Social Ventures Australia

12/08/2026

How can Thriving Kids deliver the right support for children and families, in places they know and trust?

Thriving Kids is rolling out from October to provide supports for children and families with developmental delay and autism. We know that children have better outcomes when support is delivered in trusted settings and enabled by joined-up governance and coordination that keeps children and families at the centre.

Drawing on our work with Early Childhood Hubs, our new brief shares practical lessons for designing Thriving Kids so support is integrated, trusted and centred on
children and families.

Read the brief now 👇
https://www.socialventures.org.au/about/publications/designing-the-thriving-kids-initiative-so-it-works-for-families/

Department of Education, Victoria | Department of Premier and Cabinet | Human Services SA | The Front Project | National Child and Family Hubs Network (Murdoch Children's Research Institute - MCRI)

This brief outlines what governments can do to make Thriving Kids integrated, accessible and effective for children and families.

12/08/2026

Every five years, the Census gives us an important picture of Australia's people and communities, and it's one many social impact organisations rely on to inform their work.

But while it remains a valuable source of data, it won’t be available quickly. Alex Batchen shares how organisations can combine existing and historical Census data with more frequently updated public data, their own organisational inputs and the voices of community to build deeper insights that support better decision making.

Discover how Flourish Australia , Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation Inc (VACCHO) and Centacare NSW have taken a data-led approach to managing some of their most complex decisions.

Read here 👇

Organisations that drive social impact are increasingly relying on data like the Census to build actionable strategies, and to inform their business planning and decision making.

11/08/2026

✨ Upcoming webinar ✨
Stronger Together: Connecting Schools, Health and Community for Thriving Kids

17 August 2026, 12:00 -1:00 pm AEST

Schools are supporting an increasing number of children with developmental delays, learning challenges and additional needs – often while families struggle to access support services, facing long wait times and complex referral processes.

Join this free webinar to learn how bringing education, health and community organisations together in and around the local school can provide earlier, more coordinated support for children and families, while easing pressure on school staff.

Hear practical lessons from Yudi Gunyi School, and the Kalgal Burnbona program, and discover approaches that can improve children’s learning, development, health and wellbeing, as well as family wellbeing and engagement.

Register here 👉https://mcri.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Zz8FZSMvRD-RwIP6iGAhUw #/registration

Murdoch Children's Research Institute - MCRI
Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth

04/08/2026

Today is National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day, led by SNAICC-National Voice for our Children. This year's theme, Living Our Truth, honours truth-telling and the sharing of knowledge and stories across generations.

SVA is proud to support the work of First Nations communities and organisations in the early years space, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Operated Organisations (ACCOs), which provide amazing services to their communities.

Learn more here 👉 https://www.snaicc.org.au/our-work/campaigns/childrens-day/celebrate-childrens-day/

30/07/2026

The Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI) grants are a game-changer for purpose-driven enterprises, and we are thrilled about the program's extension and the newly opened First Nations round!

We’ve had the privilege of helping some incredible SEDI grant recipients refine their strategies, strengthen financial models and better measure their social value.

Here’s what one of our partners had to say:
"The SEDI grant helped us build an SROI that puts a dollar value on the real economic power of culturally safe, relational support for First Nations businesses. If you want to measure your impact and scale your purpose-driven enterprise, look into applying for this next round!" – Sarah Hyland, Managing Director of Together Business.

With new SEDI grant rounds now open, eligible social enterprises can access up to $120k to invest in their growth.

If you are applying and need an experienced capability-building partner, reach out to see if SVA Consulting would be a good fit.

Read more https://www.socialventures.org.au/our-impact/capacity-building-opportunities-for-social-enterprises/

The Australian Government has announced an extension of the SEDI Grants program, unlocking approximately $2.6 million in funding.

28/07/2026

Good workplace supervision can make the difference between a young person staying in work or leaving it. Yet many supervisors receive little guidance on how to support young employees effectively.

Join us for a webinar exploring new research into workplace supervision for young Australians. Featuring lead researcher Professor Swee-Hoon Chuah from the Tasmanian Behavioural Lab, we'll share key findings, practical insights for employers and service providers, and what this means for improving employment outcomes.

Whether you work directly with young people or influence employment policy and practice, this session will help you create workplaces where young people can succeed.

Learn more and register now

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

23/07/2026

Measure, value and communicate impact with confidence.
In partnership with SIMNA, we are looking forward to delivering our accredited Social Value & SROI Training in Sydney next month.

Designed for professionals working across ESG, sustainability, social impact, community investment, evaluation and procurement, this practical two-day course provides the tools and frameworks to understand, measure and value the social, economic and environmental outcomes your organisation creates.

🗓 17-18 August 2026, 9:00am-4:30pm each day
📍Where: Rydges Sydney Central
Facilitator: Simon Faivel

Register now!
https://www.socialventures.org.au/about-us/consulting/social-value-sroi-training/
Find out more

Australia's premier accredited training course unpacking Social Value and SROI

22/07/2026

Libraries are powerful platforms for social connection.

We were proud to partner with State Library Victoria to strengthen the evidence base demonstrating how public libraries help people connect, belong and thrive.

At a time when loneliness is a growing challenge, Victorian libraries are playing a vital role in fostering wellbeing and community connection – with more than 24 million visits each year.

Together, we developed a shared framework and practical toolkit to help libraries measure and communicate their contribution to social connection through four key pathways: places, programs, people and partnerships.

We're excited to see this work supporting public libraries across Victoria to better demonstrate their impact and advocate for future investment.
https://www.socialventures.org.au/our-impact/why-libraries-are-good-for-us/

With State Library Victoria, we have gathered the evidence base to demonstrate the impact public libraries deliver in combatting loneliness.

21/07/2026

Last month we launched the ninth Employer Innovation Lab – this time in Melbourne’s West.

Supported by Workforce Australia’s Local Jobs Program, the Lab brought together employers to explore practical ways to improve opportunities for young people in the area facing barriers to employment.

During the first workshop, participants heard from a panel of employers that had already tested new approaches to hiring and supporting young people. Their experience showed that creating more accessible pathways into work often starts with looking at systems, processes, and assumptions inside organisations.

Read the full article

SVA’s Employer Innovation Lab brought employers from across Melbourne’s West together to explore workforce challenges and identify ways to ensure more young people can access quality jobs.

20/07/2026

Traditional corporate volunteering is evolving, and despite record participation rates since 2019, hours are not equating to impact.

“There's an opportunity for corporates to deliver real and genuine value to the social sector and for that contribution to be more significant than it currently is,” says our Head of Engagement and Corporate Partnerships, Amanda Brisot.

In this article Amanda and Helena Morrison tell us about the candid conversations they have with corporate partners in order to uncover the shared value for everyone involved. Working with Australian Payment Plus (AP+), they’ve moved beyond a ‘tick box’ approach to corporate volunteering, designing an experience that delivers unique benefits for the team at AP+, and genuine, tangible solutions for SVA and the communities we serve.

Have a read and let us know what you think.

Find out how we're working with Australian Payments Plus (AP+) to move beyond a tick-box approach to corporate volunteering.