May 2021
Proposed changes could threaten charities’ free speech
Media Release 10 May 2021 Catholic Social Services Australia is deeply concerned that new regulations could silence charities’ advocacy on behalf of vulnerable groups for fear of having their charitable status revoked. The Australian Parliament is expected to soon consider the expansion of one of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission’s governance standards. CSSA chief executive officer Dr...
April 2021
CSSA pays tribute to departing Chief Executive Officer
Media Release 30 April 2021 Catholic Social Service Australia chair Francis Sullivan says departing CEO Ursula Stephens has guided the organisation admirably through a period of change, and will be sorely missed as she takes up a new role. Dr Stephens has today been announced as the new CEO of Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd, the company established...
Are we all in this together?
1 April 2021 Article by Ursula Stephens, as published in Eureka Street At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government reassured Australia ‘We’re all in this together’ but the truth is that the end of JobKeeper and the Coronavirus supplement payments will leave more than 2.6 million people in poverty. The end of the $90 billion...
March 2021
More children will suffer under ‘unjust’ JobSeeker payment
Media Release 19 March 2021 Catholic Social Service Australia has denounced the Government’s JobSeeker legislation, which will set the JobSeeker payment at just $44 a day from next week, saying it will push families into poverty. “More than three million people are affected by this decision, which will see almost one million children condemned to living below...
February 2021
The value of the worker
25 February 2021 Article by Ursula Stephens, as published in Eureka Street 'It's the value of the work, not the worker.' So said a government backbencher to me last week while I was speaking to him about the omnibus industrial relations (IR) Bill that has just passed the House of Representatives. He went on to argue that his...
$3.57 a day won’t lift anyone out of poverty
Media Release 23 February 2021 A $50 increase to the fortnightly Jobseeker payment and Youth Allowance will do nothing to lift Australians out of poverty and will perpetuate long-term disadvantage, Catholic Social Services Australia CEO Ursula Stephens says. Dr Stephens said today’s decision is “deeply disappointing” to the large network of Catholic social service agencies, calling the...
Christian organisations back post-COVID recovery
Media Article 22 February 2021 As published by CathNews “We vow to provide service and love to all in need without prejudice or judgment — to share our common table with the hungry, to bring warmth and care to the frail, and to proportion our common wealth among the poor and destitute,” said organisations including World Vision,...
Church groups, Unions take job reform concerns to Parliament
Media Release 19 Feb 2021 Catholic Social Services Australia has joined its voice with the St Vincent de Paul Society, Anglicare and the Australian Council of Trade Unions in opposing proposed changes to industrial relations law. CSSA chief executive officer Ursula Stephens, Vinnies CEO Toby oConnor, Anglicare’s Kasy Chambers and Michele O’Neil from the ACTU have spent...
