Investigation into allegations of improper conduct by officers of VicRoads

The investigation found that that some VicRoads enforcement officers routinely exceeded the speed limit in VicRoads vehicles without displaying lights or sirens, as required by the road rules. Foreword This report sets out the investigation into a protected disclosure complaint referred by IBAC to the Ombudsman in October 2014. The discloser alleged that it is “normal practice” for VicRoads Transport Safety Services staff caught speeding in VicRoads vehicles to avoid a fine by claiming unjustifiable exemptions. In effect, the allegation was that some VicRoads staff break the road rules with impunity. Victorian road rules are clear: road users may not exceed the speed limit, unless the special exemptions for drivers of police, emergency, enforcement and escort vehicles apply. The rationale for both the road rules and the exemptions is unarguably about public safety. Not only did some staff routinely break the rules, the process for investigating infringements and approving exemptions was seriously deficient. Exemptions were approved on no or minimal evidence, and with no or minimal rationale. Senior staff responsible for approving exemptions were not even aware that lights or sirens were necessary. &nbsp

Strengthening the state: a snapshot of Victoria’s community sector charities

Victoria’s community sector organisations make a significant contribution to strengthening the state’s economy and society. They generate high levels of economic activity, employment and volunteer support. They deliver positive service and advocacy programs that help people overcome disadvantage and build brighter futures. Through doing this, they help build strong, cohesive self-reliant communities. This report aims to provide a snapshot of community sector organisations operating as registered charities in Victoria. These charities form a sizeable part of the Victorian community sector, aiming primarily to support people to overcome disadvantage and poverty.  Key findings of this report include that, at the close of the 2012–13 financial year: There were 2,672 community sector charities operating in Victoria. Community sector charities employed almost 97,000 Victorians, equating to more than 3% of the Victorian workforce and employing more people than some other key industries, including the electricity, gas, water and waste services (34,900), rental, hiring and real estate services (47,300), information, media and telecommunications (64,000), arts and recreation services (69,600) and agriculture, forestry and fishing (82,200) industries. With Victoria’s unemployment and youth unemployment rates at their highest levels in decades, it is important to recognise the community sector as a key employer and crucial to tackling unemployment in this state. Approximately $13 billion in income was generated by Victorian community sector charities. In future years the ACNC is set to collect financial data in its AIS, which will enable a closer estimate to be made. The value of community sector charities to Victoria’s society and economy is leveraged further by a significant volunteer workforce. Almost 135,000 people were volunteering through community sector charities, on top of the contribution of almost 97,000 paid workers in the sector. Some sub-sectors of the Victorian charities community sector were almost completely reliant on volunteers to deliver services. The majority of community sector charities support multiple beneficiary groups, reflecting the diversity of multiple and complex needs within the community.  The full reporting burden on Victorian community sector charities is difficult to assess from the data analysed in this report, and warrants further research. VCOSS advocates that reporting obligation data become mandatory in future AIS reporting, to enable a complete picture of the burden of reporting obligations to be obtained

Building on the value of Victoria’s community sector

Building on the value of Victoria’s community sector goes beyond the sector’s economic contribution. It discusses the value of all Victoria’s community sector organisations, including those operating with registered charitable status and those operating without. The paper also outlines broader aspects of the community sector’s value than just the economic. These include the sector’s unique ability to amplify the voice of people facing disadvantage and build relationships with those who most need support, its diversity, its innovative and collaborative nature, its focus on prevention and early intervention, and its ability to build community cohesion and wellbeing. While outlining these, Building on the value of Victoria’s community sector also outlines ways in which this value can be further built on, to generate even more benefit for people and communities facing disadvantage, and Victoria as a whole

Keeping our mob healthy in and out of prison

The prison health system presents an opportunity to improve Aboriginal prisoners’ health and wellbeing, diagnose and treat health and mental health problems, and mitigate the effects of harmful behaviours. Executive summary The prison health system presents an opportunity to improve Aboriginal prisoners’ health and wellbeing, diagnose and treat health and mental health problems, and mitigate the effects of harmful behaviours. Improving prison health systems for Aboriginal people can also reduce high rates of postrelease hospitalisation and mortality experienced by Aboriginal prisoners and improve quality of life. Aboriginal prisoners experience higher rates of health and mental health problems than non-Aboriginal prisoners. The impact on prison health care is foreshadowed by consistent increases in the number of Aboriginal people imprisoned in Victoria each year. One in 33 Aboriginal males is imprisoned in Victoria at any one time, and the rate of overrepresentation is increasing for both Aboriginal men and women. More than 50% of Aboriginal people released from Victorian prisons return within two years, which places increasing importance on continuity of care. With large numbers of Aboriginal people moving in and out of the prison system, a strong relationship should exist between prison health services and prisoners’ community health and mental health provider. The 28 Aboriginal Community Controlled health Organisations (ACCHOs) and their auspiced organisations across Victoria are located within 55km of all Victorian prisons. ACCHOs are a critical extension of prison health care given Aboriginal prisoners access ACCHOs more frequently than mainstream services in the community. ACCHOs’ comprehensive support and engagement of Aboriginal people plays a big part in improving quality of life and improving poor health and mental health outcomes by providing a holistic, healing health service. The Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), with support from the Victorian Government Department of Justice, explored ways to improve continuity of care for Aboriginal people in Victorian prisons and identify ways to improve relationships and partnerships between ACCHOs and prison health services. ACCHOs, prison health services, and Koori support staff members from the Department of Justice were interviewed and their responses analysed for common themes. We found no relationship or partnership between ACCHOs and prison health services interviewed despite policy references requiring it within the Justice Health Policy and Quality Framework (attached to the prison health services contracts). Responses also indicated that prison health service systems were not meeting cultural safety policy standards. ACCHOs identified several areas in need of improvement to assist Aboriginal prisoner health including prisoner release planning and the transfer of health information. Given the low level of contact between ACCHOs and prison health services there were few working examples that could be shared. A list of recommendations based on interview responses, a literature review and exploration of non-Victorian models is presented as a first step in improving health and mental health outcomes for Aboriginal prisoners

