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The community sector performs an important function in providing emergency food relief, yet food insecurity is often a chronic issue due to poverty and social exclusion. Progressive food provision models present opportunities to improve voluntary food relief services that are dominant in many countries. Informed by research with clients indicating a preference for blended service models that go beyond food provision, two government agencies partnered with a social enterprise and academics to pilot a social supermarket model. This research article (a) briefly summarizes international evidence on social supermarkets' characteristics and offerings, (b) describes a process used to collaboratively develop a social supermarket incorporating universal access and social supports, and (c) presents a rubric defining elements of a social supermarket. Applicable to other community sector settings, the rubric emphasizes dignified access and service, plus opportunities for social support and connection, which are important elements in pathways out of food insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, it is mandatory for separating couples to attempt Family Dispute Resolution (FDR/mediation) before taking a parenting matter to court. In this context some clients may attend FDR solely as a means of accessing court processes. This article examines key outcomes across a large sample of FDR clients in a community sector organization. Participation, rates of agreement, levels of satisfaction, and levels of acrimony are assessed for the sample as a whole and for a subgroup of those indicating their intention to proceed to court. Strong rates of participation, agreement, and satisfaction are reported for the full sample, and significant reductions in acrimony are evident among those who reached agreement in FDR. We find that those who indicate ambivalence to negotiating parenting matters in FDR nevertheless derive benefit from participation in terms of reduced acrimony, satisfaction with the process, and reaching some level of agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation also includes the potential and practice of digital social innovation, whereby the affordances of digital technologies are used to address contemporary social issues. This is particularly relevant to the not-for-profit sector, which plays an important role in Australian society delivering community services. There is a growing appreciation of the ability of this sector to innovate, given its closeness to grass-roots social issues, its flexibility, and capacity to recruit staff and volunteers from all walks of life to contribute to its operations. The sector often operates in-between and in-connection-with government and business, and such collaboration with diverse viewpoints can also be a stimulus for innovation. However, various constraints have been identified, such as the lagging digital proficiency of the sector and its workforce, and the general standoff between purpose, profit and regulatory motivations. The relationship between modern technologies and social innovation by the not-for-profit sector is of national policy interest and worthy of investigation into its originality, opportunities and obstacles. From this brief discussion article, the author invites interested readers to correspond and contribute to this research project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of charities compete for donations, yet no empirical study has examined patterns of shared giving behavior across the nonprofit sector. To understand which types of charities are more likely to share donors, we conducted a social network analysis using behavioral data from 1,504,848 donors to 52 large charities in Australia. Three hypotheses were tested, which considered how patterns of shared donations may be determined by charity sub‐type (e.g., health, social services, religious), type of beneficiaries (i.e., humans, animals, the environment), or geographic focus (i.e., international, national, regional). Overall, results indicate that patterns of shared giving are strongly shaped by geography: international charities typically share donors, as do charities operating in the same local region. Some—albeit inconsistent—evidence also emerged to support the notion that sub‐type may be an organizing principle for donation distributions, but little support was found for the idea that beneficiaries influence shared giving patterns. A key managerial implication is that the practice of supporter list swapping may be most beneficial when lists are shared between organizations that both operate in the same geographic region rather than between organizations that both operate as the same sub‐type of charity or both share similar beneficiaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the role that migrant women leaders play in sustaining precarious spaces of community-led volunteering. The voluntary sector has been theorised as an interstitial yet connective space that nourishes unmet needs of migrant women in the context of familial demands, labour market marginalisation, and a diminishing welfare state. While state-funded initiatives are often intended to address these gendered asymmetries, less is known about the dynamics of precarious spaces of community-led volunteering, and in particular about the leaders who appreciate and navigate the complexities of these spaces. Grounding our analysis in feminist geographies of volunteering literature, and employing the concept of institutional work, we interview multiple stakeholders in a network of Local Migrant Women's Clubs (LMWCs) in Australia. In this precarious space, migrant women leaders are required to bridge contradictory logics of migrant women's vulnerabilities and escalating administrative expectations under poorly-resourced conditions. Our analysis advances institutional work as a productive frame to trace linkages between divergent institutional agendas at the macro-level, and the distributed agency and invisible labour of migrant women leaders at the level of lived experience. Overall, the lens of institutional work foregrounds the tacit and intensive investments required on the part of poorly resourced migrant women leaders to maintain required circulations of care in their local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian directors, whether volunteering or serving a commercial or charitable company, have similar legal responsibilities and exposure to personal liability for unintentional mistakes. In 1991, the Supreme Court of Victoria awarded $97 million, equivalent to almost $200 million today, against a volunteer director of a not-forprofit charitable company. More recently, the Federal Court imposed a $90,000 penalty on a former Tennis Australia director, Harold Mitchell. Should volunteer charity directors and their fee-earning corporate counterparts be subject to the same legal duties, obligations and liability exposure? This article considers the potential impact of the 2018 Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission ('ACNC') Legislation Review Recommendation 11, that the statutory directors' duties in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) be turned 'back on' for directors of ACNC registered charitable companies, with specific reference to individual directors, charities, and the regulation of the charity sector. It cautions against regulatory changes that impose unrealistic compliance obligations and complexity that could do significant long-term damage to the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Families with complex needs face significant challenges accessing and