2015–16 Activity Statement—Community

Queenslanders want to reduce disadvantage, create opportunity, embrace diversity and work together so no one is left behind. We want our communities to be vibrant places where the contribution of everyone is valued and we all have opportunities to enrich the lives of others.

Queenslanders seek a united, harmonious and inclusive community that is free from discrimination, violence, poverty and prejudice. Our communities are our heartland—places where the Queensland spirit shines through.

Building safe, caring and connected communities is one of the Queensland Government’s objectives for the community. In 2015–16, the Queensland Government:

Creating jobs and a diverse economy

• announced a reduction in fares in South East Queensland and zone consolidation, making it easier and more affordable for people to connect to employment, education and other essential services
• started developing Regional Transport Plans, which will respond to community needs and reflect each region’s priorities
• engaged with local Indigenous peoples and businesses to support the local delivery and training outcomes of the Cape York Region Package, an road upgrade program jointly funded by the Australian Government
• worked with the Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council to enhance the technical capability of the local Indigenous crews as well as upgrade a critical piece of infrastructure, the Endeavour Valley Road, for the community
• supported Queensland’s small-to-medium arts sector through the $6.7 million Organisations Fund to create opportunities for local artists and cultural organisations, and the launch of the Queensland Arts Showcase Program to restore funding to the sector with more than $2 million invested in 63 projects across the state
• continued to remove bureaucratic roadblocks and other barriers to home ownership on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and created home ownership on freehold land to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders have access to home ownership

Delivering quality frontline services

• enhanced frontline service delivery to the community, including additional teachers, teacher aides, nurses, doctors, allied health professionals, paramedics, police and firefighters
• partnered with the Queensland Family and Child Commission to deliver Oneplace, an online Community Services Directory of more than 46,000 community services to help Queensland families find and access the right service at the right time
• supported Foster and Kinship Carer Week, National Volunteering Week, Seniors Week, Carers Week, Disability Action Week, Child Protection Week, National Youth Week and Grandparents’ Day
• continued to lead delivery and continuous improvement of information and services for Queenslanders via the seniors, youth, disability and community services franchises
• commenced the early launch of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) from 1 January 2016 in Townsville, Charters Towers and Palm Island
• ommissioned services to support people with high and complex disability support needs
• provided more than 2000 people with a disability with an increased choice of services through targeted support programs
• undertook a Joint Action Plan to find more suitable housing for people with a disability residing in health facilities
• implemented the Medical Director system, which provides the Specialist Disability Services Assessment and Outreach Team with document management, alerts and prioritisation of medical needs and the ability to directly request pathology, cytology and medical imaging services
• facilitated passage of the Multicultural Recognition Act 2016
• funded three new organisations over three years to deliver activities under the Community Action for a Multicultural Society program to strengthen social connectedness
• partnered with the State Library of Queensland and Telstra to establish the Tech Savvy Seniors Queensland program to help Queensland seniors develop digital literacy skills
• trialled a proactive approach where Queensland seniors are contacted when they turn 65 to notify them of concessions for which they may be eligible
• continued to assist pensioners, seniors, veterans and carers with cost-of-living expenses through a range of concession schemes
• provided additional funding over four years for initiatives to deliver the Queensland: an age-friendly community strategy and the recommendations from the Parliamentary inquiry into the adequacy of existing financial protections for Queensland’s seniors
• launched the Stolen Wages Scheme, a reparations scheme for Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people whose wages and savings were controlled under a range of racially discriminatory and coercive ‘Protection Acts’, which had been in force between 1897 and 1986
• launched an innovative online portal that allows land users, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parties, and members of the public to instantly access cultural heritage information maintained under the cultural heritage Acts
• provided funding to support structured sport and active recreation programs across 38 indigenous communities in Queensland and the Torres Strait region
• delivered the Get Going Clubs program, funding 540 local clubs providing initiatives that support sport and active recreation participation, and build organisational capacity
• supported 78 state-level sport and recreation organisations in the delivery and development of sport and active recreation across the state
• launched the Start Playing, Stay Playing Excellence Awards and launched the Join the Movement campaign to encourage women and girls to increase participation in sport and active recreation
• implemented recommendations of the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry through the Supporting Families, Changing Futures reform program as well as a range of new initiatives to deliver on the intent of the reforms
• reviewed policy issues arising from the work of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the implications of any relevant recommendations made
• launched the Queensland Women’s Strategy 2016–21 with a vision to make Queensland a place where all women and girls are respected, gender equality is embraced, and the rights, interests and wellbeing of women and girls are promoted and protected
• held the first Queensland Women’s Week with YWCA Queensland, including events for women and girls across Queensland
• hosted more than 1.2 million visitors at four major musicals and the biennial Out of the Box Festival for children at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre
• achieved visitation of more than 600,000 people to the eighth Asia Pacific Triennial exhibition (APT8) at the Queensland Art Gallery, drawing critical acclaim as one of Australia’s most important exhibitions

