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We bring people
together in each federal electorate (150 electorates around
Australia) to work locally in engaging our communities and our
representatives in an agenda of empowerment of ordinary people
and strengthening of civil society.
CLICK HERE to join us. |
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SELF-DIRECTED
SERVICES AND PERSONAL BUDGETS
You can take charge of your social support, education and health
care through a personal budget.
CLICK HERE
for further information. |
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AGM SEASON
Making a difference in our not-for-profits.
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for further information. |
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STREET BY STREET
Linking
up people who live in the same
street or nearby to build community through practical helping
tasks - on a national scale.
CLICK HERE
for further information. |
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COMMUNITY BUILDING
NATIONAL NETWORK
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to participate in the
Network. |
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LEFT AND RIGHT?
"The Left and Right have been as bad as each other. The Left has
allowed its distrust of markets and endless faith in government
to obscure the importance of civil society. The Right has been
so focused on replacing the state with markets that it has
forgotten how to cultivate a trusting society.
This is the politics of the absurd. The Left identifies with the
good society but rarely talks about the mutualism and trust
between people. The Right recognises the importance of moral
obligation but gives the impression of trusting market
transactions more than civil society.
Few things seem to happen anymore
without a government law or market transaction to guide
them. This is how record levels of GDP in Australia now sit
alongside record levels of crime, social stress and family
breakdown. The political balance needs to swing back towards
civil society.
This task, in fact, requires a new type of politics."
Mark Latham, Mutualism: A Third Way for Australia," 1999.
CLICK HERE
to read more. |
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SURVEYS |
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If you are the proprietor of
a small business, please send us your thoughts on how we can support
small businesses through our |
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SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY |
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If you
are caring for an ill or disabled family member at home, please click
here to participate in our |
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Family CarERS SURVEY |
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A leadership and
public voice for social enterprise
in Australia
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Consultation towards the formation of a public voice for social enterprise in
Australia first began in 2009. The UK and Scottish Social Enterprise Coalitions
provided a model for a peer-generated leadership voice and strategic development
tool for the emerging social enterprise
sector in Australia.
A formation meeting for the Australian Social Enterprise Coalition was held
on Monday 28 November 2011 in Melbourne.
Membership of the Coalition t/a
Social Enterprise
Australia is open to all social entrepreneurs and social
enterprises who meet the eligibility criteria (below).
There is no cost. Social Enterprise Australia is a lean
development-oriented innovation-focussed network - it is not a provider of
services or member benefits, nor is it a consultancy.
Our founding
Statement of Purpose
appears below.
To join the Coalition, complete this online
membership form.
A Leadership Council was appointed at the formation meeting. Interest in joining the Leadership Council may be
expressed through the online
membership form
below.
Leadership Council
The members of
the inaugural Leadership Council of Social Enterprise Australia are:
Nick Savaidis Etiko Fair Trade VIC
Cynthia Nadai
Balmain/Rozelle Community Bank NSW
Dianne Batterham Westgate Health Cooperative VIC
Chris Mason Swinburne University VIC
Aloma Fennell The Senior Agenda NSW
Cameron Price Diversitat VIC
Chris Burrell Educare NSW
Tim Goh Life Expedition VIC
Simon Cox Hope Street NSW
Susanna Chamberlain Griffith University QLD
Gautum Raju OurSay Australia VIC
Paul Bishop Arts Evolution QLD
Dan Petrovic Dejan SEO VIC
Vern Hughes Social Enterprise Partnerships VIC
Statement of Purpose
1. A social
enterprise is a market-based business for a
social purpose. It may be for-profit or not-for-profit.
2. The social enterprise sector in
Australia is large and diverse but lacks a peer-generated leadership, a
public voice, and shared tools for strategic development and innovation.
3.
The Australian Social Enterprise Coalition t/a Social Enterprise
Australia will be a leadership vehicle and voice
for social enterprises in Australia. Its governing body will be a
Leadership Council comprising representatives from the main streams of
social enterprise in Australia:
a.
cooperatives and mutuals
b. for-profits with a social purpose
c. community
sector ventures for a social purpose
d. indigenous businesses and social enterprises
e. rural
community businesses and social enterprises
f. environmental
businesses and social enterprises
g. consumer
empowerment businesses
4.
Social Enterprise Australia will be a leadership
vehicle and public voice, not a provider of services or member benefits. It will speak to governments and the
general public on the value of social enterprise and engage them in the
growth and development of the social enterprise sector.
5.
Social Enterprise Australia
will advocate for major regulatory reform
to create a
favourable operating environment for social enterprise.
6.
Social Enterprise Australia will advocate for a key role for
social enterprise in the reform of service delivery in
health, education, housing, indigenous affairs, community services,
rural affairs and environmental innovation.
Membership
Membership of
Social Enterprise Australia is open to all social
enterprises that meet the following eligibility criteria:
Applicants for membership must:
1. Be an independent business;
2. Have traded for more than one year and earn
50% or more of its income from trading;
3. Allocate a significant proportion of profit
for social or community or environmental benefit.
To join the Coalition, complete this online
membership form.
The following table outlines the types of
evidence that may be required.
| An eligible enterprise
will: |
Notes/Explanation |
Be an
independent business
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A social enterprise must be an
independent business and not part of the public or charitable sector. If
it has an auspicing body that is a public authority (such as a municipality, health
organisation, or university), or a community organisation (such as
welfare agency, sporting club, or arts body) then evidence may be required
that the social enterprise is a separate trading entity with
independent governance, and is not merely a fundraising vehicle for the
auspice body. |
Have traded
for a minimum of one year and earn 50% or more of its income from
trading |
The social enterprise must earn 50% or more
of its income through trading.
Trading is defined as ‘the direct exchange of goods and services’.
This definition of trading excludes government grants, philanthropic
grants and donations. |
| Distribute
all or a significant proportion of profit for social or community or
environmental benefit |
Evidence may be required of how the
business distributes profit.
If income is distributed to individual
members or shareholders who have a co-operative form of participation in
the business, then this is, in itself, socially beneficial. If income is
otherwise distributed to individuals, then evidence is required that at
least 50% of profit is distributed for social or community or
environmental benefit.
Where investors receive a share of
profits from a business, evidence may be required that at least 50% of
profit is distributed for social benefit before returns are distributed
to investors. |
To join the Coalition, complete this online
membership form.
Enquiries
Vern Hughes
vern@civilsociety.org.au
PO Box 159 Yarraville Vic 3013
Tel: 0425 722 890
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©
Centre for Civil Society 2009 -2012 | |
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TRANSFORMING OUR
SCHOOLS
CLICK HERE for
details of our campaign for a Real Education Revolution.
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PARENTS FAMILIES AND
CARERS
CLICK HERE
for
info on the National
Federation of Parents, Families and Carers. |
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MAKING IT PERSONAL
Charlie Leadbeater, Jamie
Bartlett and Niamh Gallagher have authored this highly
influential Demos Report on Self-Directed Services
and Personal Budgets.
CLICK HERE
to read
Making It Personal. |
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THIRD WAY FORUM
Communitarianism,
Mutualism, Third Way Thinking
CLICK HERE
to find out more. |
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SUBSCRIBE
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Family Carers
There are
2.7million family carers of people with a disability, a chronic
or mental illness, or aged frailty in Australia. They are
invisible to politicians and policy makers.
Read more... |
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How to Use this Website
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If you are visiting
this website for the first time, please note that there are two
sets of links - one at the top of each page; and a second down
the left hand and right hand side columns on our various
projects.
Click on the links on the top of the page for information on the
Centre for Civil Society.
Use the
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