navigating health and social services. For veteran families, these challenges are exacerbated by interactions between military and civilian systems of care, and the density of the veterans' non-profit sector. This qualitative study was designed to gather rich, detailed information on complex needs in veteran families; and explore service providers' and families' experiences of accessing and navigating the veterans' support system. Methods: The study comprised participant background questionnaires (n = 34), focus groups with frontline service providers (n = 18), and one-on-one interviews with veteran families (n = 16) in Australia. The semi-structured focus groups and interviews were designed to gather rich, detailed information on four study topics: (i) health and wellbeing needs in veteran families; (ii) service-access barriers and facilitators; (iii) unmet needs and gaps in service provision; and (iv) practical solutions for improving service delivery. The study recruited participants who could best address the focus on veteran families with complex needs. The questionnaire data was used to describe relevant characteristics of the participant sample. The focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and a reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to identify patterns of shared meaning in the qualitative data. Results: Both service providers and families found the veterans' support system difficult to access and navigate. System fragmentation was perceived to impede care coordination, and delay access to holistic care for veteran families with complex needs. The medico-legal aspects of compensation and rehabilitation processes were perceived to harm veteran identity, and undermine health and wellbeing outcomes. Recovery-oriented practice was viewed as a way to promote veteran independence and self-management. Participants expressed a strong preference for family-centred care that was informed by an understanding of military lifestyle and culture. Conclusion: The health and wellbeing needs of veteran families intensify during the transition from full-time military service to civilian environments, and service- or reintegration-related difficulties may emerge (or persist) for a significant period of time thereafter. Veteran families with complex needs are unduly burdened by care coordination demands. There is a pressing need for high-quality implementation studies that evaluate initiatives for integrating fragmented systems of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2020 has been marked by disruption on a global scale due to a range of compounding crises including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many community arts responses to the pandemic originated from individuals rather than by means of concerted or sustained sectoral responses. This paper uses reflections from Ireland, Australia, and Mexico to discuss the precariousness and vulnerability of the community arts sector and the artists and educators within it at this profoundly difficult time. We reflect upon some of the artistic and educational innovations and experimentations that have come about. We simultaneously examine the work of artists and arts organizations on a paradigmatic level by reflecting upon the role we play in perhaps involuntarily sustaining inequalities despite articulating a desire for change in the work that we do. We argue for the community arts sector to draw upon its imagination and bravery to reflect, assume responsibility, and recast the world into what we want it to be, rather than rebuilding the old, broken one in an attempt to return to what is perceived to be normal. Finally, in turning to arts education policy, we interrogate the barriers and enablers of change in the arts in a post-COVID world, discussing the influencing policy factors of sectoral weaknesses; individual resourcefulness and resilience; the desire for revolution; and the importance of love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic is a public health, economic and social crisis that is likely to have lasting consequences, including increased rates of financial hardship, housing insecurity, mental health problems, substance abuse and domestic violence. Workers in the community service sector have continued to support some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged Australians during the pandemic, while also delivering services to new groups experiencing the economic impacts of virus suppression strategies. We surveyed community service sector workers from across Australia in three snapshots during April–May 2020 and found that perceptions of acute needs and organisational pressure points shifted even through this short period. While the sector faced significant challenges, it responded to the initial phase of the pandemic with flexibility, a strongly client‐centred approach and a re‐emphasis on collaboration between services. The community service sector's demonstrated capacity for agility and rapid adaptation suggests it is well placed to provide critical supports to those affected by crisis situations and everyday disadvantage. However, the sector's capacity to perform this role effectively depends on strong, stable government supports for all Australians in need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how individuals evaluate different shared parking features, as an emerging concept. In this paper, we develop a latent class behavioural model for a sample of 1,008 residents in New South Wales, Australia to explore different segments of taste and preference for shared parking. The outcome of this study extends our understanding about the emerging concept of shared parking by quantifying monetary value, in terms of willingness-to-pay, of different features of this new emerging phenomenon. This study contributes to the literature by providing firsthand insights about how demand for shared parking is formed and how different policy implication can be made accordingly. The results indicate that pricing persists to be the sole most effective parking policy, however non-price-related attributes can help decision makers to make more informative decision when it comes to different pricing schemes. The study also highlights that shared parking can perform a significant role in accommodating the surplus arising from the excessive parking demand and inadequate supply up to almost 40% of demand. The outcome of this study is anticipated to inform and equip city authorities with advanced knowledge about such an emerging phenomenon which can help developing regulations before the concept is out of control. Information from this study can also guide the private sector and the wider community to identify and develop opportunities related to shared parking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the risks and opportunities inherent in a major national change process through a descriptive approach to the implementation challenges for Australian non-profit disability service providers as they grapple with the implementation of the transformational National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It highlights the leadership challenges associated with the newly developed NDIS Implementation Framework and, in doing so, recognises the risk and opportunity issues contained with that implementation process. The research used grounded theory coupled with framework analysis in a qualitative study that, in part, sought to identify leadership characteristics deemed necessary to minimize risks, capitalize on opportunities, and support positive change outcomes leading to successful NDIS implementations amongst several participating organisations, each with differing