• The 2026–27 ACT Budget includes funding to boost key community services.
• There is new and ongoing funding to help organisations plan, grow and keep staff.
• There is also extra support for community legal services to meet rising demand.
• There is expanded funding for homelessness, LGBTQIA+ and health services.

The ACT Government is securing a strong and responsive community sector through the 2026-27 ACT Budget.

Funding will support areas of critical need and frontline services across Canberra.

This investment reinforces the Government’s commitment to support a sustainable community services sector focused on areas that need it most. This includes:

• responding to domestic, family and sexual violence
• homelessness
• emergency relief
• inclusivity for all Canberrans.

The investment includes new funding to ensure services can plan for the future, grow and retain staff, and provide high-quality care to the community.

The ACT Budget includes a permanent uplift to the community sector to support a responsive and evolving service system. This will:

• provide organisations that need it most with direct new funding
• build on the funding boost provided in 2025-26
• respond to the changing needs of the Canberra community.

The Budget also includes:

• ongoing funding for community legal assistance organisations. This recognises growth in demand and provides certainty to these organisations about their capacity to support Canberra’s most vulnerable people
• funding to boost Legal Aid ACT's capacity and assist in responding to rising demand
• expanded and new funding to support more homelessness services including those run by Samaritan House, Blue Door and RoadHouse. This will sustain their long-term viability and respond to increased demand
• continued and expanded funding to support services and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ Canberrans. This includes dedicated services for LGBTQIA+ parents and their children
• new funding to support Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT to deliver essential sexual and reproductive health services.

More funding for the legal sector

Permanent investment in the community legal sector will give organisations the certainty to plan ahead. It will also help them to retain staff and deliver consistent services.

Legal Aid ACT is responding to rising demand, increasing complexity, and a significantly larger remand caseload. This year’s ACT Budget invests in a review of Legal Aid’s funding and operations to inform future budget decisions.

The Government will also progress reforms across Government and with other jurisdictions to strengthen the protection of children and vulnerable people.

This will include investment in:

• worker screening reforms
• improved information sharing
• a review of the Working with Vulnerable People scheme, to ensure it remains robust and fit for purpose.

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