Building Non-Monogamies: Race, Quare Sexual Politics, and the (Im)possibilities of Non-monogamy

From the Washington University Office of Undergraduate Research Digest (WUURD), Vol. 12, 05-01-2017. Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Joy Zalis Kiefer, Director of Undergraduate Research and Associate Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences; Lindsey Paunovich, Editor; Helen Human, Programs Manager and Assistant Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. Mentor: Shanti Parik

Investigation into the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners in Victoria

A whole-of-government approach focused on reducing offending is a key recommendation of this report tabled today by the Victorian Ombudsman. From the media release Between 2009 and 2012, the Victorian prison population rose by just under 11%. In the subsequent three years, this growth has more than doubled to 25%. Over the past five years the recidivism rate has increased by 10.8% and the Corrections budget has increased by 31%. ‘Prison is a temporary solution – over 99% of prisoners will be released. Victoria needs to ensure their rehabilitation and reintegration to improve public safety and get better value for the $1 billion annual spend, ’ says Ombudsman Deborah Glass. ‘ As prisons have become more crowded, the response has been to build more of them. While conditions inside prisons deteriorate under pressure, the rate of return is increasing. Building more prisons is demonstrably not making us safer as a community. For such enormous public investment we should be seein g much better returns,’ said Ms Glass. ‘Long term solutions do not lie within the walls of our prisons or with a single government department. Victoria needs a whole - of - government approach to focus on the causes of crime rather than its consequences, ’ Ms Glass said. ‘If we continue in this way, current trends in both prisoner numb ers and cost mean it will not be long before we have to make hard decisions between prison beds or hospital beds, better schools or more security,’ Ms Glass said. Key among the report’s findings are that an increase in prisoner numbers sparked by reforms to sentencing, bail and parole arrangements is reducing access to programs aimed at reducing recidivism. ‘ The public expects violent offenders to serve time, but offenders must also be better coming out than when they went in if we’re going to reduce crim e. We also know that prison is the most expensive option and that there are alternative 1 approaches which work well in appropriate cases to change offender behaviour and reduce reoffending,’ Ms Glass said. Women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pr isoners were a particular focus in the report . While these two groups represent a comparatively small percentage of the prison population, their numbers are growing at a greater rate than the overall average. ‘For women, s pecific services within prisons a re limited, so the solutions must lie in alternatives to incarceration and greater support , including in tr ansition and housing,’ Ms Glass said. Given the level of disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their over - rep resentation in custody, the report finds there is a compelling case for more action to reduce both the number of prisoners in the first instance and the re - offending rate. ‘ As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda has pointed out, it is shameful that we do better at keeping Aboriginal people in prison s than we do schools,’ noted Ms Glass. Re - offending rates are unlikely to improve without urgent action, with the investigation finding that recidivism rates are hi ghe st among people aged 18 to 25 . Over half of young prisoners ret urn to prison within two years, setting up a cycle of offending that can last a lifetime. ‘ Despite a demonstrable effect on recidivism rates, Victoria has only one dedicated youth unit, housin g 35 of the 751 young offenders in adult prisons. Interventions targeted towards young offenders – through diversion or within the prison system – provide a significant opportunity to break the cycle befor e it becomes entrenched,’ Ms Glass sai

Universities: 2014 audit snapshot

This report sets out the key outcomes from financial audits of the eight universities and their 51 controlled entities for the year ending 31 December 2014. Summary Parliament, and the citizens of Victoria, can have confidence in the 2014 financial reports of the universities and their controlled entities, except for the following audit qualifications. Three entities, including the University of Melbourne and Deakin University, were qualified because of their incorrect recognition of Commonwealth Government grants. The qualifications on the universities have been in place for a number of years and are long standing issues that remain unresolved. Including an adjustment for these qualifications, the universities produced a net surplus of $537.1 million for the 2014 financial year ($446.5 million for 2013). This large net surplus, when combined with their strong liquidity position, means most universities are considered to be low financial sustainability risks. However, there are some emerging longer-term sustainability risks that need to be monitored relating to the replacement or renewal of their assets. Universities will need to respond promptly to any changes by the Commonwealth government to the funding model, so that they remain financially sustainable—as $2.7 billion of the universities\u27 revenue came from the Commonwealth in 2014 ($2.6 billion in 2013), excluding capital grants. As public bodies, universities are accountable for all public money spent and therefore must have the required documentation and support to demonstrate value for money was achieved. This was not the case when we looked at travel and accommodation spending by universities, which totalled $137 million in 2014. While there are frameworks in place to control this expenditure, these frameworks were not comprehensive, and our testing showed the policies and procedures were not routinely adhered to

Victoria’s consumer protection framework for building construction

This audit assessed the effectiveness of the consumer protection framework for domestic building construction. Summary The audit examined the performance of Victorian Building Authority, Building Practitioners Board, Consumer Affairs Victoria and Victorian Managed Insurance Authority as they provide functions key to building regulation and to the consumer protection framework in domestic building. The report makes recommendations to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victorian Building Authority, Building Practitioners Board, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Department of Treasury and Finance and Victorian Managed Insurance Authority to improve the framework and its implementation. Prompt action is required to ensure domestic building consumers are appropriately protected