The Council of Catholic Social Services Victoria has adopted engagement with Aboriginal Victorians as a priority, with a view to deepen and strengthen our relationship with Aboriginal Catholic Ministry and Victorian Aboriginal communities and to learn from the experience of member organisations and others. This paper brings together range of material relating to the wellbeing of Aboriginal people in Victoria, and the engagement of members of Catholic Social Services Victoria with Aboriginal communities. It documents the rich strands of engagement that have developed, and provides a framework for the understanding of current issues and of work still to be done.

42 Melbourne Catholic parishes and four religious orders are providing social housing to approximately 404 of the most vulnerable members in our community. Catholic social service agencies and health providers accommodate more than 3,000 people who struggle to secure adequate housing through the private market. A report on social housing in the Archdiocese also explores what more can be done for those struggling to find a place called home.

Fr Frank Brennan’s 2017 Rerum Novarum lecture challenges us all to ‘focus more on how our unprecedented wealth gives us a one off and unprecedented opportunity to break the cycle of poverty, through education and lifelong support’.