❓ The Minister acknowledges the preference for 3-year funding cycles for NGOs and outlines the government's new Funding and Purchasing Community Services Policy designed to address this, promoting longer-term agreements where appropriate and emphasizing consultation with peak bodies.
AnsweredQoN 2967Legislative Assembly
Asked
17 June 2004
Member
Portfolio
Consumer and Employment Protection; Indigenous Affairs; Minister Assisting the Minister for Public Sector Management
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Is the Minister aware that many Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) which receive State Government funding to undertake community-based projects strongly prefer that project time lines be three years, rather than the currently more common one year time frame?
(2) Do the various agencies within the Minister’s portfolios have a policy of funding NGOs for three or more years for appropriate community-based projects and, if not, why not?
(3) Is there an NGO peak council or similar advisory body to which Government agencies can seek advice on issues such the preferred length of contracts and, if yes, has this body advised Government of its position on the preferred length of agency contracts to NGOs?
(2) Do the various agencies within the Minister’s portfolios have a policy of funding NGOs for three or more years for appropriate community-based projects and, if not, why not?
(3) Is there an NGO peak council or similar advisory body to which Government agencies can seek advice on issues such the preferred length of contracts and, if yes, has this body advised Government of its position on the preferred length of agency contracts to NGOs?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 August 2004
Responded by
Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection; Indigenous Affairs; Minister Assisting the Minister for Public Sector Management
Response time
61 days
(1) Yes. The non-government sector has sought a range of reforms to the funding and purchasing policies instituted by the previous coalition government. The Government has responded to this request in a collaborative whole-of-government Industry Plan and in particular through one element of the plan which is the new Funding and Purchasing Community Services Policy. The Industry Plan was recognised at the WACOSS conference in June 2004 as leading the national agenda in relation to government /non-government social policy.
This new funding and purchasing policy has introduced flexibility and responsiveness into funding and purchasing arrangements between Government and NGOs rather than the straightjacket of competitive tendering utilised by the previous Coalition government.
The Policy has also established a Standard Service Agreement to bring consistency to funding practices across Government. A major guiding principle in terms of determining appropriate funding arrangements is that the needs of individuals, families and communities are paramount. In this context, the new policy encourages that service agreements be of sufficient duration to encourage continuity and efficiency of service delivery. Where appropriate, three-year funding agreements are encouraged.
(2) All Government agencies funding community services are implementing the new Funding and Purchasing Community Services Policy and, where appropriate, will develop three-year funding agreements in consultation with their relevant non-government peak bodies.
(3) Through the Industry Plan the government has committed itself to regular consultation with the wide range of peak bodies in the sector. The WA Council of Social Service (WACOSS), the Health Consumers Council and ACROD are just some of the peak bodies involved in this process.
The non-government sector is represented on all Industry plan working parties to continually advise government on further reforms that may be needed in purchasing and other policy areas.
This new funding and purchasing policy has introduced flexibility and responsiveness into funding and purchasing arrangements between Government and NGOs rather than the straightjacket of competitive tendering utilised by the previous Coalition government.
The Policy has also established a Standard Service Agreement to bring consistency to funding practices across Government. A major guiding principle in terms of determining appropriate funding arrangements is that the needs of individuals, families and communities are paramount. In this context, the new policy encourages that service agreements be of sufficient duration to encourage continuity and efficiency of service delivery. Where appropriate, three-year funding agreements are encouraged.
(2) All Government agencies funding community services are implementing the new Funding and Purchasing Community Services Policy and, where appropriate, will develop three-year funding agreements in consultation with their relevant non-government peak bodies.
(3) Through the Industry Plan the government has committed itself to regular consultation with the wide range of peak bodies in the sector. The WA Council of Social Service (WACOSS), the Health Consumers Council and ACROD are just some of the peak bodies involved in this process.
The non-government sector is represented on all Industry plan working parties to continually advise government on further reforms that may be needed in purchasing and other policy areas.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.