 2026/28) Information Session

Recorded live on Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Victorian Early Leaver Connection Initiative (VELCI) Information Session

Recorded live on Wednesday, 30 April 2025

Download VELCI slide deck

Advancing Education Equity – Reimagining Teaching: Victoria’s Journey to Better Learning For All

Recorded live on Tuesday, 3 December 2024

2025 VCOSS Community Sector Education Forum

The Community Sector Education Forum is a flagship event held annually by the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) supported by the Victorian Department of Education.

The 2025 Community Sector Education Forum, held on Thursday 13 November at Melbourne Town Hall, explored the theme:

Bridges to Learning: Supporting children and young people’s engagement and reengagement in education

VCOSS was honoured to interview students from Hester Hornbrook Academy – Charlie, Salma, Nix, Jackson, Haz, Tasha and Levi.

They shared their experience of mainstream schooling and how this compares to their schooling at Hester Hornbrook Academy.

This video was a particular highlight to the 120 sector colleagues that joined us in the room at Melbourne Town Hall.

Special thanks to Hester Hornbrook Academy, the amazing students we interviewed – Charlie, Salma, Nix, Jackson, Haz, Tasha and Levi – and our videographer Dhyan Verco (www.dhyanverco.com) for helping us create this work.

2025 Forum resources

2025 VCOSS – Department of Education Community Sector Forum Agenda

Read the Summary Report

2024 Forum resources

2024 Event Summary Report

2024 VCOSS Community Sector Education Forum Agenda

Keynote speaker: Dr Pasi Sahlberg (slide deck)

Showcase: Banksia Gardens (slide deck)

Breakout session 1: Sally Moore (slide deck)

Breakout session 2: Marcia McKenzie (slide deck)

Breakout Session 3: Smart Justice for Young People (slide deck)

The VCOSS position on climate change is simple: Act now. Act fairly.

Climate change is hurting disadvantaged Victorians.

Whether they’re a low-income household who can’t afford to insure their home against bushfire, or a renter who doesn’t have an air-conditioner to stay cool during a heatwave.

And although we’re transitioning to lower emissions and cleaner technologies, the benefits aren’t being shared equally.

Solar panels, electric cars and energy efficient homes are expensive and out-of-reach for far too many.

VCOSS believes that a truly equitable response to climate change flips the script.

It means addressing existing disadvantage and improving people’s lives.

It means helping the people most at-risk keep save from the impacts of climate change, while targeting new innovations at the households who’d benefit most.

Climate equity research:

About the Climate Network for Community Organisations

VCOSS now convenes a Climate Network for Community Organisations. The purpose of the network is for community organisations to connect and to share knowledge on climate change and climate projects. The network provides an opportunity for community organisations to learn from external experts on topics within climate mitigation adaptation, and climate justice.

Through participation in the Network, Victorian community service organisations should gain an understanding of how their organisation can prepare themselves, their clients and their communities for climate change.

The Climate Network focuses on the day-to-day impacts of climate change rather than disaster preparation and recovery. However, disasters will be discussed from time to time.

The Climate Network is convened by VCOSS’ Climate Change Policy Advisor. For more information and to join, contact Julianne Tice at julianne.tice@vcoss.org.au.

More climate research

Victoria’s rental rules have changed.

The changes included:

• minimum standards for rental properties
• changes to how repairs and modifications are managed
• a ban on rental bidding
• improvements to eviction protocols

VCOSS is playing a support and coordination role, making sure community support workers understand the changes, and have all the information they need to support renters to exercise their new rights.

Key resources  

Information on Victoria’s renting laws  

• New Laws Passed To Make Renting Fairer In Victoria Victorian Government
• Social Housing Regulation Review 2024 Independent Panel of the Social and Affordable Housing Regulation
• Victorian Government response to the Social Housing Regulation Review Victorian Government
• Energy efficiency for rental properties in Victoria Energy Victoria
• Victoria’s Housing Statement 2023 Victorian Government
• Analysis of the 2023 Housing Statement VCOSS
• 2021 Victorian rental laws changes Consumer Affairs Victoria  
• New renting laws guide Tenants Victoria  
• What do the new rental laws mean for Victorian renters? Justice Connect  
• Guides and videos for renters in community languages Tenants Victoria  

