The Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS) releases a regular bulletin with latest news and information related to the community services sector and COVID-19. The latest update, released 22 April 2020, covers the Federal Senate Inquiry to scrutinise Australia's response to COVID-19 (which has begun accepting submissions on any matter relating to this broad topic); the Federal Health Department has released a formal Management and Operational Plan for People with Disability during COVID-19; and the Disability Royal Commission is seeking information about the experiences of people with disability during COVID-19 and the recent summer bushfires. Plus much more!

MacKillop Family Services' annual #Paws4Kids campaign aims to raise funds to help kids who've been through childhood trauma to feel safe and to learn again by using therapy dogs. Any donations made on Wednesday 22 April will be tripled until MacKillop reaches its goal of $300,000 so donors will have 3x the impact making a donation to the campaign.

The ABC has reported that a two-year-old girl born in Australia to Tamil asylum-seeker parents was “not afforded procedural fairness” in her asylum bid, and the family cannot be immediately deported, the Federal Court has decided. Justice Mark Moshinsky delivered the judgment in Melbourne on Friday 17th April, with lawyers for the family receiving the decision over the phone.

A new podcast series from St Vincent’s Health Australia is telling the compelling stories of caregivers on the COVID-19 frontline. It’s being driven by Catholic ethicist Dan Fleming, working from a spare room at home, connecting with staff that work at St Vincent’s hospitals and aged care facilities across Australia.