Championing sector wellbeing at the National NFP Roundtable

 Read the full summary via the Institute of Community Directors Australia here.

This week, Benefolk Founder and CEO Julia Keady joined national sector leaders at the Not-for-Profit Roundtable in Canberra, hosted by Ministers Andrew Leigh MP and Tanya Plibersek MP.

Julia contributed to the discussion by calling for a stronger government focus on the mental health and wellbeing of the social sector workforce, highlighting the direct link between sector wellbeing and increased productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. She noted that the sector continues to have the highest rate of mental health injury claims of any industry - a challenge that requires urgent, coordinated action.

Julia also acknowledged the role of philanthropy and sector collaboration - including partners such as Justice Connect and Infoxchange - in funding wellbeing and innovation initiatives, and shared how Benefolk’s Wellbeing Resource Hub is supporting this work.

Echoing many in the room, Julia emphasised that reform must not overlook the small organisations that make up over half of the sector. She urged greater investment in capacity building and capability supports in the sector, strengthening the confidence and skills of NFP boards who are governing the sector for impact, and reducing single-year funding to allow better planning and evaluation timelines - especially for smaller organisations.

Benefolk extends thanks to Ministers Leigh and Plibersek for convening this important conversation and driving much-needed reform in our sector.
Read the full summary via the Institute of Community Directors Australia here.