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Tag: Toowoomba

Grandparents Day

Grandparents are a treasure in the family. Grandparents can play many important roles in the lives of their beloved young children. They are trusted advisors for their adult children who are now parents themselves. For many families, grandparents provide regular child care. In some cases, they are primary caregivers to their grandkids. And whether they live nearby or stay in touch from afar, the love and emotional closeness that grandparents provide makes a big, positive impact on their grandchild’s healthy development.

This Grandparents Day is an opportunity to connect with older loved ones and share a meal, read a book, play a game, have a yarn or simply take the time to learn more about our shared history.

It’s a day to say ‘thank you’ to all grandparents for their care and support and for sharing their knowledge, experience and traditions with younger generations.

Here at TASK we care for our seniors. If you live in Toowoomba, Ipswich or immediate surrounds, or know a grandparent who is experiencing any form of abuse you can contact our TASC Seniors Advocacy team on 07 4616 9700. Our solicitors and social workers will help you with free legal advice and information, short-term counselling, or referrals to other services near you. Go here to find out more https://www.tascnational.org.au/services/seniors-advocacy/.

My Life My Voice – TASC Self Advocacy Support

Self-advocacy can be an intimidating prospect for many people, particularly those living with disability or from non-English speaking backgrounds.

To take some of the mystery out of the advocacy process, TASC designed and built an online resource for self-advocacy – My Life, My Voice.

Accessibility was a core goal of the project, with the tool being translated into seven languages and presented in dyslexic friendly text and Auslan.

Knowing your rights and how to advocate for them can be an intimidating process for people and one which many of us have little experience of doing formally.

It takes confidence and knowledge to effectively advocate for yourself and we hope the tool can help people taking these steps.

Through our legal and social justice advocacy activities at TASC we know there can be many barriers to both accessing advocacy services and self advocacy.

My Life, My Voice aims to help take some of these away by giving people some self-help tools in the advocacy process and provide an insight into what advocacy involves.

My Life, My Voice is now available to everybody online at

www.tascnational.org.au/my-life-my-voice/

Are you living with disability and identify as being cultural and linguistically diverse?

Calling all people living with a disability and identify as being cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD).

NDIS is offering some paid feedback opportunities at their Participant First focus groups. For more information go to https://ndis.gov.au/…/participant-first-help-improve-ndis

And if you have any concerns about how you, your family or an individual is being treated, and live in Toowoomba, Ipswich and rural and regional areas in South West Queensland, our Disability Advocate team can help you with problems or issues with the services you currently use, with the aim of making sure these meet your needs.

Go to https://www.tascnational.org.au/serv…/disability-advocacy/ to find out more.

TASC’s mental health week activity wrap

TASC’s Mental Health Week activities kicked off on Tuesday with our Toowoomba event near the Art Gallery in Little St. With one in six Australians currently experiencing depression or anxiety or both according to Beyond Blue, it was a reminding for us to check in on and be kind to ourselves and those around us.

People visiting us there had the opportunity to hear about and experience well-being activities and ideas with mindfulness and yoga sessions. Thank you to Alan Martin for the wonderful meditation session.

Did you know TASC offers a Mental Health Advocacy Service? If you or someone you know experiences mental health challenges and needs advocacy assistance please contact TASC on (07) 4616 9700 or visit tascnational.org.au for more information.

Sexual Violence Awareness Month

Sexual Violence Awareness Month (SVA Month) is held during October each year to raise community awareness about sexual violence, promote the support options available to people affected by sexual assault and sexual abuse, and uphold  a clear message that sexual violence will not be tolerated in our communities.

Sexual violence can happen to anybody, regardless of age, gender, race, culture, socioeconomic status, ability, sexual orientation or location. First Nations women and girls, and women and girls with disability, are especially vulnerable.

  Sexual violence is a violation of human rights and is unacceptable.  All of us have the ability to look out for each other’s safety and play a role in preventing this form of abuse in our communities.

If you have been impacted, or know someone who has been,  our Legal Service provides legal advice for matters relating to domestic violence which can often involve sexual violence.

For persons who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse we may be able to assist  through our Redress Support Service . Go here to find out more https://www.tascnational.org.au/redress-scheme-support/.

TASC announced as Redress Scheme Support Service

TASC National, a community legal, advocacy and social justice organisation which services Toowoomba, the Darling Downs and Maranoa has been announced as the Redress Support Service for people in the region seeking support to engage with the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme).


Redress Support Services offer free, confidential, practical and emotional support to people applying, or considering applying to the Scheme.


The Scheme is in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which estimated over 60,000 people in Australia have experienced such abuse.


TASC CEO, Frances Klaassen OAM said while the Scheme began on 1 July 2018, the recent announcement of TASC as a support service means engaging with the Scheme is now more accessible to the local community.


“The National Redress Scheme is an important step in gaining recognition, acknowledgement, support and healing for people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse and in holding institutions accountable,” she said.


The Scheme can provide access to counselling, a Redress payment, and the option to receive a direct personal response, such as an apology, from the responsible institution.