demographics and at different stages in the implementation process. The findings, which have been grouped into phases, suggest a range of leadership attributes at key phases of the NDIS implementation that are necessary to minimise implementation risks and maximise opportunities associated with the NDIS. These phases have been identified as: (i) An input phase where the emphasis must be on internal change preparedness and external environmental impacts and drivers; (ii) A process phase where the emphasis is on direct implementation issues; and (iii) An outcomes phase where active consideration needs to be on organisational mission sustainability, as well as the risk and opportunity challenge. The study is crucial in revealing leadership challenges and lessons for large scale change and risk management in the non-profit sector, within and beyond the specific case of Australia's NDIS implementation, useful for both scholars and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universal challenges exist for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in regional and rural areas to utilize digital technologies for entrepreneurial advancement. Barriers include insufficient understanding of digital technologies and a lack of skills necessary for digital adoption. In Australia, training programs were introduced to enhance the digital uptake for the business and community sectors. Research was conducted to examine the impact on participants' perceived digital literacy awareness and knowledge of online services, and their skills development. Survey data was collected from program participants (n = 101) comprising SMEs and not-for-profit organizations (NFP), and from program mentors/facilitators (n = 9). The findings show that training supports knowledge transfer, learning and skills development, fostering confidence about digital technologies. It is recommended that ongoing training is delivered regionally so that SMEs and NFPs can exploit digital innovations within their businesses and organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late 20th century, homeownership became entrenched in a wider societal project that sought to transform the economy and increase social inclusion. This project focused on mortgaged owner-occupation as a means not only to acquire a stable home, but also to realise greater economic security via asset accumulation. The underlying ideology featured an implicit promise that homeownership would be widespread, equalising and secure. Despite transformations in market conditions, such narratives have continued to underscore policy approaches and housing marketisation. This article directly confronts this promise. It first unpacks its key tenets before investigating their currency across three classic 'homeowner societies': the US, the UK and Australia. Our empirical findings reveal declining access to homeownership, increasing inequalities in concentrations of housing wealth and intensifying house-price volatility undermining asset security. The article contends that the imperative of homeownership that has sustained housing policy since the 1970s may be increasingly considered a 'false promise'. Our analyses expose contemporary housing market dynamics that instead appear to enhance inequality and insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 'Hyper-localism' and 'temporal passivity' are conditions that precede and inhibit connectivity to wider social-ecological networks. • Global climate change discourses generally fail to acknowledge cross-scale fluidity and interaction, reinforcing these conditions. • Local adaptation is reduced to performative tasks rather than connected processes, impacting effective changes. • Aggregating local action for effective transformation requires supporting complex processes and iteratively reimaging a purposeful global-local meaning. Adaptation to climate change is increasingly advocated as we approach a 1.5 °C future. Policy-makers emphasise that the required transformation begins with local action. Yet, there is a gap in understanding why local action can remain largely locked-in to maladaptive cycles, with variable on-ground evidence of transformative change. Using 'the politics of scale,' we interrogated 'the local' using ethnographic interviews. We found that although local actors are engaged in various ways, 'doing' environmental work at a very local scale, their practices are constrained, reinforced by cultural, political, and economic arguments. We conceptualise 'hyper-localism' and 'temporal passivity' as emergent conditions that mask connectivity to wider social and ecological networks leading to transformative possibilities. We argue that global climate change discourses reinforce these internal conditions by failing to acknowledge the complexity associated with the 'politics of scale'. The local scale of change is not necessarily more manageable, or its actions likely to create a shared vision. Adaptation is reduced to performative tasks rather than connected processes, impacting the scope and effectiveness of change on-ground. Further, in this Australian case study, we see how local 'doing' is still subject to the cross-scale impacts of diminishing nation-state government resourcing reflecting the far-reaching consequences of small-government austerity models, and the foisting of responsibility for adaptation to the least powerful and least resourced sectors of civic society. We conclude with the idea that if local adaptation is to lead to transformative outcomes that connect to a global transcendence to affect climate direction, systems of governance need to be linked to strategic visions that deliberately engage with the 'politics of scale', and to affirm more complex processes in engaging with the fluidity of a purposeful global-local nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few decades in Australia, as part of a larger economic reform agenda, state and federal governments have increasingly outsourced social services to non-government community service organisations. The community service sector has consequently grown significantly with individual organisations increasing staff and volunteer numbers to manage demand. This article reports on a mixed method study that explored staff communication and connectedness in two nonprofit rural community service organisations that manage their operations across vast geographical distances. Study findings suggest four main types of connectedness that can be enhanced to increase staff connectedness, top-down connectedness , team connectedness , cross-organisational connectedness and cultural connectedness. The study found that country organisations where geographical contexts require management across long distances need to create a more networked, values-explicit organisational architecture that encourages the development of staff connections between programs and levels. • Rural-based organisations that use hub-and-spoke human resource management models rely on top-down communication with few staff connections • Staff connectedness can be increased by fostering collaboration between spokes to create a more networked organisational architecture • Embedding organisational valuesacross internal communications fosters their inward expressionwhile strengthening their outward expression [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on findings from a recent study of community practitioners working in re-entry and reintegration support services in South East Queensland, Australia, which examined the role and influence of these practitioners on young men with mild intellectual impairment or borderline intellectual functioning who were involved in the