Building safe, caring and connected communities

• implemented the Government Champion program to strengthen the whole-of-government response to improving Indigenous outcomes in discrete communities
• launched the Amber Alert system to help locate abducted or high-risk missing children in imminent danger
• worked to make communities safer by continuing to tackle alcohol-fuelled violence around key entertainment precincts, targeting serious and organised crime, and maintaining the Polair 2 police helicopter
• focused on road safety initiatives as part of a continuing commitment to eliminate the human road toll of death and debilitating injury on our road network
• released the Working together for better housing and sustainable communities discussion paper and conducted extensive public consultation to inform the development of a new 10-year Queensland Housing Strategy
• set up an independent tenancy advisory service for Queensland tenants
• rogressed initiatives to build resilient communities and ensure community preparedness for disaster events including:
• partnered with local governments across the state to provide guidance and support in the development of Local Disaster Management Plans (LDMP), including supporting Indigenous communities to conduct hazard risk assessments as part of their LDMP
• conducted Operation Cool Burn, designated from 1 April to 31 July each year, driving a proactive focus on community education and assisting landowners and occupiers to plan hazard mitigation, reducing the risk of bushfire in prone locations
• expanded the Risk Evaluation and Disaster Information portal (REDI-PORTAL), a mapping and information tool that assists bushfire managers and agency stakeholders
• modernised communications and social media capabilities, and improved mechanisms to enhance interoperability with recovery organisations
• developed the DeployMe application to provide Community Recovery Ready Reserve members with access to information about disaster events and community profiles
• developed the Community Recovery Grants Portal to make it easier for people to access and receive community recovery financial assistance and support services online or over the phone via the Community Recovery Hotline
• promoted a range of preparedness and resilience initiatives including the Queensland State Disaster Management Plan, the Queensland Strategy for Disaster Resilience, the RACQ Get Ready Queensland campaign and local government activities
• trialed intensive case management at Caboolture Youth Justice Service Centre with serious young offenders
• continued the Abandoned Mine Lands Program, comprising assessment and close-out of public safety risks for abandoned and disclaimed mines
• helped fund community sport and recreation infrastructure developments including upgrades to statewide national parks infrastructure, Brisbane Racing Club – Eagle Farm, walking tracks on Magnetic Island, new or upgraded sport and facility projects through the Get Playing Places and Spaces program, the Townsville Sports and Recreation Precinct, Queensland State Netball Centre, Rockhampton Riverfront and Yeppoon Foreshore Revitalisation and support for the development of the North Queensland Stadium
• provided Kowanyama State School students with a fit-for-purpose, all-terrain school bus to safely and comfortably take up to 19 students on unsealed roads and across washed out creek beds to other remote schools in the Cape York region
• redeveloped the Sport and Recreation Sponsorship Guidelines to support participation initiatives and events, enhance the focus on regional areas, and recognise stronger community and social cohesion outcomes
• introduced Murri Courts in 13 locations across the state, providing opportunities for members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community (including Elders and victims) to participate in a court process that requires defendants to take responsibility for their offending behaviour but which respects and acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture
• strengthened the justice system’s response to domestic and family violence in Queensland, including:
• trialing a specialist domestic and family violence court at Southport
• providing funding to expand the Domestic Violence Duty Lawyer Service across the state through Legal Aid Queensland
• establishing an independent Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board, comprised of multi disciplinary experts, to review deaths occurring in a domestic and family violence context to identify common systemic failures, gaps or issues and make recommendations to improve systems, practices and procedures to prevent future deaths
• introducing a range of amendments to legislation governing domestic and family violence offences
• continued to protect consumers in the marketplace
• improved support for victims of crime by engaging with the victim services sector
• continued the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) Justice of the Peace trial project that improves access to timely justice services by providing for JPs to hear some minor civil dispute matters before the tribunal
• responded to the Commission of Inquiry into Organised Crime in Queensland and supported the high-level taskforce established to review the criminal organisation laws
• rovided community and personal histories services through researchers and archivists assisting Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people reconnect with their families and traditional country
• led the Cultural Agency Leaders committee to implement the Queensland Government Cultural Capability Framework across Queensland to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural considerations and perspectives are an inherent part of core business
• undertook a review to examine the effectiveness of Alcohol Management Plans in communities to identify strategies to reduce the supply of, and demand for, alcohol, and reduce the harm associated with alcohol misuse
• promoted Dry Place Declarations through a factsheet, web content, an operational procedure anda regional engagement strategy. A dry place is a house where no alcohol is allowed and is available in all the discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, as well as Mossman Gorge and Coen.
• funded the Opportunity Hub, to support community members to access economic and social opportunities, and the Parenting Program, to build the capacity of parents and carers of children and young people. Both programs are part of the Welfare Reform initiative, which covers four Cape York communities, Aurukun, Hope Vale, Coen and Mossman Gorge
• supported the whole-of-government effort to achieve sustainable calm in Aurukun, working in collaboration with community leaders, including Aurukun Shire Council, Federal Government departments, community organisations and service providers>
• continued to promote the NDIS to Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people by participating in a number of whole-of-government forums
• established at least one Community Policing Board in each of the 15 police districts, providing the opportunity for local organisations and individuals to work together with police on strategies to address crime and safety issues
• led investigations, in partnership with the Police Citizens Youth Club, to identify and assess opportunities for private sector investment to fund a new facility in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
• assessed a market-led proposal to revitalise the Queensland Aquarium and Maritime Museum and showcase the diversity of Queensland’s rivers, islands, reefs and ocean environments

Read more about the Plan’s goals, targets and measures for community.