Analysis of Community Service Organizations in Australia Essay

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of community service in Australia. It begins by defining community service and outlining the various services included, such as healthcare, neighborhood improvement, and services for senior citizens. The essay then delves into the history and development of community service in Australia, highlighting key milestones and the role of organizations like the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) and the Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA). A significant portion of the essay is dedicated to analyzing the roles of both government and non-government community service organizations, detailing their functions, funding, and contributions to social welfare. The essay concludes by emphasizing the interconnectedness of community development with the overall progress of the nation.

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RUNNING HEAD: AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY SERVICE
Research
based Essay
July 15
2019

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AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY SERVICE
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Meaning of Community Service................................................................................................2
Services included in Community services.................................................................................2
History and development of Community service in Australia...................................................3
Analysis of Government and Non-government community service organizations in Australia4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY SERVICE
Introduction
Community services are defined as the volunteer services provided for the betterment
of the community or society as a whole (Plieninger, Dijks, Oteros-Rozas, & Bieling, 2013).
The essay defines the need and meaning of community services and nature of services
involved in this field. It discusses the history of community services in Australia. It also
describes the organizations working for community services in the country. The different
programs undertaken by the government are mentioned in the study. It discusses the benefits
driven from the social services and work done by the government and non-government
sectors in the field. It explains the working of NGO (non-government organization) and
government organization for the community services job in Australia.
Meaning of Community Service
The services performed under this category are unpaid and that is why they are
socially driven rather than being profit driven. These things play an important role in building
a country’s internal infrastructure and management of the country as a whole. The people are
recognized as responsible citizens in their own eyes and in the eyes of others. There are
various kinds of services which are provided cost-free to the people in order to build the
society a better place to live in. The basic services that are provided in the Australian
community services to include; the health care facilities, improvement of the neighborhood,
services for senior citizens and other special volunteer services (McGorry, Bates, &
Birchwood, 2013).
Services included in Community services
Health care is the basic amenity that is the right of every citizen of the nation. A
nation of healthy and happy citizens is the wealthiest nation of the world. The volunteers

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provide health care facilities where they provide free health check-ups and assistance to the
needy people. Apart from that, the care done by the individuals of those in need like aged or
new-born humans who require a little extra care. In the neighborhood improvement efforts
are made to keep the roads, bridges, parks and other places clean (Light, Kerridge, Ryan, &
Robertson, 2012). Planting of trees, efforts made for uplifting the poor, helping in repairs and
maintenance of needy people homes are the services generally undertaken by the members.
For senior citizens, different programs are run which provides food, shelter, healthcare, and
care of the old people of the country who does not have anyone else. The special volunteer
services include volunteers at places such as events of the nation or state, libraries, hospitals,
the formation of NGO's and the social steps like these ones (Johnstone, Brough, Crane,
Marston, & Correa-Velez, 2016).
History and development of Community service in Australia
The first professional social work in the history of Australia was done by John
Lawrence at the beginning of the year 1960s. The prime focus of the social welfare was based
on the services of medical, healthcare, education, employment and the basic necessities like
them (McMillan, Wheeler, Sav, King, Whitty, Kendall, & Kelly, 2013). The formation of
AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers) was made to begin the social welfare as
professional work through the name of the organization. In Australia, the ACWA (Australian
Community Workers Association) is engaged in community work. It is the association which
was started before more than 45 years ago and is still engaged for the welfare of people and
society. They provide all types of assistance to the families and personnel to develop the
society and hence the nation. It is simple to understand that the more fulfilled the country is
the more are the chances of the citizens of the country to grow and vice versa. The Australian
Association provides all these services. They provide financial help to families and

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individuals in need. They provides career assistance to the students of their nation, help in
search of employment and placements, rehabilitation help to the needy youth and other
individuals, teaching and learning of different job work in order to earn living and many more
things which build society as a whole (Wong, Sumsion, & Press, 2012). The programs run by
the Department of social services include Bali Lifetime Rehabilitation Assistance Package,
Strong and Resilient Communities, Digital Literacy for Older Australians Program and other
for community support and development.
The corporates operating in the national economy and driving income from society
also owes a payback to the society in the form of social welfare. The donations and personal
services provided by the organizations to contribute to the enhancement in the living standard
of the people. Over a period of time, the member or contributors to this sector has been
continuously increasing. The education and understanding of the subject matter motivate
individuals to fulfill their social and national responsibility (Campbell, & Hunt, 2012). At
present, the ACWA is continuously supporting the people involved in community services
and trying to join as many people as they can to connect with the organization and input their
contribution to the welfare of the society. Hence, it is both the duty and right of every citizen
or person of the country to involve in the matter of community services.
Analysis of Government and Non-government community service organizations in
Australia
The goal of community services is to benefit people in every possible way such as;
physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual manner. It means the services are to provide
peace in the lives of the people associated with it (Donovan, Franklin, Guy, Grulich, Regan,
Ali, & Fairley, 2011). The community services are provided by both the government and
non-government organization set up for the purpose. These organizations do not have any

