Mission Australia
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Mission Australia is a non-denominational, not for profit organisation that helps people in need.
Operating all around Australia and providing more than 450 services , Mission Australia's vision is to see a fairer Australia by enabling people in need to find pathways to a better life.
Mission Australia works with individuals, families, young people, and communities that are highly disadvantaged and have been doing so for close to 150 years. All of their programs inspire self-confidence and hope by helping people to tap into their own resources, overcome disadvantage and pursue more positive, independent lives.
Focusing more on long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes, all of Mission Australia’s work reflects their values of compassion, integrity, respect, perseverance and celebration.
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[edit] History
In the nineteenth century, Australia consisted of developing colonial settlements living among hundreds of Aboriginal tribes. These colonial settlements were sites of tremendous deprivation. Identifying a clear need for help, the City Mission movement, which had developed in the United Kingdom, found itself taking root in Australia.
In 1859 the Town and Country Mission (later to be known as the Brisbane City Mission) was established, making it the second oldest charitable organisation in Queensland.
In 1860, Benjamin Short, a newly arrived immigrant from England, was appalled by the poverty that existed in Sydney at the time; “I had a burning desire to do something to awaken sufficient interest in the minds of my fellow citizens to commence a purely unsectarian mission on the same lines of the London City Mission.” So, in 1862 he established the Sydney City Mission.
Over the next century, other City Missions were formed around the country by people concerned about the spiritual and physical needs of those living in poverty.
The City Missions operated in a time before government welfare or unemployment benefits existed and they were called upon to save many families from starvation. During the recession of 1890 and the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Mission halls were overflowing with people in need.
As the years progressed, so did the approach of these City Missions to their care of the disadvantaged and needy in their communities. Handouts and ‘soup lines’ were replaced with structured programs that looked at the causes of problems, and sought to find long-term solutions. Attempts were made to provide holistic assistance catering for people’s emotional, physical, social and spiritual needs.
In 1978, Sydney City Mission started providing employment services, through its Vocational Employment Training Scheme (VETS). These employment services expanded to other areas of NSW, WA and SA. The Federal Government privatised the role of employment services in 1998 and Mission Australia won a significant share of those programs. We are still one of the biggest employment providers in Australia today.
Meanwhile, back in 1989, Mission SA approached Sydney City Mission to find out ways in which they could work together. In response, a separate organisation was created, called Mission Australia.
Over the years that followed, Sydney City Mission, Mission SA, Wollongong City Mission, Perth City Mission, Brisbane City Mission, Mission Australia Northern NSW, Mission Australia Southern NSW, Mission Australia Group Training and Mission Employment all joined forces.
As a result, in 2000, the ‘mission family’ officially came together as Mission Australia - a single, unified organisation to provide an integrated approach to meet Australia’s changing social needs. [1]
[edit] Services
Mission Australia Community Services walk alongside people in need to help them find:
Pathways to strong families and healthy, happy children
They help by:
- Working in disadvantaged communities with children, their siblings and their parents to help build stronger, more resilient families and to create opportunities for change - Assisting families in developing new skills for managing conflict and crises - Working with local communities to support families and children - Supporting grandparents who have primary care of their grandchildren
Pathways away from homelessness
They help by:
- Offering services that prevent homelessness from occurring such as mental health support, financial counselling, literacy support, and family and individual support - Providing crisis and transitional accommodation when homelessness does occur
Pathways through a successful youth
They help by:
- Assisting young people to overcome drug and alcohol dependency, and avoid anti-social behaviour - Intervening early to assist young people at risk of homelessness or family breakdown - Assisting young people to stay at or re-enter school, take up other education opportunities or engage in training and employment - Working with young people to build their self-esteem and help them become more resilient
For information about Mission Australia community services in your state, please visit their website.
[edit] Support Mission Australia
Your donation to Mission Australia can transform the life of someone who is homeless, facing crisis, unemployed or whose family life has been shattered.
Did you know that in 2007 Mission Australia:
- Helped more than 302,275 disadvantaged Australians
- Delivered more than 450 services across Australia
- Delivered 73,436 people into jobs
- Allocated 94% of our overall revenue into the delivery of our services
Our aim is to empower Australian’s in need by supporting them to get their lives back on track. With your generous support, Mission Australia is able to offer more than 450 services that:
- Combat homelessness
- Assist families and children to overcome hardship
- Support disadvantaged young people
- Deliver entry-level training
- Help unemployed people find permanent work
How you can help
[edit] Research & Social Policy
Mission Australia regularly publishes snapshots, advocacy papers and major reports on key social issues, including: families and children, homelessness, youth, social inclusion, poverty, employment, and community building.
