Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

The social and community services (SACS) sector is funded, on average, 30 per cent by the Commonwealth, 30 per cent by states/territories and 40 per cent from the sector’s own resources – noting these proportions vary across providers and programs and states and territories.

In November 2011, the Prime Minister committed the Government to pay the Commonwealth’s share of any wage increases awarded as a result of an equal remuneration order by Fair Work Australia, and the equal remuneration decision of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission in 2009 relating to certain SACS workers in Queensland as applying from 1 December 2012. The Prime Minister announced on 15 July 2012 that the Commonwealth’s share of the wage increases equates to around $3 billion to June 2021.

The Commonwealth will be providing supplementation to providers that are funded to deliver Commonwealth funded social and community services programs that have been assessed as in-scope of the equal remuneration decisions. Supplementation will also extend to those providers that receive Commonwealth funding indirectly through the state and territory governments.