Delving into deeply personal and emotionally sensitive issues can be confronting. TASC understands this and has a focus on meeting each individual applicant’s need around how they can be best supported through their application process.


“Through our work in the community we understand accessing schemes like Redress is often difficult both from an emotional perspective as well as having to navigate complex systems,” she said.


“Using a person-centred approach for clients engaging with the Redress Scheme, our case workers will be there to provide support, information and advice based on a person’s circumstances so they’re able to make informed choices about which areas of Redress to pursue.”


“Clients can also choose whether to pause or progress their application at any stage,” she said.


Ms Klaassen said the scope of institutional child sexual abuse uncovered by the Royal Commission means people engaging with the Scheme will come from a wide cross section of the community.


“If you believe you’re eligible or know someone who might be eligible for redress but are unsure I would encourage you to talk with us or to visit our website to find out more information.”


For more information about the Scheme, eligibility and support services visit tascnational.org.au/redress or nationalredress.gov.au .

Talk with TASC during Mental Health Week

Catch up with the team at TASC on Tuesday 11 Oct for cuppa, a chat and the chance to do some wellbeing activities. Did you know TASC offers a Mental Health Advocacy Service? If you or someone you know experiences mental health challenges and needs advocacy assistance please contact TASC on (07) 4616 9700 or visit tascnational.org.au for more information.

Fathers Day

This Sunday, many Australian men will wake up to handmade cards, craft and, maybe, a new electronic gadget. But beyond the traditional BBQ celebration, it’s a time to acknowledge the role of fathers in our society.

Fatherly love helps us develop a sense of our place in the world, which helps our social, emotional and cognitive development and functioning. In fact, children who receive more love from their fathers are less likely to struggle with behavioral or substance abuse problems. Research has shown that children who spend quality time with their fathers are 80% less likely to be incarcerated or engage in criminal activities.

Our team at TASC help men with family law issues, such as parenting, property settlements and divorce. Our goal is to help them maintain happy, healthy and meaningful involvement in their children’s lives. If you live in Toowoomba, Ipswich or South West Queensland or know men in those areas who are experiencing family law issues, contact TASC Legal and Social Justice Services on 07 4616 9700.

#fathersday2022

Celebrating Indigenous Cultures

Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the Indigenous peoples of Australia. They are not one group, but rather comprise hundreds of groups that have their own distinct set of languages, histories and cultural traditions. The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated globally on 9 August. On this day, people from around the world are encouraged to promote and promote the rights of indigenous peoples.

This year’s theme is “The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge”. Indigenous women are the backbone of indigenous peoples’ communities and play a crucial role in the preservation and transmission of traditional ancestral knowledge. They have an integral collective and community role as careers of natural resources and keepers of scientific knowledge. The reality, however, remains that indigenous women are widely under-represented, disproportionately negatively affected by decisions made on their behalf, and are too frequently the victims of multiple expressions of discrimination and violence.

TASC is funded by the Queensland Government to deliver legal advice to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women living in or around Toowoomba, Ipswich or Roma. To access this service simply visit https://www.tascnational.org.au/services/ or call 07 4616 9700 for a confidential discussion with one of our legal team.

TASC scoops up Silver Award for reporting

Transparency and clarity represent core aims for most businesses and organisations.  For organisations in the Not for Profit space and which rely on government funding it is vital.

TASC  is no exception and earlier last month (July 2022)  was rewarded for walking the talk on transparency and clarity in their corporate communications with a Silver award at the Australasian Reporting Awards (ARA) for their 2020/21 Annual Report.

Other organisations to receive a Silver award in 2022 included: CSIRO, DFAT, Mission Australia and Australian Red Cross Society among others.  To be included with so many high profile and large organisation puts in context the level TASC’s achievement.

What are the ARA?

The ARA have been operating for over 70 years and were introduced to improve the quality of annual reporting in Australia and raise awareness of the purposes of organisations and their achievements.  The awards have been expanded and are open to organisations in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.   More information is available at About the Australasian Reporting Awards — Australasian Reporting Awards (arawards.com.au)

How are they judged?

According to the ARA:

“Reporting, the annual report especially, is an essential mechanism of accountability, a vital element in the governance process….  Good reporting requires an open willing attitude, attention to detail and accuracy, a sensitivity and responsiveness to stakeholders, a willingness to put in the effort to communicate effectively and a commitment to achieving and improving upon standards.”

Reports are assessed on six criteria:

  • Overview of the organisation, its context and objectives
  • Review of operations or activities with a focus on progress towards achieving objectives
  • Coverage of the organisation’s governance approach and its effectiveness
  • Coverage of the organisation’s human resources management approach and effectiveness
  • Details and analysis of financial performance and financial statements
  • Presentation and navigation

Congratulations to everyone at TASC who contributed to the Annual report. Pictured are current Marketing and Communications Coordinator Naish Nand with former colleague and report editor Amy Clark with a copy of the annual report.

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