criminal justice system. The article reflects upon practitioners' agentic influence and capability for voice across the community services sectors and proposes the extent to which practitioners believed this affected the options available to vulnerable young men with borderline intellectual functioning in the community. The article draws on data collected from the qualitative study, which included interviews with community practitioners and observations of practitioner–client sessions. These data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. The analytical strategy applied Sen's capability framework within which to interpret the capabilities of practitioners. Practitioners were drawn from funded community organisations providing offender reintegration services, a homelessness service, and a volunteer community group working with ex-prisoners. Findings suggest that reintegration of vulnerable young men with borderline intellectual functioning requires community practitioners to exercise capability for voice and agency in ways that build relational environments. Interaction between re-entry and reintegration services and the broader community services sector can create practical opportunities for support within the reach of young men with borderline intellectual functioning towards community reintegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative media representations of refugee and migrant communities can have a significant impact on members of these communities' overall lived experiences, causing issues regarding socio-political belonging and socio-economic security. In Australia, this has become a pertinent issue for young people from Australia's Sudanese and South Sudanese communities. In recent times, young Sudanese and South Sudanese Australians have been the subject of persistent negative media attention. Utilising a voice-centred relational methodology (VCRM) approach, this paper presents and discusses qualitative findings regarding the perspectives of Australian Sudanese and South Sudanese youths and those from the community organisation sector on these media representations. The findings of this study suggest that negative media representations of Australian Sudanese and South Sudanese youths impact the everyday lived experiences of these young people, disrupting their overall sense of belonging in Australia. Many of the young people in this study believe these lived experiences are causing serious consequences for their overall social prosperity and well-being and creating barriers for their overall success. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of these lived experiences, placing the voices of participants at the centre of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian social work schools face a challenge to find appropriate placements for the increasing number of international students enrolled in their Master of Social Work Qualifying (MSWQ) programs. An innovative and unique placement for international students enrolled in the MSWQ at the University of South Australia was organised in partnership with a community-based service working with older clients to meet two objectives: increasing the number of suitable placements for international students; and enhancing both the competency skills and motivation of social work students to work with older people. Upon completion of placement, students were asked to complete an on-line survey utilising both quantitive and qualitative measures. The article reports on changes in students' insights, knowledge and skills gain, their perception of older people, willingness to work with older people and the challenges students faced on their placement. Strategies for enhancing students' experiences on placement and developing and strengthening partnerships with community-based organisations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The national recovery principles state that disaster recovery should be community-led. However, reports from various recovery processes in Australia and overseas consistently identify that governments too often, in practice, do not support this. This research examines ways in which governments can enable communities to lead their recovery after emergency events. This is a preliminary report of a continuing study. To date, semi-structured interviews have been held with over 20 experienced individuals about their involvement in community recovery. Participants are community members from disaster-affected communities, government employees from all levels of government and across departments, and representatives from community sector organisations. These preliminary results show the complex interplay between communities, governments, and community sector organisations in disaster recovery, and the varying expectations and experiences of those involved. These initial findings show potential to influence policies, processes and systems across governments and communities, and better support communityled recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines a public debate in Australia, arising from a national government report, around how social contribution in the nonprofit sector should be assessed. Guided by several meta-perspectives on evaluation, we identify connections between foundational assumptions and normative positions on evaluation espoused by non-profit organizations (NPOs), and examine the ways in which the inter-paradigmatic context of the non-profit sector contributes to the emergence of NPOs' different normative positions on evaluation. We conclude that particular paradigmatic orientations of NPOs (positivism, interpretivism, constructivism) lead to particular perspectives on how NPOs should engage with alternative paradigms (monism, impartial pluralism, radical pluralism). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employee control over work-time arrangements promotes work-family reconciliation and buffers against stress. But which human service context provides employees with the best opportunities to control their work schedules? Analysis of Australian survey data shows that after accounting for the low levels of work-time control in human service occupations like teaching and nursing, nonprofit organizations offer superior prospects for work-time control. However, whether this is true is strongly influenced by other occupational, employment and personal characteristics, such that for personal-care workers, work-time control is lowest in nonprofit organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Interest in social enterprise has grown across the world and across all sectors in recent years. This interest is underpinned by multiple drivers, arising variously from the logics of new public governance, market-centric approaches to meeting social needs and a reclamation of people-centred economic arrangements as a response to complex problems. In this commentary, I reflect on developments in social enterprise practice and scholarship in Australia since conducting the first national mapping of the field in 2010. I consider changes in practice and in the policy and development ecosystem that inform social enterprise development. In so doing, I consider what is driving these developments and their implications for future practice of both social enterprise and the third sector, and the related implications for scholarship of social enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This personal comment examines legal developments in the Australian third sector over the last fifteen years. It begins by reflecting on the significant cases that have changed the face of the charity law after decades of no significant cases. This is followed