Our Work

Anti-Poverty Week

Carolin manages communication support including generating media coverage, overseeing website management, social media engagement and writing and sending a monthly newsletter. Jenny provides design support for 2023 and 2022 Logos and the Social Media Promotion Kit . Media highlights include: ABC NewsBreakfast 6/3/2023; Ten News Breakfast 20/10/2022; ABC RN Breakfast 18/10/2022; The Guardian 18/10/2022; The Australian 18/10/2022

Smart Energy Council CEO John Grimes on 9News

Smart Energy Council

In May 2022 Comms for Change provided Media Support to the Smart Energy Council for their Emergency Fuel Security Summit (April 21) – securing coverage in: The Project TV and Ten evening news, news.com and the Guardian; Smart Energy Conference (May 5-6) – gaining coverage in Channel 9 News; SMH/Age, AAP in 7News and Emergency Pacific Climate Security Summit (May 16) – coverage in The Guardian, AAP in Canberra Times, SBS and WIN TV.

Megan Fisher (Energy Lab) and Danny Kennedy (New Energy Nexus) award Renewable Metals CEO Luan Atkinson (centre) winner of Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge.

Supercharge Australia Award

Linda and Carolin provided media support for the inaugural Supercharge Australia Awards for startups adding value to the Lithium supply chain. We achieved media coverage on Renewable Metals winning the award or their unique Lithium Battery recycling technology in industry media: ReNew Economy, Eco Voice, AuManufacturing News, Waste Management Review and Inside Waste.

South Street Energy awarded for renewables innovation

South Street Energy

From August to November 2022, Comms for Change gained media coverage on the Victorian based energy innovator for pioneering their Distributed Energy Distribution network in an AAP story published in 45 national, metro and state papers and sites; trade press – Energy Source & Distribution magazine and Utility magazine, Australian Hotelier, The Hotel Conversation, What’s New in Food Technology & Processing, Food & Drink Business.

Public Education Foundation

Comms for Change increased the outreach of the Public Education Foundation’s offer of the Rise Global Challenge scholarship – doubling the number of applications within six weeks. We wrote and designed a targeted email and PDF flyer sent to youth-oriented organisations. We gained media coverage in Education Today and ABC Weekend Evenings (national) 16/12/22

Australian Council of Social Services

Carolin supports people with lived experience of financial hardship to share their stories with media – either to do radio, TV or press interviews or to support them to write their own first-person accounts. First person opinion pieces in The Guardian: Feb 2023 Sept 2022 August 2022

In the lead up to the 2023 Budget Carolin enabled 19 people who receive JobSeeker or other income support payments to share their experience in at least 32 media appearances including: Channel 9 News; News.com.au; The Guardian; SBS online

Sisters of the Good Samaritan

Comms for Change provides internal communication support for the Sisters of the Good Samaritan in the lead-up to their national Chapter Gathering to determine their strategic direction for the next six years. Including creating a Reflection Video, collecting inspiring stories and collating feedback on the future mission.

The Connection

Comms for Change provided graphic design support to rebrand The Connection – Social Ventures Australia’s collaborative leadership network for innovative schools in highly disadvantaged areas. We developed the tagline and artwork for their new logo The Connection – collaborating for education excellence and equity and designed the templates for their main presentation slides and their new online collaboration platform, as well as their brand value icons.

National Media Attention on JobSeeker Cuts

ACOSS Media on JobSeeker cuts Dec 2020 – January 2021

In the final week of 2020 ACOSS drew national attention to the Government’s decision to cut the Coronavirus Supplement by another $100 to just $150 a fortnight, effectively slashing the JobSeeker payment to $50/day. There was extensive coverage from journalists across diverse media platforms. Many people relying on JobSeeker spoke up, and continue to do so. ACOSS worked hard to share this coverage widely and to amplify the voices of people who are struggling to survive on the reduced rate of Jobseeker and Youth Allowance.

Bane Williams wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald how, thanks to the Coronavirus Supplement doubling his JobSeeker payment, “I got to see what life could be like if I didn’t have to worry every day about what I should eat, or if I would even eat at all.” Where he could run his heater, attend a job interview looking presentable. “And then I got to watch as those got taken away from me. Where I had to go back to deciding what was more important — healthy food or being able to afford seeing a professional for my back.”

As Cliff Fraser told 9 News, “I’m not ready to retire, but I feel like I’ve been thrown on the scrap heap.” And Caryn Ryan said in the Guardian, “people (previously) on Newstart or … who lost their jobs through Covid, they can’t survive, let alone live” on $40/day.” Caryn told 7 Sunrise that she had applied for more than 800 jobs which resulted in just three interviews and no job offers.

Rita McDonald explained to ABC’s AM, “I have progressively become more and more ill, because Newstart was so low I haven’t been able to eat properly or take my medications,” and told the ABC evening news, she fears that, “we’ll be thrown back into that poverty trap.”

ACOSS called a media conference on 29 December which saw CEO Cassandra Goldie on the evening news on channels 9, 7 and SBS, and on the Today Show, Sunrise and SkyNews the following morning, urging the Government to increase the base rate of JobSeeker instead of returning people to the brutal $40/day rate when the Supplement ends in March..