Support for renters  

• Renters guide Rental providers and agents must give renters this guide on or before the day they move in
• Rooming house residents guide Rooming house operators must give residents this guide on or before the day they move in
• Caravan park guide Caravan park operators must give residents this guide on or before the day they move in. 
• Home of your own Justice Connect’s free self-help tool for renters in Victoria facing family violence
• Family Violence Protection Tenancy Kit Tenants Victoria
• ‘Going to VCAT’ (Video) Tenants Victoria
• Dear landlord – a free self-help resource for renters in Victoria Justice Connect  
• Workers Advice Line tenancy law advice or support to community sector workers assisting Victorian renters – Tenants Victoria  
• Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program Providers  support for renters experiencing financial disadvantage or family violence  
• Financial help for private renters including concessions, hardship support, loans, financial advice and counselling – DFFH  

• $250 power saving bonus – one off payment to Victorian households who looks for a better energy deal on the Victorian energy compare website. Click here for information on how to apply through a community sector organisation.  

• Energy assistance program – Free tailored energy affordability support for households at risk of financial hardship. 

Poverty hurts people and communities.

It undermines people’s mental and physical health, creates considerable stress for families and can hinder children’s emotional, physical and mental wellbeing and development.

Tragically, poverty is all too common in Victoria.

This analysis explores the extent and characteristics of poverty in Victoria.

In total, more than 800,000 Victorians live in significant economic disadvantage, including 216,000 children.

That’s 13.3% of all Victorians.

However, as our analysis reveals, not everyone is impacted evenly.

There are some groups of people and parts of Victoria where disadvantage is deep and worsening.

How to explore the data

There are three ways to explore the data and learn about poverty in Victoria.

You can

• Use the interactive maps below
• Read our detailed analysis (including comparisons to 2016 poverty data)
• Explore the interactive data dashboard (with poverty data by council area)
• Take a guided tour of the data prepared by our project partners at NATSEM.

Key findings

As detailed and explained in our detailed analysis:

• 800,000 people in Victoria are living in poverty.
• Pandemic supports reveal poverty is a policy choice.
• Child poverty remains significant and widespread.
• Poverty across Melbourne has increased since 2016.
• Poverty remains stubbornly high across regional and rural Victoria.
• Victoria has deep pockets of severe place-based disadvantage.
• More people over 65 are living in poverty – and it’s getting worse.
• Housing costs are hurting both renters and mortgage holders.
• Having a job makes you less likely to live in poverty but doesn’t protect you fully.

VCOSS CEO Emma King on ABC Radio

Top councils – by total number of people living in poverty 

Casey	56,548
Hume	46,684
Wyndham	43,600
Whittlesea	35,733
Brimbank	32,349
Greater Geelong	30,437
Melton	28,521
Greater Dandenong	27,859
Monash	22,876
Melbourne	19,988

Top ten councils — by poverty rate

Hume	20.59%
Central Goldfields*	19.7%
Greater Dandenong	18.34%
Brimbank	18.13%
Melton	17.36%
Casey	16.59%
Whittlesea	16.55%
Wyndham	16.12%
Latrobe*	16.11%
Yarriambiack*	15.9%

Delivering genuine wellbeing for every person and community in Victoria is central to the work of VCOSS.

The building blocks of wellbeing are simple and universal. Things like access to safe and affordable housing, healthcare, education, a clean environment and social connection.

These are things that everybody needs and wants.

One key step towards achieving this vision is to begin defining and measuring wellbeing, and then embedding it in how our state operates.

This is why VCOSS is advocating for Victora to become a wellbeing economy.

What is a wellbeing economy?

A wellbeing economy looks beyond conventional economic metrics like GDP, to “measure what matters” to people.

It ensures the allocation of our limited resources improves everyone’s prosperity.

Wellbeing approaches also help to break down government silos by forcing government departments to stop asking ask “Does this problem fit into our remit?” and start asking “How can we help solve this problem?”

READ: Victoria must make wellbeing its driving force (The Mandarin)

Is this being done elsewhere?

You bet! New Zealand, Iceland, Scotland and Wales have all embraced a wellbeing approach.

Closer to home, the ACT has embedded a Wellbeing Framework into government decision-making and Tasmania is also getting the process started. 