Check out the Social Policy Reports and Seminars
Mission Australia Youth Survey
Our seventh annual survey for Australians aged between 11 and 24 has opened. Your answers will help improve services for young people, click below to start the survey.
[edit] Mission Australia Training Institute
The Mission Australia Training Institute (MATI) is a full-service training organisation that empowers people to gain skills and qualifications to find a job, or improve their current work circumstances. We are conveniently located in every state and territory, with access to training locations in over 350 sites across metropolitan and regional Australia.
With access to over 200 experienced and practical trainers and consultants, MATI delivers over 70 nationally recognised programs across many industry sectors. We work closely with private and public sector organisations, to develop focused and customised training programs to upgrade their staff and management capabilities.
Our industry based programs help participants earn nationally recognised qualifications across a range of careers, from aged care, employment and community services to the business services sector.
The Mission Australia Training Institute is also a leading provider of Language, Literacy and Numeracy programs across the country. Through these programs many students are finding pathways to new careers in manufacturing, mining and commerce. In many remote and regional sites we are working with indigenous and disadvantaged communities, in partnership with major employers, to use these Language Literacy and Numeracy programs to bring people to a work ready status.
For students and employees, MATI can:
- Provide a range of training & development options.
- Offer Vocational Education and Training (VET) in schools – nationally recognised training that is available to senior students as part of the normal school curriculum.
- Map out course selections that are nationally recognised and totally portable for career development.
- Recommend a comprehensive range of professional development courses and activities.
- Provide advice and support training to develop language, literacy and numeracy skills.
For corporate clients, MATI's national team of training and development professionals can:
- Design Skills courses to assist operational efficiency.
- Provide training needs analyses and skills audits to develop flexible customised corporate training programs on a fee-for-service basis.
- Develop and deliver customised programs that focus on learning outcomes to support business directions.
- Provide optional delivery methods and formats to match our clients’ operational requirements.
- Design and contextualise training delivery and assessments to meet our clients’ corporate objectives.
- Offer a wide range of apprenticeships or traineeships for both new and existing employees (giving employees the opportunity to gain nationally recognised qualifications through on-the-job training).
- Provide ‘work-ready’ language, literacy and numeracy skills training to boost entry-level skills for those employees aspiring to improve their knowledge.
- Recommend qualifications within the vocational education and training sector; and advise on available Government funding initiatives.
MATI's scope of registration covers over 70 nationally recognised programs from Certificate I through to Diploma level across a wide range of industries. With a flexible and affordable approach to training, MATI can satisfy your training needs in a way that best suits you.
[edit] Mission Australia Aprenticeship Solutions
The Australian Apprenticeships Access Programme (the Access Programme) provides job seekers who experience barriers to employment, with pre vocational training, support and assistance to obtain and maintain an Australian Apprenticeship. The priority of the Access Programme is to obtain Australian Apprenticeship outcomes.
Other outcomes are employment and further education or training. The training provided through the Access Programme is nationally recognised under the Australian Quality Training Framework, is based on labour market needs, and is linked to an Australian Apprenticeship pathway.
Mission Australia's Access Programme helps eligible job seekers to become "job ready" by providing them with training in the basic skills required for the industry. This training will be of a minimum of 150 hours and will include nationally recognised training as well as other skills that employers value. These can include general work skills such as time management, organisational skills, communication skills and occupational health and safety.
The Access Programme offers individualised job search support for up to 13 weeks following the training to help the participant find a suitable Australian Apprenticeship. This will include assistance in finding a suitable position, writing a resume and preparing for an interview. The programme also offers post placement support and mentoring for the first 13 weeks of employment to assist in ensuring the participant maintains this employment.
Employers wishing to find an Australian apprentice may be eligible for an Australian Government incentive for Access Programme participants placed in an Australian Apprenticeship.
Access Programme participants must be genuinely interested in participating in the Access Programme; be interested in obtaining an Australian Apprenticeship in the targeted industry/s; meet the specified eligibility criteria before participating in the Access Programme; and ensure Centrelink activity testing compliance requirements are satisfied, where applicable.
Mission Australia is contracted to the Department of Education, Science and Training to provide this programme across many areas of Queensland, New South Wales, ACT, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Website Mission Australia Nationwide.
- Mission International
- David Nasmith - founder of the City Mission movement
- Mission Australia TV
- Travel Adventures
