2011| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

Children and families

The Brotherhood’s Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) completed its expansion, with Australian Government support, to 100 disadvantaged communities. In about half of these communities the program has a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. HIPPY provides employment opportunities for more than 480 home tutors – a quarter of whom are from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background. Around 4,500 families took part in HIPPY this year (BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

The Jindi Family and Community Centre, established in 2015 in outer north-east Melbourne, continued to develop its programs bringing an integrated approach to learning and life opportunities for preschool children and their parents. For families facing particular challenges, the 2 Generation approach is also used to support parents to have more control over their circumstances. The Early Years Program at the Connie Benn Centre in Fitzroy adopts a similar holistic approach assisting children’s early learning while building parents’ capacity. Also in Fitzroy the Breakfast Club continues to ensure that primary school children enjoy a nutritious meal before school (BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

Community developments (and partnerships)

With the help of local councils, the Brotherhood assisted in establishing three community hubs in outer northern Melbourne. Theses hubs bring together the work on the Brotherhood and 25 other agencies. Connections@Craigieburn offers in two locations integrated community services and opportunities to strengthen the growing Craigieburn community. The Jindi Family and Community Centre (see above) operated in Mernda in the Shire of Whittlesea with a vision that children and their families are empowered to reach their goals in an active and connected community. The Epping Community Services Hub opened in 2016 helped by the Brotherhood’s leadership in facilitating collaboration within the hub and the community

(BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

Work on the Brotherhood’s Reconciliation Action Program (RAP) continued. A mural by Indigenous Australian artist Christinaray Weetra was commissioned for the Brotherhood’s Melbourne headquarters (BSL 2016 Annual Report).

The Brotherhood partnered with the Australian Government to roll out the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in north-east Melbourne. This is the first region in Victoria fully to roll out the NDIS 

(BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

Results for the Saver Plus program remained strong, with more than 3700 families participating. For the first time in the program’s history, a remote-service delivery model was rolled out  (BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

The Brotherhood’s Chaplaincy team provided weekly services across the organisation. Working with the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne and Anglicare Victoria, the team is developing the Parish Partnership program. The program encourages parishes to partner with Anglican care agencies to recognise unmet needs.  The Good Neighbour Project seeks to identify the needs of local communities. The Schools Engagement Programs involved urban camps and visiting schools to help young people in Years 5 to 8 to look at the world and their own community 

(BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

Employment and training  

The Brotherhood began offering the Australian Government’s Transition to Work (TTW) program, which helps people aged 15 to 21 into training and employment. To help service delivery and exchange experiences, the Brotherhood founded the TTW Community of Practice, a network of agencies which offer the TTW program in different locations in Australia.   

The Brotherhood’s Work and Learning Centres, supported by the Victorian Government, operated in Melbourne and four regional cities in Victoria. It assisted Victorians experiencing disadvantage, particularly public housing tenants, into training and work. For example, the Community Safety and Information Service put tenants of public housing estates in inner Melbourne on track to employment by offering paid traineeships in concierge services on the estates 

(BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

Other Brotherhood programs in the training and employment area included

Homework Clubs, providing students with assistance from volunteer tutors,

the Re-engaging Early Secondary Education and Training (RESET) program, helping children aged 10 to 14 who had stopped attending school back into mainstream education,

the Navigator Pilot Program, helping those aged 12 to 17 who were not in school to reconnect with education,

the Community Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning program, providing a flexible learning setting for young people who have disengaged from school,

the Creating Futures for Youth program, supported by Citi Foundation, helping young people with training and work experience,

the Youth Transitions Support Pilot in Melbourne’s north, helping involve young refugees in education and employment,

the Youth Community Leadership Project, encouraging civic participation among disadvantaged students,

the Engagement and Pathways Project, with two Local Learn organisations, helping people aged 15 to 19 on their path personal development and

the Education First Youth Foyers, in collaboration with other agencies and the Victorian Government, enabling homeless young people to have housing and education  (BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