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profit motive for their respected entities but their aim of organizations remains the same. The
non-government organization which is engaged in the community service providing work is
known as NGOs (Non-Government Organizations).
There are the non-profit sectors which are called the community sectors in Australia.
This non-profit organization does not get any financial help from the Australian government
but arranges their own funds through volunteer contribution and donations from the profit-
making entities and other persons. This sector provides all the general community services
including the protection and care of the environment. They plant trees at public places and
spread awareness about keeping the environment clean and pollution-free (Head, 2011). They
offer volunteer works in hospitals, schools, training centers and other places of work. They
also encourage the population to support the cause and reduce the need for services in the
nation by promoting the self-dependence. This sector falls under the private organization
category as it does not take the assistance of any nature either financial or operational from
the government. But they are identified as NGO’s because these entities are just for the
purpose of serving and for making money in the market. A country is proud to have such
association in its territory as it shares the responsibility of the government.
The government sector organizations working for community services are as similar
to those of the non-profit organizations. But unlike the non-profit entity, these organizations
enjoy the benefit of funds received from the government treasury. The government sector
provides the general community services which are essential in the country to maintain the
balance in economy and standard of the people (Nam, & Pardo, 2011). Before the year 1960,
the government was not engaged in the community work to the current extent. But with the
introduction of AASW, the Australian government now have a department operating
programs for the community services, their development, the mental health of the people, and
every aspect of benefitting human lives. These organizations offer services like home care

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services for the aged or senior citizen of the nation, employment generation for the
individuals of the country, services for the proper care of children including medical services
and shelter, special encouragement programs for youths of the nation and the development of
the nation with the community development. The government sector has a clear aim of
achieving the non-biased and healthy environment for the people of the nation.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be understood that community services development was not always
good in Australia. It has developed over a period of time with the increase in the knowledge
and importance of community services in the country. At present, the country has a good
organizational design working for social welfare. Both the non-government and government
sectors take an interest in community services. It should be understood that the development
is an interrelated process and the development of society is the development of the nation and
thus the people of that country.

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References
Campbell, D., & Hunt, J. E. (2012). Achieving broader benefits from Indigenous land use
agreements: community development in Central Australia. Community Development
Journal, 48(2), 197-214.
Donovan, B., Franklin, N., Guy, R., Grulich, A. E., Regan, D. G., Ali, H., & Fairley, C. K.
(2011). Quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccination and trends in genital warts in
Australia: analysis of national sentinel surveillance data. The Lancet infectious
diseases, 11(1), 39-44.
Head, B. W. (2011). Why not ask them? Mapping and promoting youth participation.
Children and Youth services review, 33(4), 541-547.
Johnstone, E., Brough, M., Crane, P., Marston, G., & Correa-Velez, I. (2016). Field
placement and the impact of financial stress on social work and human service
students. Australian Social Work, 69(4), 481-494.
Light, E., Kerridge, I., Ryan, C., & Robertson, M. (2012). Community treatment orders in
Australia: rates and patterns of use. Australasian Psychiatry, 20(6), 478-482.
McGorry, P., Bates, T., & Birchwood, M. (2013). Designing youth mental health services for
the 21st century: examples from Australia, Ireland and the UK. The British Journal of
Psychiatry, 202(s54), s30-s35.
McMillan, S. S., Wheeler, A. J., Sav, A., King, M. A., Whitty, J. A., Kendall, E., & Kelly, F.
(2013). Community pharmacy in Australia: a health hub destination of the
future. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 9(6), 863-875.

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Nam, T., & Pardo, T. A. (2011, June). Conceptualizing smart city with dimensions of
technology, people, and institutions. In Proceedings of the 12th annual international
digital government research conference: digital government innovation in
challenging times (pp. 282-291). ACM.
Plieninger, T., Dijks, S., Oteros-Rozas, E., & Bieling, C. (2013). Assessing, mapping, and
quantifying cultural ecosystem services at community level. Land use policy, 33, 118-
129.
Wong, S., Sumsion, J., & Press, F. (2012). Early childhood professionals and
interprofessional work in integrated early childhood services in
Australia. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 37(1), 81-88.