Other Services
You may be surprised by how much support is available in one place. As well as the services below, other organisations are co-located at our Rosebud centre, so you can access a range of different supports in a single visit.
Tax Help
From July to October each year, our accredited Tax Help volunteer helps people lodge their tax returns online. Our volunteer can also help you:
- Create a myGov account
- Lodge an amendment to your tax return
- Claim a refund of franking credits
- Tell the ATO if you don't need to lodge a tax return
You can make a free and confidential appointment with our Tax Help volunteer once the program starts in July. Call and chat to our reception volunteers to make an appointment, or to get on the waitlist if the program hasn't yet started. The waitlist opens in early July.
Eligibility for Tax Help
You are eligible if your income is around $70,000 or less and you have simple tax affairs for the income year. For example, you did not:
- Work as a contractor, such as a contract cleaner, taxi or rideshare driver
- Run a business, including as a sole trader
- Have partnership or trust matters
- Sell shares or an investment property
A few other criteria apply. If you are not eligible for Tax Help you may qualify for assistance from the National Tax Clinic program.
Energy Mentor
Electricity and gas costs are ever-increasing and can add a lot to household costs. Our Energy Mentor can advise on ways to reduce household energy costs and can assist with comparing plans to find a cheaper energy plan, or even switching providers to get a better deal if you are happy to do that.
Utility Relief Grants are a particularly useful way to reduce energy bills. They are provided by the State Government and can be accessed every two years if certain criteria are met. The person accessing the grant must be experiencing a crisis or serious hardship, which includes cost of shelter. If your rent is more than 30{23d507c1e56cba2726f0889a1bf80040bc4eae7376e4e60e57788dec6d2dcc5e} of your income, you can claim a Utility Relief Grant.
Utility Relief Grants
- Up to $650 per utility - electricity, gas and water - every two years
- If you do not have gas connected at your property, you can claim $1,300 for electricity
- Our Energy Mentor can assist you to make the claim
Our Energy Mentor can also assist with accessing things like the Power Saving Bonus and other government supplements when they are available.
Needle Syringe Program
Our Needle Syringe Program operates during our open hours, 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday. Please note we are closed for lunch 12.30pm to 1pm.
This program is anonymous. You do not have to identify yourself in any way to access supplies. Needles, syringes, sharps containers, sterile swabs and condoms are all available free of charge.
You will find the Needle Syringe Program just inside our front door to the left, opposite reception. We ask that people fill out the anonymous survey on the form in the room to let us know how the program is being used and to provide some statistical data.
There is a sharps bin outside, accessible at all hours, located on the right hand side of the building in front of our fire exit. If the bin is full and we're open, please let reception know.
Financial Counselling
We are very pleased to have Good Shepherd financial counsellors co-locating in our building two days a week, on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Good Shepherd financial counsellors are qualified professionals who provide information, advice, advocacy and referral to individuals and their families experiencing financial difficulty.
The financial counsellors deal with problems related to debt and debt enforcement, advocacy with banks and other lenders, reparation around unfair lending practices, lodging complaints with dispute resolution services, information about consumer rights, and advice and support relating to bankruptcy.
To make an appointment with a Good Shepherd financial counsellor at SPCS, call the Good Shepherd financial counselling intake and assessment team on 1300 015 500 or email fcintake@goodshep.org.au and ask for a Rosebud appointment.
Other Services Based at Our Centre
Southern Peninsula Community Support is very grateful to have other services co-locating in our building, creating a hub where people can access a range of different supports.
Brotherhood of St Laurence
Provides NDIS Local Area Coordination, advice and information related to disability. Their approach emphasises individual and family empowerment, choice, community capacity building and a person-centred, strengths-based approach. Local Area Coordinators support all people with disability to connect with community and mainstream services regardless of their eligibility for the NDIS, work alongside people with disability and their families to understand the NDIS and use their plan, and build relationships in local communities.
Mentis Assist
Co-locates with us five days a week delivering three different programs, supporting individuals and their families. Their workers are highly trained professionals and peers using recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, person-centred and strengths-based practices, with an emphasis on improving health and wellbeing, independence and social participation.
Contact Mentis Assist directly on 1300 636 847 (1300 MENTIS) or info@mentisassist.org.au.
CVGT Employment
A not-for-profit, community-focused organisation with a long history of supporting job seekers and employers. Through their Inclusive Employment Australia program they can help with setting goals, writing a resume, getting ready for a job interview, building confidence, and education and training. CVGT co-locates at SPCS two days a week. Call 132 848 or email contact@cvgt.com.au.
Advocacy and Referral
Our team of volunteers and staff can connect you to further supports in the community if you choose and if they are needed. We have a wealth of information about what is available in the local area and beyond, and can explain how to engage with other agencies or help you contact them if you would prefer.
We refer to many different services, programs and agencies, so please feel free to discuss any issue that is impacting your life. If we can't help you, we probably know who can.
Each year we make well over 2,000 referrals to different services, so there may well be one out there that will work for you.
You can help make a difference
Every contribution helps us continue providing essential support to people experiencing hardship and crisis across the Southern Peninsula.