Indexation for Community Sector Funding
02/08/2022
Volunteering WA is supporting WACOSS and CEWA, along with other peak bodies, who have been advocating to the Western Australian Government for an increase to the WA State Government indexation for community sector funding for a number of years. Regarding this year’s indexation, we are requesting the rate be increased from 2.55% to 5.1%.
The request is being considered, however it cannot just be the peak bodies advocating. We need you, as a community service organisation, to write to your Local Labor State Member of Parliament to highlight the impacts it will have in their communities.
The current indexation rate of 2.55% will be applied to community sector funding for the 22/23 financial year, however, this level of indexation does not reflect the true increased costs for organisations.
We need your help by sending a letter to your Local Labor Member of Parliament calling for an immediate increase to the state indexation rate, and asking them to commit to a change in the community services contract indexation model.
The annual wage review decision by the Fair Work Commission will provide a 4.6% increase in the minimum wage, while the WA Industrial Relations Commission announced an increase to the State Wage of 4.65%.
Additionally, employees received an increase to superannuation from 10% to 10.5% from 1 July 2022.
Like WACOSS, Volunteering WA is very supportive of these wage increases, as we don’t want to fall further behind in addressing the gendered wage gap in our industry. However, we understand the impact of these wage increases on community services will be wide-reaching, including your ability to attract and retain staff.
This funding gap has been recognised by other states and territories across Australia, with the ACT Government applying an increase of 4.43% to indexation, Victoria has announced a 4.6% increase to indexation, and NSW an increase of 5.5%.
WACOSS has been asking the WA State Government for an increase in the State indexation rate to 5.1% for the 2022-2023 period, which would help address the shortfall for this financial year alone. Volunteering WA supports this request.
Contact your Local Member
- Here is template letter.
- You can find the contact details of your Local Labor Member of Parliament here.
We understand some organisations may work across multiple electoral offices, therefore we recommend you write multiple letters.
Contact your Federal Member
If your organisation also receives federal funding we recommend you also write a similar letter to your Federal member of Parliament asking them for a fair indexation rate. You can find their contact details here.
We understand that it is an extremely busy time and you may be experiencing staffing shortages, however, we need multiple organisations to send the message that services are at risk in a time where demand for services is far out-stripping supply.