• Our Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) received a five-year funding extension from the federal government, expanding to include three-year-old children.
• We successfully supported hundreds of families through numerous COVID lockdowns, including distributing home learning materials.
• 14 children participated in the ‘Free to be me’ playgroup for children with neurodiversity.
• We re-designed the Cultural Responsiveness Training Consultancy, increasing the skills and capacity of early learning training providers, with the training program delivered to 25 Best Start Facilitator Network sites across Victoria.
• We delivered a Mothers’ Day event with Goodstart Early Learning and the City of Whittlesea at our Jindi Family and Community Centre, with over 200 community members attending.

• 325 young people benefitted from Youth Employment Action Plans through the National Youth Employment Body (NYEB) established by BSL.
• We consulted 225 experts across Australia for system design workshops. 
• 62 employers were involved in co-designing and delivering Youth Employment Action Plans.
• 120 community leaders were brought together from training, industry and government across Australia, through 11 Community Investment Committees.
• 13 young people established a Youth Advisory Board to give direct advice to BSL on designing and delivering workshops for other young people, providing feedback on tools, resources, and activities, participating in consultations, program promotion, advocacy, practice development and public speaking events.
• The Creating Futures for Youth program engaged with 134 young people through 63 education outcomes and 77 employment outcomes.
• We built the capacity of four local organisations to successfully deliver the Youth Transition Support program which offers education, training and employment assistance to newly-arrived young people of refugee backgrounds.
• 1,645 young people were engaged in Youth Hub activities. There was a total of 760 sessions, with a focus on education and skills training, social participation, employment and English language pathways.
• 309 outcomes in education and employment were delivered through our Transition to Work program.
• 38 young people went through Pathways to Employment, achieving 15 employment; 16 education/training and 11 work experience outcomes.

• We expanded our Jobs Victoria Employment Service from three offices to nine, with a further 12 outreach sites providing support to 1540 people over the financial year.
• 3,415 participants were supported through our matched savings and financial education Saver Plus Program. ANZ matched $1,496,712 in savings, and a total of $2,504,312 was saved by participants.
• 131 women were supported through our Stepping Stones to Small Business Program. Nineteen participants were supported to get a job, another 50 started a business or are on their way to starting a business, eight women were supported in education and training, and 42 volunteers were engaged.
• 129 participants attended our Financial Empowerment and Resilience Network (FERN) Project sessions and workshops.
• 166 community workers were trained as MoneyMinded coaches.
• The Sustaining Economic Empowerment and Dignity for Women (SEED) Project was further developed with a demonstration site in Seymour, Victoria.

• We worked with 21 Local Government Areas in metropolitan Melbourne, delivering Early Childhood and Local Area Coordination services, linking people with disability to the NDIS, and to community and mainstream services. 
• We directly supported 33,760 people with disability, and our Early Childhood teams supported 15,573 children and families. With a total of 49,333 individuals with disability directly supported, this is an increase of almost 8000 participants from last year.
• We attended 1,456 community engagement and community capacity-building events. Some of these included working with First Nations organisations, improving employment opportunities for people with disability, inclusion into early childhood settings for children with disability or developmental delay, and working with justice departments to ensure the best outcomes for people with disability involved in legal issues.
• Six webinars were delivered, addressing a range of NDIS issues for participants and service providers.

• We had occupancy of 106 residents at BSL’s Clifton Hill Aged Care Residence: 101 residents in permanent care and five residents in respite care. 57 of these residents were considered homeless and/or from a disadvantaged background.
• Our Critical Interim Support Pilot program supported 84 clients in Year 2 of the pilot (to 31 Aug 2022). We have closed support for 58 clients and of these, 44 have remained living at home with assistance provided through a Home Care Package or Commonwealth Home Support Package. Referral pathways were embedded with the aged care assessment teams as well as hospitals and health professionals.
• Our Coolibah Social Club in Fitzroy supported 125 members and delivered 11,639 program hours. There was a 58% increase from 79 to 125 members - most new members joined through the recommendation of a current member.

• With our partners, we assisted close to 4,000 households to address energy-related hardship or claim the $250 Power Saving Bonus.
• We facilitated an estimated total of almost $1,000,000 in bill savings or grants.
• Our report, Power Pain: An investigation of Energy Stress in Australia , showed that one in five Australian households are under energy stress, and groups such as people with a disability, those dependent on Jobseeker, and renters are doing it the toughest.
• Thousands of low-income Victorian renters benefitted from our work with partners, which led to the introduction of mandatory energy efficiency standards for rental homes, requiring an efficient heater. The standards may also be expanded to other key efficiency features in future.

• 1,415 volunteers supported BSL during 2021/22 and made up almost 40% of our workforce at any one time.
• Despite post-COVID-19 challenges across the wider volunteer sector, volunteer engagement across BSL has grown, with 473 new volunteers this year.
• Part of BSL’s Children’s Programs Division, our Enhancement Activities Program began virtually in 2020. Since launching in schools in 2021, volunteers have embraced the chance to develop their skills by supporting program activities and operations planning. The program builds the skills and capacity of volunteers, spans all generations and takes a diverse approach to learning.

Our Social Policy and Research Centre (SPARC) produced 20 policy submissions and 21 publications . Some of these included:

• Analysis of the mismatch between vocational training and the needs of employers led to the Victorian Government funding of an applied research initiative that will test a place-based approach to rural workforce shortages and youth unemployment.
• We continued to alert policymakers to the limitations of the social security system in protecting children and families from poverty, through webinars and our research into financial wellbeing The most recent report from our longitudinal Life Chances study showed how the economic security of many 30-year-olds remains tied to family resources.
• In partnership with the Melbourne Disability Institute and Baptcare, we identified service gaps for people with disability who are not eligible for individual NDIS funding, which may inform the NDIS review.
• Our research and program experience of disability employment services led to philanthropic funding of a pilot program that aims to increase the inclusion of people with disability in mainstream employment services.
• We highlighted the opportunities to reduce energy bills and emissions for low-income households (including through electrification) via our advocacy for the Victorian Government’s Gas Substitution Roadmap and the Victorian gas access arrangements.