2022 Sustainable Funding Survey

Shortfall continues as demand for services rise at rapid rates.

The Western Australian Council of Social Service and Community Employers WA, with support from other peaks including Shelter WA, undertook a survey of member organisations in October 2022. They wanted to know the pressures community services were facing and the impact it had on vulnerable people and communities, to assist their advocacy for an increase in indexation.

The survey was open for three weeks. 87 organisations responded (including homelessness services) and provided information on 295 contracts across nine state government departments.

Key Points

• Short-, medium- and longer-term sustainability of social services is under threat in Western Australia due to a lack of appropriate commissioning approaches and inadequate indexation of contracts.
• 53 per cent of respondents could not meet service demand in 2022.
• 78 per cent of respondents reported staff burnout.
• 40 per cent of respondents reduced their operations in order to survive in 2022 thereby reducing services in a time of increased demand.
• Homelessness services responded that costs are not covered by state government contracts (Figure 5, p. 12).

Further Reading

Read the 2022 Sustainable Funding Report here.