Timings
We are getting ready to commission with further timings to be shared, this is where we are at:
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Discover Cycle 1 – February – March 2021
We are revisiting collaboration outcomes from workshops in early 2022 to determine opportunities to further clarify advocacy scope and innovation.
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Discover Cycle 2- October 2022 to April 2023
We are revisiting collaboration outcomes from workshops in early 2022 to determine opportunities to further clarify advocacy scope and innovation.
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Strategise November 2023
Cycle 1 – April 2022 / Cycle 2 – April to November 2023
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Design June 2024
Cycle 1 – March 2018 to June 2019 / Cycle 2 – February to June 2024
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Invest June 2022
Cycle 1 – May – June 2022 / Cycle 2 – N/A
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Deliver June 2024
Cycle 1 – July 2019 – June 2024 / Cycle 2 – June 2024 – onwards
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Evaluate 2024 onwards
Cycle 1 – 2021 – 2027 / Cycle 2 – 2024 – onwards
Latest update – October 2023
We are in the second cycle of commissioning, exploring how funded peak organisations can be effective and impactful across multiple commissioning cycles and the reform of the whole human service system.
Together, government, and funded peak organisations will focus on impact and reform when they participate in a collaborative workshop on 30 October 2023.
Informing the workshop, will be insights gained through the first consumer and industry peaks’ reports. Longer funding arrangements were established in mid-2023 for consumer and industry peak organisations and the government has received the first annual reports under these new arrangements. We are working through the reports and with funded peaks to ensure we are capturing a consistent snapshot of the efforts, advocacy and strategic role of the sectors leading organisations.
To learn more about the process email Health and Community Services Directorate: HCSDCommissioning@act.gov.au
Cycle: 1
Commissioner: Community Services Directorate and ACT Health Directorate
Status: Delivery
We maintain collaboration between sector partners and commissioner to deliver the desired outcomes. In this phase we will:
- Establish our partnership that ensures:
- service outcomes are met and evidenced with data
- the voices of people with lived experience continuously inform service delivery
- maintain dialogue that meets the needs of commissioner and service provider
- promote open, transparent conversations regarding risks, challenges and opportunities
- Cultivate flexible service delivery
- Demonstrate impact through outcomes reporting
- Deliver in partnership to meet the needs of the community through the service
Cycle: 2
Status: Discover
We identify and document what we already know and what could be possible to explore through the commissioning cycle. In this phase we will:
- Undertake a discovery – what do we already know? What questions do we need to explore?
- Identify who could be involved in the commissioning cycle
- Plan the timings of the commissioning cycle through to delivery
- Plan engagement and collaboration activities and timings
- Establish the webpage to keep participants informed
Background
Commissioning is our opportunity to ensure consumer and industry peak bodies representing the health and community sector are providing effective advocacy for policy, reform and sustainability of human service system that supports the needs of our growing population within the ACT, currently at 467,000 people.
Effective advocacy of consumer and industry peak bodies informs the service and support mix that meets the needs of vulnerable people in our community.
Consumer and industry peak organisations within the ACT had short-term funding arrangements that were different for each organisation. This made it challenging for organisations to build trust or engage effectively and meaningfully with government or commissioners. Funding agreements also focused on outputs delivered by organisations rather than understanding the impact of their collective work.
Commissioning is an opportunity to provide greater funding certainty with longer agreement terms and to clarify the advocacy scope and potential for impact.
Engagement and collaboration
The Commissioner (government) engaged and collaborated with consumer and peak organisations to co-design new grant arrangements. Through workshops, participants reviewed existing grant arrangements, set shared objectives, and defined a framing statement to guide all community and health sector advocacy arrangements in the ACT.
Consumer and peak organisations began delivery of advocacy under the new arrangements in 2022, with elements of the advocacy scope and areas for further collaboration and sector innovation subject to a second cycle of commissioning from October 2022 to June 2024.
Contact us
To learn more about the process email Health and Community Services Directorate: HCSDCommissioning@act.gov.au
What we are looking at, listening to, and sharing
We are working with consumer and peak organisations to:
- Support advocacy across multiple commissioning cycles
- Identify emerging community needs and service gaps
- Developing better linkages and opportunities for industry innovation
- Inform commissioning as a reform of the whole human service system
- Determine initiatives that support sector sustainability
Who is involved
We continue to work with consumer and peak organisations for the health and community sector in the ACT.
Community sector | Health sector |
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ACT Council of Social Services ACT Shelter Carers ACT Council on the Ageing ACT Families ACT National Disability Services Volunteering ACT Youth Coalition of the ACT | Women’s Centre for Health Matters Health Care Consumers Association ACT Mental Health Consumer Network Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Association Mental Health Community Coalition Palliative Care ACT |
We also listen to a wide range of perspectives and experiences from people with lived experience who engage with and benefit from the advocacy of consumer and peak organisations in the ACT.
We will use your views to
- Innovate ways we can address the service gaps across the sector
- Continuously learn from commissioning experiences
- Ensure commissioning outcomes are in line with the ACT Wellbeing Framework
- Drive sector sustainability initiatives and capability development
Related commissioning cycles
We are listening to, connecting with, and drawing from all active commissioning cycles.
Key links
We are referencing the following plans, strategies, and frameworks in this cycle:
Page updated: 26 Nov 2025
