VACCA’s Election Platform calls all political parties to prioritise Victoria’s commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap including all targets and priority reform areas. Government and mainstream accountability is a critical ask of all candidates and parties.
VACCA is the largest ACCO in Victoria, supporting Aboriginal children, young people, families, Elders and Aboriginal communities across the State. We do this by advocating for the rights of children and providing everyone who walks through our doors with services premised on human rights, self-determination, cultural respect and safety.
VACCA’s reach and positive impact is evident across sectors including child and family welfare, family violence supports, justice, homelessness, early years, research and policy. We are the largest single ACCO employer of Aboriginal people in Victoria, building social capital in our communities and prosperity across generations.
This 2022 State election platform builds on 45 years of advocacy and service provision for the Aboriginal community in Victoria. We look forward to working with the government elect in delivering the following priority areas with sustainable, long term flexible funding allocated across all portfolios, where Aboriginal self-determination is at the core of all policy commitments and institutional racism and systemic bias is eradicated.
VACCA’s Victorian Election Platform 2022
Priority: Workforce Development
- Ask 1. VACCA calls for an ongoing commitment to workforce funding and capacity building for the ACCO sector. Specifically, we seek commitment from government to pay for the university degrees of all social work students’ who choose to work at an ACCO and that VACCA will commit to provide a job guarantee upon graduation into our child protection, family services, family violence or youth justice areas.
- Ask 2. VACCA seeks government to match funding for ACCOs delivering State funded programs to VPSG levels.
Priority: Protecting our Future
- Ask 3. VACCA calls for the development of a Victorian Aboriginal Emergency and Natural Disasters Management Plan between the State Government, ACCOs and Traditional Owner groups.
Priority: Truth Telling & Redressing History
- Ask 4. That the Government commits to implementing all recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report.
- Ask 5. That the Government funds Link-Up to provide healing and administrative supports to Stolen Generations survivors and past wards of the State access the various Redress Schemes in Victoria.
Priority: A Safe and Secure Home for all Aboriginal People
- Ask 6. VACCA seeks an increase in all housing brokerage funding by at least 10% and/or to include housing brokerage funding into agreements for ACCOs providing family violence supports, children leaving care, homelessness and housing services and supports to Aboriginal people leaving the correctional system.
Priority: Early Help Funding to Support Families Stay Together
- Ask 7. VACCA calls for proportional funding to deliver early help, early intervention, prevention programs and parenting programs.
- Ask 8. That the incoming Government moves to pass the Statement of Recognition Bill expanding the role of ACAC within the first 30 days of the new Parliament.
- Ask 9. That ACCOs delivering child protection, family support and family violence support services are funded to work more with men.
- Ask 10. That the Government removes all target caps on service delivery for ACCOs and fund ACCOs who exceed targets by service demand.
Priority: Keeping Our Carers Out of Poverty
- Ask 11. We call the government to increase the Kinship Carer to match the foster carer allowance; and that both allowances are increased in line with the true cost of providing a safe and nurturing environment to raise children and young work more with men
- Ask 12. That the Government removes all target caps on service delivery for ACCOs and fund ACCO who exceed targets by service demand
Priority: Building an Aboriginal Evidence Base
- Ask 13. VACCA seeks for all new funding allocated to ACCOs, to include a 20% evaluation levy.
- Ask 14. VACCA seeks a commitment to fund an Aboriginal Knowledge Centre within the next 2 years.
Priority: Celebrating Aboriginal Culture
- Ask 15. That the Government commits to the implementation of more Aboriginal content and languages to be taught in early years and preschool settings and at primary schools across the State.
Priority: Parenting Programs Funded as a Component of a Broad, Genuinely Integrated Aboriginal Model of Child Rearing
- Ask 16. Invest in parenting supports for Aboriginal parents built on the principle of self-determination, in strengthening the capacity of Aboriginal communities to design, develop and continuously improve parenting; and to deliver locally tailored, individualised parenting supports that are culturally embedded, through flexible funding approaches.
- Ask 17. We are seeking commitment for at least 5 Aboriginal-led Early Parenting Centres.
- Ask 18. We are seeking a commitment that 10% of the newly announced low cost early learning/child care centres will be Aboriginal led and be placed in Aboriginal population growth corridors such as Frankston, Werribee and Melton.
Priority: Creating a More Inclusive, Integrated and Coordinated Service System
- Ask 19. VACCA seeks funding for disability and AoD practitioners and practice leads across all ACCOs and regions that provide out-of-home care, youth justice and family violence support services.
- Ask 20. We call on government to increase funding for all residential care units to provide more therapeutic supports for children.
- Ask 21. We are seeking a commitment of funding to expand multidisciplinary child healing teams in all ACCOs that provide child protection and out of home care services and supports to children exposed to family violence.
Priority: Keeping Children Out of Prisons
- Ask 22. We call on government to immediately raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years of age.
- Ask 23. We call on government to expand the powers of ACAC to include children aged under 18yo on justice orders.
Priority: Governance and Oversight
- Ask 24. VACCA calls on the Victorian Government to appoint an Aboriginal Productivity Commissioner with responsibility for the oversight of progress against Aboriginal focused government plans and agreements to monitor expenditure, actions and performance against targets relating to the safety, wellbeing, education and justice outcomes of Aboriginal peoples in Victoria.