by some observations about substantial legislative reform during the period. Finally, some comments are made about the development of legal scholarship, professional services and future challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents empirical evidence of the governance challenges faced by not-for-profit (NFP) organisations. Drawing on interviews and survey data, the paper explores perceptions of NFP leaders concerning governance challenges, drawing implications for theory and practice. The research shows that NFPs face internal and external contingencies that determine effectiveness of governance systems. The study finds that considerable variation in the roles of boards exists. This has theoretical consequences, as the usefulness of stewardship, agency, resource-dependence and stakeholder theory varies according to the directives of NFP boards, and provides empirical evidence in favour of taking a contingency approach towards theories concerning NFP boards. The study further shows that director recruitment is challenging, particularly for NFPs with membership-based board models, as the constitution often determines a pool from which must be sourced. This often leads to directors not being recruited based on skills, which in turn increases the importance of skills development. While many respondents state they provide training, interviewees indicate that lack of time and resources pose practical obstacles. We contend that this lack of resources represents a contingency that can negatively impact board functioning. The findings furthermore suggest that funding dynamics can negatively impact accountability and governance. Specifically the fact that government is the largest donor in the sample, while the recipients of services are the most important stakeholders. While donor and stakeholder representation on boards may help to mitigate donor dependency and asymmetric accountability, the study finds that NFPs are often unable to recruit directors with appropriate skills. As it is also challenging to facilitate training due to the lack of resources, the result is a conflicting dynamic between the demand for skills and stakeholder representation on governance bodies. Respondents decribed the Australian charities regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC), as a potential advisory and 'go-to' body that can help establish basic regulation and increase public confidence in the sector. The study suggests a role for the ACNC in assisting NFPs to reflect on contingencies and establish optimal governance configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social economy as a regional development actor is gaining greater attention given its purported ability to address social and environmental problems. This growth in interest is occurring within a global environment that is calling for a more holistic understanding of development compared to traditionally economic-centric conceptions. While regional development policies and practices have long considered for-profit businesses as agents for regional growth, there is a relatively limited understanding of the role of the social economy as a development actor. The institutional environment is a large determinant of all kinds of entrepreneurial activity, and therefore understanding the relationships between the social economy and broader regional development processes is warranted. This paper moves beyond suggestions of an economic-centric focus of regional development by utilizing institutional logics as a theoretical framework for understanding the role of social enterprises in regional development. A multiple case study of ten social enterprises in two regional locations in Australia suggests that social enterprises can represent competing logics to economic-centric institutional values and systems. The paper argues that dominant institutional logics can promote or constrain the inter-play between the social and the economic aspects of development, in the context of social enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of ‘compacts’ between government and the ‘third’ or ‘not-for-profit’ sector is intimately linked to the comprehensive transformation of the welfare state. The first compacts in the United Kingdom in 1998 spawned similar policy instruments in other jurisdictions, including Australia. In 2006 the Labor opposition led by Kevin Rudd undertook to repair a ‘broken’ relationship between the federal government and the not-for-profit sector. The National Compact, launched in March 2010, was an initial step in a bumpy policy journey. Prime Minister Rudd was replaced in June 2010 by Julia Gillard, who portrayed the National Compact as the ‘foundation stone’ of a broader reform agenda. Although dogged by political instability, Gillard pursued ground-breaking reforms in the not-for-profit policy space. These reforms are now threatened with repeal by the Coalition government elected in 2013. This paper attempts to explain why Labor's reform agenda appears set to unravel. 政府与“第三”即“非盈利”部门之间的协定，与福利国家的综合转型密切相关。自1998年英国出现首个协定以来，类似的政策工具在其他地界像澳大利亚便如雨后春笋。2006年陆克文领导的工党反对派修补了联邦政府与非盈利部门之间破损的关系。2010年启动的国家协定在磕磕绊绊的政策旅行中迈出了第一步。2010年6月陆克文总理卸任，茱莉亚杰拉德接任，她将国家协定描绘成广泛改革议程的“基石”。尽管困于政治动荡，杰拉德还是在非盈利政策空间里进行了开拓性改革。这些改革有可能被2013年当选的联盟党政府所废除。本文探讨了工党的改革计划为什么会开始瓦解。 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses the Majority Report of the Senate Economics Legislation Committee's review of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Repeal) (No. 1) Bill 2014, which in June 2014 recommended passage of the bill by the Australian Senate. Effectively, such action by the Australian parliament would bring to an end uniform national regulation of Australian charities, which, after twenty years of debate, and with the overwhelming support of charities and their supporters, commenced two years ago with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012. The paper demonstrates that the Majority Committee was highly selective in its consideration of the evidence before it, preferring to ignore the largely consensus view of the charity sector, its professional advisors, knowledgeable academics and others, in favour of (in some cases poorly supported) minority views. Consequently, it raises the question: is the Coalition government's opposition to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission based on a desire to improve the efficiency of charities, or is it driven by ideology and in service of narrow sectional interests? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research study undertaken in relation to this paper broadly examined the perceptions of accountability by managers of faith-based social service not-for-profit organisations (NFPs). Through these perceptions, it aimed to gain an understanding of why particular forms and methods of reporting were used to satisfy accountability obligations to multiple stakeholders. This particular paper focused on what drove the construction of accountability reports and other accountability mechanisms investigated in the research study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popular contemporary global practice of using celebrities to endorse nonprofit causes can be a constructive means of stakeholder communication that offers the potential to increase awareness of, grow resources for and focus attention on these causes. However, if this communication practice is poorly executed, it risks devaluing complex social problems while more broadly challenging the nonprofit sector's role as a site of social change. This paper offers an analysis of the possibilities and pitfalls of using celebrities to communicate about nonprofit causes to Generation Y stakeholders. Based