Tasmanian Association of Community Houses

The TACH 2010 – 2011 Annual Report is now available online for download in PDF format.

Please visit http://tach.asn.au/what-is-tach/what-is-tach/tach-annual-reports/ to download your copy.

On behalf of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) and the Multicultural Council of Tasmania (MCoT) we would like to invite representatives from your community or organisation to take part in our annual regional Access and Equity Consultation to be held on Monday 17^th of October 2011 in Hobart.

This exciting event is a forum for culturally and linguistically diverse communities to speak out about their experiences with government service provision, namely in the areas of employment, health, housing, and family and child services. This is also an invaluable opportunity for those services to gain direct feedback from the community.

The consultation, along with others held across Australia, will form the backbone of the 2011-2012 National Access and Equity Report. This report provides direct insights and feedback to the government on the performance of their services. Information gained from this consultation will also feed into FECCA’s broader advocacy work.

As part of this consultation process FECCA is particularly interested in interviewing services, whether government or non-government, that have been particularly successful in your region. We would like to gain further information on these services to present as best practice models in our report. It would be wonderful if you could nominate services which fit this description.

FECCA not only provides this feedback to government agencies but will actively lobby for change.

Consultation topics will include employment, health, housing, and family and child services, and any others you think are important.

When: 9:30am-1pm, Monday 17th October 2011 (Refreshments provided)

Where: Tranquillity Room, Bahá’í Centre of Learning for Tasmania, 1 Tasman Highway, Hobart TAS

RSVP: Wednesday 13TH October 2011

For more information and to RSVP please contact Jenni Gough on jenni@fecca.org.au or phone 02 6282 5755.

More Tasmanian school children will have access to nutritious breakfasts thanks to $100,000 in State Government funding for breakfast programs in 2012.

Visiting Clarendon Vale Primary School to see their school breakfast program first-hand today, the Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, said that the State Government has provided $400,000 over four years for schools to run breakfast programs in partnership with local communities.

Mr McKim said that the Department of Education was seeking submissions from government school or educational institutions, in partnership with community groups, to establish school breakfast programs in 2012 school year.

"Many schools already do a fantastic job running breakfast programs for students and this funding will give even more students the opportunity to enjoy the benefits they provide," Mr McKim said.

"School breakfast programs offered a fantastic way to help children get a healthy start to their day and engage with the school community.

"Starting the day with a good breakfast is an essential first step in preparing the body and mind for the demands of a busy day.

"These programs can help to ensure all students get a good start to the day and are alert and ready to learn."

Mr McKim said that a total of 22 schools had received funding in 2011 to run breakfast programs, and encouraged other schools and community groups to apply for the 2012 funding.

"Successful schools will be selected on the basis of their need, partnerships with community and evidence of the sustainability of the program," Mr McKim said.

"Community groups, parents, school staff and volunteers all play an important part in making these programs a success.

"It's a fantastic opportunity to really make a difference in the lives of our youngest Tasmanians."

Breakfast program funding guidelines, frequently asked questions and the submission template are available to download at www.education.tas.gov.au/school/health/school-breakfast-programs-2012

Submissions close on Friday 28 October 2011 and should be forwarded to:

Breakfast Program Submissions

Department of Education

Strategic Policy and Performance

GPO 169

HOBART TAS 7000

Or email: Suzanne.pennicott-jones@education.tas.gov.au

Click here to read all about of our TACH State Conference 2011and download a copy of the programme.

TACH is very, very pleased to have successfully received 39 training places through the TasCOSS Industry Council tender for PPP training places in the 2011 Existing Worker Round.  This program is joint Commonwealth/State funded and aims to substantially increase the number of workers with higher qualifications.

This funding  amounts to over $150 000 in training subsidies for qualifications in Community Services, Business, Frontline Management, Training and Assessment and Children’s Services.

TACH requested expressions of interest a few months ago from Houses interested in enrolling in qualifications and we are pleased to be able to fill all of those requests.

A huge thank you to TasCOSS for their work in support of our application, thanks also to Work and Training and the Skills Institute for their assistance and knowledge in preparation of the tender, and congratulations to the Houses and staff who applied for a place. 

This is a fantastic win.

Neighbourhood Houses around Tasmania are celebrating a boost to their funding in today's State Budget.

Premier Lara Giddings announced today an additional $825 000 recurrent funding to support Neighbourhood Houses. This equates to an increase of approximately $25 000 in each community. 

"Prevention is always better than a cure and we want to help communities to build their capacity to respond to these challenges.  I am therefore pleased to announce additional funding of $825 000 per annum from 2011-12 to support Neighbourhood Houses throughout Tasmania." said Premier Giddings.

