Australia Yearbook - 2001

268 Year Book Australia 2001
which are designed and driven by communities
themselves in partnership with government:
Stronger Families Fund ($40m over 4 years);
early intervention, parenting and family
relationship support ($47.3m over 4 years);
greater flexibility and choice in child care
($65.4m over 4 years);
longitudinal study of Australian children
($6.1m over 4 years);
potential leaders in local communities ($371m
over 4 years);
skills development program for volunteers and
International Year of the Volunteer (IYV)
($15.8m over 4 years);
local solutions to local problems ($15.4m over
4 years);
Can-Do communities ($5.2m over 4 years); and
communication strategy ($8m over 4 years).
Family and Community Networks Initiative
(FCNI)
FCNI is a four year pilot program running to June
2002. The principal aims of the initiative are to
improve access to information and services
relevant to families and community organisations;
and to enhance the capacity of communities and
services to work together more effectively to
address the needs of families and communities.
The budget for the FCNI is $8.6m over four years.
There are three key components: funding of
community networking projects; funding of
one-off projects; and development of a national
Internet site offering links to a comprehensive
range of information relevant to family and
community groups.
These networking projects encourage local
groups and networks to work together in
developing collaborative proposals, in particular
project ideas that identify linkages and
partnerships with other community or
government agencies or the business sector.
Community Business Partnership
The Community Business Partnership has been
established to develop and promote a culture of
community/business collaboration in Australia.
The initiative aims to encourage business and
communities to develop strategic partnerships
and to channel corporate generosity into the
creation of stronger, more vibrant and self-reliant
communities.
Located in Sydney, the Partnership Secretariat
provides management, communications policy
development and research, community and
business liaison and organisation of the Prime
Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community
Business Partnerships.
Strengthening and supporting families
coping with illicit drugs
In the 1999–2000 Budget the Commonwealth
Government announced a measure to assist
communities and community groups to provide
support to families affected by illicit drug use.
Funding of $11m over four years has been
provided to FaCS to fund and administer a range
of early intervention and outreach strategies for
families dealing with drug problems. Funding for
the first year (1999–2000) is $2m, with about $3m
for each of the three successive years.
Disability programs
People with disabilities
The Disability Services Act 1986 was introduced
to expand opportunities for the participation of
people with disabilities in the Australian
community. Under the Act, the Commonwealth
Government provides grants for the provision of
services to support people with disabilities,
particularly in the labour market. Disability
Programs promote participation and choice in
work and community life by maximising delivery
of services and targeting income support to assist
people with disabilities in their pursuit of
increased social and economic participation.
Under the Commonwealth/State Disability
Agreement, the Commonwealth has
responsibility for the provision of employment
services for people with disabilities. Disability
employment services assist people with
disabilities in job search and job placement, and
provide individualised on-the-job training and
support. The Commonwealth also provides funds
to assist the States and Territories in the
planning, policy setting and management of
accommodation and other related services for
people with disabilities. Areas such as advocacy
and research and development continue to be a
responsibility of both levels of government.
In 1994 the Commonwealth Disability Strategy
was adopted as a ten-year policy and planning
framework for Commonwealth government
departments and authorities, to improve access
to their programs, services and facilities for
people with disabilities.