on findings from interviews with nonprofit leaders who have utilized this communication strategy, it offers an Australian perspective to the growing body of research into the increasingly popular strategy of celebrity endorsement of nonprofit causes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource-dependent communities in hinterland regions of Australia, Canada and elsewhere are rapidly aging, yet many features that distinguish them (e.g., geographic remoteness, small populations, infrastructure built with younger persons in mind) also pose significant challenges for healthy aging. These challenges can lead to substantial gaps in access to formal health and social services, with negative implications for older residents aging-in-place and the development aspirations of resource frontier communities. In this paper, we explore the efforts of voluntary sector leaders to transform resource communities into more livable and supportive places for older adults. We offer a case study of two small towns in Canada's aging resource frontier; one forestry-dependent and the other dependent on coal mining. Our findings suggest that place integration develops through volunteer work and explains how voluntarism works as both a process and outcome of 'placemaking'. We argue that greater attention to place integration is needed to bring into focus the transformative potential of the voluntary sector in creating supportive and sustainable environments for healthy aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a comparative exploration of New Public Management ( NPM) funding models on the non-profit sectors in the UK and Australia, and the implications for services, employment conditions, and worker commitment. A degree of convergence exists around the principles of NPM in the two case studies, creating employment regimes of low pay, casualization, and work intensification. Enhanced vulnerability to pay cuts in the UK, and insecurity in Australia are explained by national differences in exposure to recession, industrial relations institutions, and competition, leading to diminishing worker commitment and raising important concerns for policy-makers as benefits gained from outsourcing to non-profits are eroded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human service NGOs have become central actors in contemporary welfare states. The broadening of the role of NGOs in Australia as both providers of the human services that are an integral part of the welfare state and as lobbyists or advocates and agents of social change has been widely acknowledged; however, this paper focuses on a recent deepening of the role of human service NGOs in the Australian welfare state by exploring an additional dimension of their growth. Based on a recent study, it is evident that there has been increasing involvement by human service NGOs in the production of social policy knowledge through 'policy research' activities. The research mapped policy research activities, policy research infrastructure and policy research resources in human service NGOs, and also captured NGO policy researchers' perceptions of the rationales and motivations driving NGOs in this direction. It was clear that this shift is based on strong beliefs that researchers located within human service agencies are best placed to produce the kind of knowledge that should form the basis of social policies responding to human need. Other drivers identified by policy researchers suggest, however, that the inclusion of third sector organizations in policy processes cannot simply be understood as the 'opening up' or 'democratization' of social policy processes to include Third Sector participants. The motivations for human service NGOs moving into social policy knowledge production in Australia are thus complex and diverse. Drawing on the findings of our study, Researching the Researchers, this paper reflects on the implications of this reconfiguration of welfare state politics. Who produces the knowledge that influences, moulds, and even determines the allocation of resources for the delivery of human services, and how this knowledge is produced have been ongoing concerns in social policy scholarship. We suggest, that in the case of human service NGOs in Australia, entry into the field of social policy research can be understood as a reconfiguring of the democratic system of policy determination. It may also be one in which the NGOs become 'experts' on citizens' needs through research practices that are fundamentally less, rather than more inclusive, of the subjects of social policy. The implications of a possible shift in power to influence and in some cases determine who gets what in the welfare state is of deep concern in relation to future models of social protection and ultimately the redistributive and democratic processes of nation states. This paper seeks to question the often-unquestioned ascendancy of the third sector in welfare and asks whether this shift is in keeping with the democratic process and whether it is the best way to determine and satisfy human need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the marketization in the delivery of integrated activation policies, third-sector employment services in Australia, and Great Britain's reform agenda.

The article focuses on the Australian court case Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International Inc., which dealt with the government's control over nonprofit health-related organizations. Topics include the regulation of the not-for-profit (NFP) sector, organizational accountability, and Australian constitutional law.

In its Budget handed down in May 2011, the federal government announced proposed new taxation arrangements covering the not-for-profit sector in Australia. The government explained that these arrangements were largely made in response to recent court cases pertaining to the taxation status of not-for-profit organisations (NFPs), with regard to trading income in particular. Currently, NFPs enjoy a range of tax concessions at the federal and state/territory level based on a relatively complex set of legislated and regulated arrangements. In utilising these concessions, NFPs can obtain a range of benefits for themselves and their employees. However, with the proposed new tax arrangements, these concessions can be at risk if NFPs do not understand the key changes and what they mean. In this article, the authors reflect on the current state of play in relation to not-for-profit tax arrangements and recent announcements by the government in relation to these concessions. In examining the government announcements, the article seeks to look to the future and take a preliminary view of the likely outcomes for NFPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian government has recently made explicit its intent to reduce its funding commitment to public housing and instead resource the community sector to provide new low-cost rental housing. This article explores the causes and future implications that arise from this policy switch based on analysis of interviews with senior policy-makers and professionals working in the sector within the Australian federal system of government. The focus of the article is on their understandings of the problems facing the public housing system and the opportunities and constraints they identify as important in their work aimed at continued provision of public housing and its improved viability. The article provides a diagnosis of the public housing problem, a discussion of the conduct of government and the future options for the sector, including stock transfer and a new regulatory framework. In the conclusion, the example