As Minister for Human Services Cassy O’Connor stated yesterday “”Because the Houses are run locally, the programs they offer are tailored to reflect the needs of local people. They are building community life and offering local solutions to local problems right across this State. The Tasmanian Government knows this is vitally important work, which is why we are strengthening support to Neighbourhood Houses”

Neighbourhood Houses bring people together in socially isolated and disadvantaged communities to develop their own solutions to strengthen their community.  Without this extra funding local Management committees would have had to make harsh choices about cutting community programs.  Now, with this survival funding, we can continue to provide Breakfast Clubs for parents and children, community enterprises that provide pathways to employment, play groups, information and support for community members in crisis, community gardens and all the projects that strengthen our communities and provide vital opportunities for local people.

Each week in 2010 there were 4800 participants in Neighbourhood Houses across Tasmania, supported by over 2800 hours a week of volunteering.  Over the last year over 1000 volunteers and participants transitioned to further education, and 290 volunteers and participants transitioned into paid work.

“On behalf of the Clarendon Vale community and the other 32 communities around the state who depend on their Neighbourhood House we congratulate the Premier & Treasurer Lara Giddings, the Minister for Human Services – Cassy O’Connor, and the entire Government for finding these desperately needed funds in such a difficult budget” said Simon Paul, President of TACH and coordinator at Clarendon Vale Neighbourhood Centre.

Minister Cassy O'Connor's full media release is available here

TACH media release is available here 

Rio Tinto Alcan Bell Bay is offering four community grants to not for profit organisations and eligible individuals.  Each grant is valued at $2000.  Closing date is 24 June 2011.

To lodge your grant application with Rio Tinto Alcan Bell Bay:

1. Review the eligibility criteria and the relevant application form

2. Complete the application form

3. Submit the application one of two ways before the deadline of 24 June 2011:

Email the completed community grant or Tamar Valley sporting grant application form to BellBayGrants@riotinto.com, indicating "community grant"  in the subject field of your email.

OR

Post to Community Relations, Rio Tinto Alcan, PO Box, 290 George Town TAS 7253.

Please check your application before sending to ensure all sections are completed. Do not send attachments or additional information. Only information contained on the grant application form will be considered by the Committee.  Late applications will not be accepted.

Please call 6382 5119 for further information.

http://www.riotintoalcan.com/ENG/ourapproach/1356_bell_bay_community_grants.asp

The Community Sector Excellence Awards program recognises the dedicated efforts of individuals and organisations in the areas of child protection, youth, family and disability services.  It also celebrates the commitment and work of the many people who make a significant contribution to our community.

An ad will be placed in the Public Notices section of the three Tasmanian daily newspapers on the 4 June 2011 inviting organisations from the government, non government and voluntary sectors in the areas of early years, child protection, family support, out of home care, disability services and youth justice to submit nominations for individuals, groups, programs that provide outstanding contribution to child protection, disability and youth services. 

The Community Services Excellence Awards is a state-wide program and consists of three categories.  These categories are: 

• Making a Difference for Children, Young People and their Families – An individual, team or group within the child and family services sector, who has made an significant contribution to directly enhance the lives and wellbeing of vulnerable children, young people and their families in Tasmania
• Making a Difference for People with Disabilities – An individual, team or group within the disability services sector, who has made a significant contribution to directly improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families in Tasmania
• Inspirational Leadership in Disability, Child, Youth and Family Services Field – An individual within the disability, child, youth and family services sector, who demonstrates practice that constitutes inspirational leadership.  (Examples are innovation in service models and practice, collaborative partnerships, organisational change, public policy change and continuous service improvement.)

Nominations close on the 8 July 2011.

A celebration ceremony will be held on the 8 September 2010.

A dedicated website has also been created.  This website contains the nomination package and other relevant information that will assist you in completing your nomination and will be can be located at http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/disability. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Karen Bellette on 6233 8549.

The celebration ceremony includes a DVD showcasing each of the awardees.  This year we have been able to add the 2010 awardee DVDs to our dedicated website.  Have a look – I think you will agree that they are simply inspirational!

So, if you know of an exceptional person who works tirelessly to protect and enhance the lives of children and people with disabilities, or an organisation that looks for new and better ways to meets the demands it faces or an inspirational leader who is passionate about the vision and mission of their organisation, why not nominate them for a Community Services Excellence Award!

The Community Achievement Awards for Tasmania are about recognising individuals, organisations and groups who are making a difference in our local communities and our State. There can never be enough encouragement and support for those working towards making our State a better place. Awards such as these create an opportunity to say thank you to those who work tirelessly to develop and improve in their chosen field of endeavour.

Nominations are open in these categories:

Tamar Valley Dairy Business Enterprise Award
Prime Super Events and Tourism Award
MAIB Disability Achievement Award
Nyrstar Environment and Sustainability Award
Volunteering Tasmania Volunteer Management Award
Heather and Christopher Chong Outstanding Achiever Award
Searson Buck People Innovation in Business Award
Howrah Plumbing Community of the Year Award

Please visit http://www.awardsaustralia.com/CAA_tas.html for more details on nomination.