More widely, the World Health Organisation is increasingly focused on wellbeing economic philosophies, with an understanding of the social determinants of health underlying the sustainable development goals.   

Every jurisdiction is different, and the exact structure of each system must be desigend with local conditions and needs in mind.

How would it work? 

Victoria’s wellbeing approach must be centered on Victorians’ values, to ensure it’s meeting the community’s goals. 

But before we can embed what matters, we need to find out what matters.

Frameworks and indicators must be informed by meaningful community consultation.

VCOSS’s Voices of Victoria Listening Tour provides a model for the kind of qualitative research that can capture this community sentiment.

Victorians’ priorities can then be reflected in a Wellbeing Framework that sets out the state’s main objectives across economic, social, physical and environmental domains. 

To progress the wellbeing priorities, every government department would be tasked with contributing to every priority, embedding wellbeing indicators into policy analysis and decision-making.

VCOSS believes this process should driven by a Commissioner or even a Minister for Wellbeing to ensure a whole-of-government response, and formalised in legislation to cement the wellbeing agenda for future generations. 

READ: Listening to what matters. (VCOSS research)

READ: Voices Of Victoria (VCOSS project)

It’s well established that living in conditions that are too hot or too cold can significantly affect our health and wellbeing.

Despite this, there is a siloed approach to energy policy, with energy hardship typically framed in straightforward economic terms rather than as a public health challenge. 

Community-based healthcare and frontline workers are a trusted profession and offer huge potential to:

• Identify community members experiencing energy hardship, and
• Connect them to energy assistance schemes.

About the project

VCOSS has received funding from Energy Consumers Australia to run a two-year project with a goal to create systematic change to tackle energy hardship from a new perspective.

We will create new pathways between the health and energy systems, helping identifying vulnerable community members at an earlier stage and ultimately put an end to the damaging health energy nexus.

Project objectives  

The two-year project will build on VCOSS’ research about why Victorians are missing out on energy concessions – The Missing 14% – and take the next steps towards better health/energy outcomes for Victorians.  

Focusing on awareness, advocacy and policy integration, the project will:  

• Promote clear recognition of the nexus between energy hardship and health across the energy, health and housing sectors, including in their policies and programs.   
• Establish new connections between energy market and health system actors, to better identify and support people experiencing the energy-and-health hardship.  
• Develop capability and education approaches to leverage health system relationships, reach and impact.   

Critical Friends Reference Group 

This project is supported by a dedicated group of health and energy system experts. The ‘critical friends’ group will provide advice around project activity, foster cross-sectoral collaboration and facilitate advocacy. Members include:

• Anne-Maree Kaser Alliance of Rural and Regional Community Health
• Damien Sullivan Brotherhood of St Laurence
• Steven Jiang cohealth
• Karl Barratt and Zoe Pilven Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action
• Caroline Valente Energy Consumers Australia
• Nathan Zhivov Essential Services Commission
• Nicholas Hunter and Virginia Lewis La Trobe University
• Carolyn Neilson Loddon Prevention & Population Health Bendigo Health
• Harry Patsamanis Lung Foundation Australia
• Tricia Quibell Northern District Community Health Primary Care Connect
• Nicola Willand RMIT University
• Toby Cumming Sustainability Victoria
• Toli Papadopoulos Victorian Healthcare Association

Outputs 

The project’s overarching goal is to establish new connections between energy market and health system actors, to better identify and support people experiencing the energy-and-health hardship.

This will be achieved through a series of planned project activities as outlined below.  

Project activity:  

• A literature review on the hardship nexus (La Trobe University) to synthesise existing research   
• Development of a provocation paper to spark thought and debate with key market actors  
• Health and energy systems mapping to identify intersectionality and gaps between the sectors   
• A stakeholder forum to formally launch the provocation paper to key health and energy market actors   
• Qualitative research with community health services and energy market actors   
• Development of capability-building resources   
• Public advocacy, sector engagement and insight dissemination   
• Cross-sector coalition-building   

The recommendations and outcomes stemming from this project will be presented to the Victorian Health and Human Services Partnership Implementation Committee and the Victorian Department of Energy and Environment and Climate Action Consumer Insights Forum.