of Australia is discussed in the light of recent international literature on government reforms shaping public housing provision. We argue that recent developments in Australia aiming to diversify the existing housing stock is best understood in the context of wider shifts in governance and welfare reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the paucity of research surrounding the mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia. We document the various mandatory auditing provisions under the Corporations Act and identify over 22 000 companies that lodge audited accounts with the regulator under federal law. In 2011, 6339 large proprietary companies, 186 small proprietary companies, 2797 foreign-owned companies, 3985 unlisted public companies and 8404 public companies limited by guarantee had an obligation under the Corporations Act to lodge audited accounts. While large proprietary and foreign-owned companies have an option to apply to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission for audit relief, we estimate that less than 10% are granted audit exemption. We document that since 1995 an additional 1500 large proprietary companies that should have lodged under the size provisions of the Corporations Act have been granted exemption from doing so (i.e., grandfathered), although these firms appear to be subject to an annual audit even though they do not lodge accounts. We estimate the costs and discuss the potential public interest and firm-level benefits associated with the mandatory auditing of for-profit private and not-for-profit companies in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current level of satisfaction among different stakeholders about the current approaches and practises of financial reporting of not-for-profit (NFP) entities is underexplored (Christensen and Mohr, 2003; Lee, 2004; Gray et al., 2006; Parker, 2007). This paper uses content analysis to examine submissions to the 2008 Australian Senate Economics Standing Committee for its inquiry into the disclosure regimes of charities and NFP organisations, which aimed to explore attitudes about financial reporting in the NFP sector. Financial reporting is viewed as an important part of accountability, but the sector identifies deficiencies in the current regime in terms of consistency, efficiency and transparency. Respondents to this inquiry believed that a sector-specific accounting standard was important. Financial reporting standards, regulations and legal structures should be uniform across the entire sector, but with some variation allowed for smaller NFPs. The cost of complying with standards was a significant issue for smaller NFPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth) commenced on 3 December 2012, delivering Australia a federal regulator for not-for-profits, the Australian Charities and Not-forprofits Commission (ACNC). The ACNC is expected to effect a fundamental change' from the current system where the Australian Taxation Office, as the 'default Commonwealth regulator', has been 'unable to take action commensurate to the circumstances being addressed'. However, the ACNC's achievement of its regulatory goals, especially by means of proportional enforcement action, may be stunted by regulatory overlap with the Commissioner of Taxation. This overlap is primarily engendered by additional tax endorsement requirements for charities to access tax concessions, such as income tax exemption. In particular, the extension of endorsement special conditions under the Tax Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No 2) Act 2013 (Cth) raises the possibility that charities may face fierce extremes' between milder, more nuanced, ACNC compliance action and revocation of income tax endorsement by the Commissioner of Taxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines an experiment in delivering services and programs in communities that were affected by the 2009 Victorian bushfires. Three not-for-profit agencies received funding to develop and deliver programs over a period of three years with the aim of achieving sustainability for the programs thus created. They were not constrained by the requirements of normal government funding, which is short term, subject to competitive tendering and targeted at specific programs and client groups. The nature of the funding allowed the three agencies to introduce innovative programs tailored to the needs of the community and with the aim of building community capacity. However the question of whether the programs are sustainable when existing funding runs out remains open. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The findings discussed in this paper are drawn from a larger study of the changing work experience of front-line workers in four comparable, restructured, liberal welfare states, in a subsector of the economy known as the nonprofit social services (NPSS). Older practices, unique to the sector, such as collectivist ethics, relationship building, care and social justice are being colonised and displaced by the new technologies of performativity such as self-monitoring, target setting, outcome measures and technocratic solutions. In addition, changes in labour markets have produced high numbers of unemployed men in some countries, some of whom have moved into jobs in this traditionally female sector, reshaping aspects of the work and its mission-based ethos. This paper suggests a continuum of masculinised and feminised strategies exist in the NPSS. The latter depend on idealised, female self-sacrifice and reinforce social justice ethics while most of the former challenge non-profit ethics and alter work practices to be more consistent with managerialist aims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social impact measures are not widely agreed, nor implemented by third sector organisations. Meso level indicators of social impact are underdeveloped. Financialised methods such as Social Return on Investment can only account for direct outcomes of defined programs and activities. The broader societal impacts of any such activities are undervalued. This paper outlines the findings of a grounded theoretical approach to determining measures of social impact within a large Australian iconic third sector organisation. Several key factors revealed in this study are discussed in regards to their potential for attributing social impact to organisational activities outside of a program specific outcome. Based on these findings the paper concludes that the development of a tool to measure meso level organisational social impact of third sector organisations may be attainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In high-income countries welfare states play a crucial role in defining - and re-defining - what is offered as publicly provided care, and as a result shape the role of families, markets and the voluntary sector in care provision. Fiscal policies of cost containment, coupled with neoliberal policies stressing individual responsibility and reliance on market forces in recent decades, have resulted in the contraction of state provided care services in a range of sectors and states. There has also been widespread retrenchment in public health sectors across many countries resulting in policies of deinstitionalisation and early discharge from hospital that are predicated on the assumption that the family or voluntary sector will pick up the slack in the care chain. At the same time that this loosening of medicalized control has occurred, services to families with young children have become increasingly targeted on 'at risk' mothers through widespread population surveillance. To date, analyses of