ACSWC

Welcome to the Australian Catholic Social Welfare Community – we cater to the needs and welfare of Catholics in Australia

Our mission is to advance and promote the ministry of Catholic social welfare as a significant part of the Church’s mission to be a sign of God’s kingdom in today’s world. In order to achieve this goal, we work with other Catholic welfare organisations, other churches, government, businesses, public institutions, and all other people of goodwill. We interact with them through the development of programs and policies that will enhance the inherent dignity of each person.

Board

We are the organisation that represents the interest and social welfare apostolate of the Catholic Church at the national level. As a body, we are responsible to the Catholic Bishops. The organisation is run by a board of 13 people appointed by the Catholic Bishops Conference, and members of the Board are drawn from several bodies such as the Bishop Conference, Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes, member agencies, and people who are experts in social sciences.

Membership

The membership of the organisation is selected from the various Catholic social welfare organisations that are under the authority of a religious order or diocesan Bishop and from other Catholic lay associations. Catholic social policy organisations and individuals operating at the state or local levels are also eligible to become Associate Members of our organisation. In this manner, we have an extensive network that covers the whole of Australia.

Goals

The organisation was established with a purpose, and this purpose is best summed up in our goals which are to work towards the social, spiritual, and economic well-being of the Australian community through:

Delivering high-quality social welfare services to local communities.
contributing to the social policy debate in line with the Social Teaching of the Church

For us to achieve these goals, the organisation has a research and policy division that focuses on developing new ideas, policies, and programs in line with the church teachings. The work of the division complimented our vast service delivery network.

Our Local Partners

Division

The organisation is made up of three core divisions:

Service Delivery and Coordination

This division is responsible for our extensive and diverse and extensive services for supporting Australian families. We are committed to delivering equitable, efficient, and non-discriminatory services to every community with the view to achieving sustainable outcomes.

Policy and Advocacy

This division deals with coordination, support, advocacy, advice, and social policy research in the social welfare field. To achieve this mandate, we speak with a strong and informed voice on issues of social policy and work to promote public discussion.

National Corporate Services

This division provides a variety of support services to Member Agencies in areas such as national group purchasing deals like discount accommodation and travel, Contract management, discounted membership of QANTAS Club, information on future conferences as well as access to other services.

National Secretariat

The purpose of the National Secretariat is to implement the Objectives of the national organisation and the directives of the Board. A Chief Executive Officer leads it.