We’re committed to equity and inclusion.
The Australian Community Support Organisation (ACSO) recognise the right to a safe and inclusive service without bias. ACSO is committed to the equitable treatment of its participants, employees and partners. We believe in humanity and celebrating the diverse voices of our community through leadership, practice and policy design, to honour and embrace diverse traditions, cultures and experiences of those we support and work alongside, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, the LGBTQIA+ and disability communities, culturally or linguistically diverse communities and people with lived experiences of the services we provide.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are the throughlines connecting our values and are integral to both our client care and employee experience. We are dedicated to continuous improvement and have a dedicated Equity and Inclusion Manager who is responsible for development, leadership, coordination and implementation of a range of equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives, sector advocacy and quality improvement processes, while also working collaboratively with operational teams and business services.
Memberships and Accreditations
ACSO is a proud member of Supply Nation and Diversity Council Australia. Supply Nation supports our ability to ethically procure goods and services while the Diversity Council Australia gives all our people access to webinars, data and research relevant to Australian workforces.
These memberships support the development of all our strategic projects, specifically those undertaken in our Equity and Inclusion remit.
ACSO undertakes yearly benchmarking with ACON’s Pride in Diversity’s Health and Wellbeing Equality Index, and we are thrilled to have been awarded a bronze service provider badge in 2024.
Our CEO chairs ACSO’s Reconciliation Committee, where key leaders in the organisation plan and implement ACSO’s Reconciliation Action Plans and associated activities.
We are in the process of implementing our inaugural Access and Inclusion Plan, making our services and working environments as accessible as possible for people with disabilities.
Employee Benefits
To attract and retain quality people, ACSO offers access and inclusion leave. This leave type aims to provide equitable leave for our people with specific considerations. Our Cultural and Ceremonial Leave provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees with five paid days of leave to partake in ceremonies and rituals, while our parental leave offers an additional 14 weeks. Our gender affirmation leave provides all non-cisgender employees with leave to access gender-affirming services.
ACSO has introduced processes allowing our people to easily exchange the 26 January public holiday to acknowledge differences in the date’s meaning for our people. We aim to build upon this leave type as we progress in our journey.
In our 2024 employee engagement survey, 90% of our employees agreed that people from all backgrounds have equal opportunities, and 83% of our employees feel they can be their authentic selves at work.
We provide essential diversity and inclusion learning and development to all our people. Facilitated by external organisations who apply their lived experience, these sessions are aimed at building our capacity around equity and inclusion in the workplace and service provision.
Our people are also supported through our Employee Assistance Program, which offers specialist advice for:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer or Questioning
- Domestic and Family Violence
- Eldercare
- Disability & Carers
To learn more about the benefits of working ACSO, visit Why Work With ACSO page.
Our Service Design and Impact team plays an important role in designing our services and influencing leadership within the sector. For more information on position papers and submissions on issues like raising the age of criminal responsibility, changing the date, and our Lived Experience Advisory Panel, visit the Influencing Change section of our website.