the implications of these important changes in care provision have primarily focused on health services and outcomes for birthing women and their newborns. In this paper, we make the case that post-birth care is a form of social care shaped not only by welfare state policies but also by cultural norms, and we suggest an analytic framework for examining some of the recent changes in the provision of postpartum care. We use examples from three developed welfare states - the Netherlands, Australia and Canada - to illustrate how variations in welfare state policy and cultural norms and ideals shape the provision of home and community based postnatal services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore an Australian social worker's experiences of beginning work in the field of neurodisability in the voluntary sector in the UK.Design/methodology/approach - This paper documents the social worker's experiences of the differences in practice between Australia and the UK; between working in the statutory and voluntary sector in the UK; and between different fields of social work. It also documents the social worker's initial thoughts about working in the field of acquired brain injury (ABI).Findings - Through this journey, the social worker reflects upon their own development as a practitioner.Practical implications - The social worker identifies points which may help other social work professionals who are new to this complex area of practice.Originality/value - This paper provides an insight into a social worker's experience of working in different settings and in different countries. It also illustrates how for this social worker, varied experiences cannot always prepare you for working in ABI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues such as whether museum websites are used for marketing purposes, and what role they play in a museum's broader marketing strategy, have relevance for theory and practice. Yet, little is written on museums and other cultural institutions within the electronic marketing literature. This paper explores the strategic role of electronic marketing in the Australian museum sector, taking a qualitative approach and using in-depth interviews with strategic and operational level staff from all the Australian state museums as a data source. Findings indicate that Australian state museums increasingly use their websites to communicate with their audiences in a marketing sense, with an emphasis, however, on a tactical rather than a strategic use. The success of an electronic marketing strategy appears to rest with the support and acceptance the technology has within the museum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on recent research on regional strategic planning in four Australian states/territories. While some states have taken a participative approach, consulting exhaustively, others have adopted a corporate style, consulting selectively and hence developing a highly politicised planning product. Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory have each approached the task differently. Consequently, the extent of participation and civic engagement, particularly through the conduit of third-sector organisations, has varied considerably. Tasmania Together, the Tasmanian twenty-year strategic plan, is the oldest of the four, currently approaching its tenth birthday, and is arguably an example of successful policy transfer. This developed into policy diffusion as the approach spread across other Australian states and territories. As participants in the Tasmania Together process, third-sector organisations have engaged in partnership agreements with government to develop and implement strategies, as well as assisting the Tasmania Together Progress Board to assess progress towards agreed benchmarks. This independent approach, in which the Progress Board is legislatively separated from the government of the day, has come at a cost. Where political will is waning, it falls to the third sector and the community at large to maintain the momentum. The models adopted in the other states differ and are at earlier stages. Nevertheless, it is clear that the role of the third sector in each is vital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from an international comparative study of changes in the Canadian and Australian non-profit social services sector (NPSS) suggest that conditions within specific sectors of the labour market, in this case the non-profit sector, and the distinctive contexts and ethos operating in these sectors influence the ways that women remain attached, reduce their hours or cut ties to the labour market in an effort to balance work-family dynamics. Drawing on qualitative interview data, this article explores the links between social and industrial relations policy and the strategies women employed in the NPSS to balance work-family demands. The article suggests that the existence or absence of social entitlements and support services may impact more than one generation of women, thus having unanticipated outcomes and shaping the way that multiple groups of women participate in the workforce and larger society or are positioned marginally within them. The article also contributes to debates on comparative welfare regimes and gender inequity in the lives of those working in and using the services of the non-profit sector; a sector that is increasingly viewed as an extension of the state and state policies and the larger welfare regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to capital is one of the key issues facing the social economy. This paper uses a case study of an original proposal to retrofit community housing with sustainability improvements to explore the capacity of Australia's social investment landscape to finance innovation in the social economy. While the proposal is characterised by a high degree of complexity, we tentatively find that it suggests that despite the push for social economy organisations to be more entrepreneurial and adopt market-oriented funding and financing approaches, a deficiency in the institutional, regulatory and policy environments appears to disadvantage smaller enterprising organisations. Further research is needed to assess whether this is typical of non-profit experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last ten years, there has been growing interest in social enterprise by governments, the not-for-profit sector and philanthropy in Australia The drivers of this interest have been variously understood to be: increasing demand for innovative responses to social and environmental problems; pressure on not-for-profit organisations to diversify their income sources; and an increasing emphasis by government on the role of civil-society actors in partnering to develop and (more commonly) deliver services in response to social policy priorities. Whatever its genesis, very little is known about the scale and scope of the emerging social-enterprise sector. In order to research the scope of the sector, an important first step is to understand just what social enterprise is and how it may be operationalised. This paper presents the findings from the first stage of a national research project conducted by the authors in conjunction with a new social-enterprise development company. The purpose of the project was to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the social-enterprise sector in Australia. In this paper, we focus on the definitional debates arising from our workshop discussions, what these mean for understanding contemporary discourses of social enterprise, and their implications for research, policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]