The recent City of Port Phillip commissioned Community Roundtable recommendations concentrate on the activities and requirements of Victoria Police, the City of Port Phillip By-Laws staff and local Charities and Not for Profit (NFP) support service providers – whether they be housing providers or drug or alcohol rehabilitation service providers.

At the City of Port Phillip council meeting held on May 21^st 2025 to discuss Councillor Rod Hardy’s homeless encampment motion, many speakers on the night naturally focussed on the homeless once they arrive in these unstable and dangerous homeless encampment environments.

However, noticeable for its absence in both the Community Roundtable report and by speakers on the night of May 21^st, was an examination into the role of the City of Port Phillip Charities and NFP sector – not only prior to the arrival of the homeless in the unstable and dangerous homeless encampment environment, but also their role in the development of the City of Port Phillip community safety plan due later this year.

It was notable that the Roundtable report and speakers at the Council meeting who are associated with the charities and NFP sector opposed the submission from Victoria Police to change camping local laws to remove the exemptions for the homeless and people with complex needs.

Why did the charities and NFP sector oppose this initiative to help police manage antisocial behaviours and safety on our streets?

As many people would already know, the City of Port Phillip already contains one of the highest geographic concentrations of charitable and NFP housing and drug and alcohol rehabilitation service providers in Australia.

The Australian Charities and NFP’s may apply to be exempt from tax on income earnt, may gain exemption from payroll and GST taxes, can receive novated leasing and fringe benefit tax concessions via employee salary packaging arrangements and can request to receive cost reduction concessions from a variety of utility service providers. Ultimately, these benefits are mainly provided by the Australian taxpayer.

As a few people may know, some Charities and NFP’s in the City of Port Phillip also receive grants and support, courtesy of the ratepayers in the City of Port Phillip.

With all of these benefits, it’s no surprise that a review of the annual financial statements lodged publicly with the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission regulator show many Charities and NFP’s in the Port Phillip to be financially sound businesses.

However, a review of the publicly available information of a number of these Port Phillip Charities and NFP’s, shows numerous, well- meaning and intentioned statements about their aims, levels of care and responsibilities towards those under their care, however little about their role, responsibilities and duties of care towards the wider community in which they operate, which seems at odds compared to the overall benefits received?

As part of the development of the City of Port Phillip community safety due in late 2025, the City of Port Phillip (on behalf of residents and ratepayers) needs to focus the attention of the Charities and NFP’s, firstly towards a stated recognition of their responsibilities and duty of care towards the residents and ratepayers but secondly and perhaps more importantly, their operational plans and abilities within the framework of the overall constraints of the broader community safety plan now being developed and managed by the City of Port Phillip.

Questions from council to Charities and NFP’s may include:

• Many people under your care can you adequately manage within your current operational plans?
• Can you provide adequate care services after hours?
• Where do you recruit your staff from and what is your annual staff turnover rate?
• What policies and procedures do you have in place that reflect our residents community safety concerns?
• Will the forthcoming City of Port Phillip community safety plan be recognised and incorporated as part of your standard operating practices?
• How many people can you safely and adequately provide housing services for?
• Are you aware of and incorporate into your operational planning, the staffing levels of both our own City of Port Phillip By-Laws staff and Victoria Police’s current staff levels within this Police district and consequently, our overall ability to adequately protect our wider City of Port Phillip community?
• If an individual being housed by your organisation is identified at a homeless encampment, how do you incorporate that into our new local by-laws and your operational planning?

In conclusion, without the Charities and NFP’s sector within the City of Port Phillip recognising it’s duty of care to the wider resident and business community and the City of Port Phillip incorporating the operational abilities of the Charities and NFP’s sector within the new City of Port Phillip community safety plan, the recent Community Round Table will be version 1.0 in a long sequence of Community Round Table reports running into the future.