Working for justice at the heart of The Salvation Army’s mission
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- 3 min read
“Working for justice is at the heart of what The Salvation Army does in Australia,” said Jennifer Kirkaldy, General Manager Policy and Advocacy, for The Salvation Army Australia. “It is integral to our ethos, our mission and our vision.”
As nations worldwide observe the UN World Day of Social Justice today (20 February), the Policy and Advocacy team reflects on its work and achievements over 2025.
The Salvation Army Policy and Advocacy team 2025 – a year in review
1. The Social Justice Stocktake (the Stocktake)
Throughout 2024, people across every state and territory were invited to share their experiences of social justice issues in their local communities through a Salvation Army survey. Participants were asked to identify the top five issues they were seeing and living with, suggest what could be done to address them, and share what they wanted decision-makers to understand.
The national results, released through the Stocktake in February 2025, provided a clear picture of the challenges facing communities. Housing affordability and homelessness emerged as the most pressing concerns, followed closely by mental health, financial hardship and inclusion, access to health care, alcohol and drug misuse, and climate change.
2. Federal Elections
Throughout the 2025 federal election campaign, the Policy and Advocacy team aimed to equip communities, candidates, political staffers, and community leaders with electorate-specific insights that reflected the real-world concerns of their constituents.
A total of 779 emails were sent to election candidates, each including a tailored report highlighting the key social justice issues identified in their electorates. This proactive outreach generated significant interest, and the team held 49 meetings with election candidates.
3. Financial Hardship
This year, the team worked with governments and parliaments to improve the experience of our community members when interacting with them.
In March, we worked with the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) to improve the application of concessions to energy bills for eligible consumers. We shared consumers’ experiences and explained that the current system and processes are not intuitive and prevent people in hardship from accessing the support for which they are eligible.
In August, we provided feedback on the administration of the ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme, which allowed people experiencing risks and compounding factors to pay lower conveyancing duty when buying their home.
We urged the Revenue Office and the Committee to ensure that community members facing debt repayments are properly supported and referred to financial counselling services, such as The Salvation Army’s Moneycare.
4. Family and Domestic Violence
The team strengthened The Salvation Army’s position as a leading voice in shaping a high‑quality domestic violence system that responds to the needs of the whole family.
Through targeted submissions and direct engagement with key decision‑makers, we showcased the proven impact of our Alexis Family Violence Response Model. This contributed to the Victorian Government’s announcement of a $1.5 million investment to extend Alexis to two additional sites.
Following our submission in 2024 to the South Australian Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, we were encouraged to see several of our recommendations reflected in the Royal Commission’s final report, released in August 2025.
5. Housing and Homelessness
Throughout 2025, the team delivered high‑quality submissions to Commonwealth, state and territory consultations and inquiries. This ensured that the voices of people experiencing housing stress and homelessness, as well as the insights from our frontline services, were consistently represented at every level of government.
A significant achievement was the reform of the Territory Planning laws in the ACT.
In line with our recommendations, the ACT Government introduced changes to designate public housing and Community Housing as Territory Priority Projects, streamlining approval processes for new developments.
Nationally, The Salvation Army continued to play a key role in the Everybody’s Home campaign, contributing expertise, amplifying community voices, and advocating directly to government. We helped secure:
• Commitments to expanding social and affordable housing supply across the country.
• Stronger recognition of housing as a foundational element of family violence prevention.
• Increased federal investment in homelessness services and reforms to rental assistance.
Read The Salvation Army’s Social Justice Stocktake Report here