Material and financial support

With support from the Australian Government, the Home Energy Efficiency Upgrade Program (HEEUP) was developed. It aims to address the problem of many low-income households incurring high energy bills simply because the appliances they use are old and inefficient. For example, using a combination options, more than 750 hot water system upgrades were achieved in low-income households across Victoria (BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

Refugees and settlement

The Brotherhood’s Ecumenical Migration Centre (EMC) was established in Fitzroy in 1956, and was the first generalist settlement agency in Australia. By 2016, the pattern of settlement by refugees had changed dramatically towards outer suburbs. To better reflect these realities, EMC moved to a new community services hub established at by the City of Whittlesea at Epping. EMC has been renamed the Multicultural Communities Team (MCT). MCT collaborates with other agencies in reaching out to refugee and migrant communities in the region. Some services have been retained in the inner suburbs 

(BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

The Brotherhood’s Given the Chance for Asylum Seekers had its funding renewed by a generous philanthropist. It expanded its work with asylum seekers to help them to develop skills, renew confidence and connect with employers (BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

The Brotherhood’s Given the Chance at ANZ program worked with refugees to place them in jobs at the ANZ Bank. In 2016, the 120^th participant was placed

(BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

The Brotherhood’s other programs for refugees include the Refugee Action Program (RAP), developing the skills of leaders from emerging communities, Brain Bank, matching skilled volunteers as mentors with refugee and migrant individuals and communities (Brain Bank was expanded to cover the Whittlesea and Hume local government areas.), Resource and the Employment Pathways for Young Asylum Seekers programs, assisting young people to plan pathways to training and employment and the Stepping stones to Small Business program, providing training to entrepreneurial refugee and migrant women 

(BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

Research and policy

The Research and Policy Centre, strengthened by its longstanding relationship with the University of Melbourne, assembled its research work around six themes 

(BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

Poverty and social exclusion

 Included ongoing work on the Social Exclusion Monitor, completing work on the Family Stress project (on the impact of parental stress on child stress) and commencing a project on the impact of childcare use on Indigenous child development 

(BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

Inclusive education, which included working with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education to enhance professional teaching programs which benefit disadvantaged learners, longitudinal research programs on the HIPPY and Education First Youth Foyers programs (see above), completing a study on flexible learning programs for disadvantaged secondary education-level learners and beginning an evaluation of the project of two TAFE institutes to create formal links between training providers and employers  (BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

Inclusive work and economic security, which included documenting the rates and demographic distribution of youth unemployment across Australia, completing a major study undertaken with other institutions on Preventing Workforce Vulnerabilities in Midlife and Beyond and commencing to collaborate in a study on how employees and employers juggle health and workplace discrimination issues faced by older workers. Research was commenced to build an evidence base about successful programs to reduce unemployment  (BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

Inclusive ageing, which included publishing reports on consumer directed aged care, the social capital of aged care workers and social interaction generating knowhow in later life and completing two studies on aspects of dementia (BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

Inclusive communities, housing and places, which included progressing work on deepening knowledge and building the evidence base on community sector organisations and networks (BSL 2016 Annual Report).  

Equity, energy and climate change, which included completing an analysis of the Brotherhood’s HEEUP (see above) showing how low-income households can buy new hot water systems and a report on fuel poverty in Australia for disadvantaged people  (BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

Brotherhood enterprises

The Brotherhood’s 20 community stores increased their profitability by 20 percent on the previous year.

Publications and presentations

The Sambell Oration: “The Genesis of the NDIS: bringing together competing agendas” was delivered by Rhonda Galbally AO.

The RPC’s Inclusive work and economic security team, in collaboration with two other organisations, hosted a symposium Many Futures of Work examining the impacts of technological change (BSL 2016 Annual Report). 

The RPC’s Energy, equity and climate change team convened the Transitioning to a Zero Carbon Economy Forum which brought together 100 leaders from the community sector, government and business  (BSL 2016 Annual Report).