ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25
Advocating for a fair
and just Queensland
We have a responsibility to translate the lived experience and expertise of frontline workers, services, and people experiencing disadvantage into clear expectations for political leaders.
Our 2024 election platform, A Fair Share for All Queenslanders, embodied that work. It signalled what a fair, just Queensland looks like—especially for those under the greatest cost of living pressures.
In the months that followed, QCOSS invited all major political parties to respond to the platform. Their responses provided valuable insight into how they planned to address the state’s most pressing challenges, including housing, cost of living, youth justice, and domestic and family violence. To ensure transparency and accountability, QCOSS published these responses in full on our website.
Elevating the sector’s priorities
Engaging Queensland’s political leaders
Ahead of the 2024 state election, QCOSS facilitated interviews with the two leaders contesting Queensland’s future – the first, recorded on 6 September 2024, with the then Leader of the Opposition and Member for Broadwater, David Crisafulli MP, focusing on social services, contract conditions, cost of living, housing and youth justice.
The second, recorded on 16 September 2024, featured the then Queensland Premier, Steven Miles, who addressed issues highlighted in QCOSS’ State of the Sector and Living Affordability reports including fairer contract conditions, rent caps and targeted cost of living relief. These interviews were an important part of placing the sector at the centre of the election debate.
Creating impact through media advocacy
In Conversation with Hon David Crisafulli, September 2024
In Conversation with Hon Steven Miles, September 2024
Launch of the QCOSS Living Affordability Report,
September 2024
Nowhere was the impact of the sector’s advocacy more prominent than in the Queensland media. QCOSS became the first point of contact for media seeking expert comment and analysis on issues affecting vulnerable Queenslanders and the sector.
Make Queensland Fair
The Make Queensland Fair campaign highlighted the extraordinary power of working together on cost of living advocacy.
Timed for maximum impact during the lead-up to the state election, the Make Queensland Fair campaign brought together 12 different organisations and secured media coverage across TV, radio, print and online media for both QCOSS and our campaign partners.
This gave us the opportunity to elevate the voices of partners and members and ensure their issues were at the centre of our advocacy: Meals on Wheels Queensland, St Vincent de Paul Queensland, Relationships Australia, Carinity, 54 reasons, ATSILS, Act for Kids, Volunteering Queensland, YMCA Queensland, Anglicare Southern Queensland, Anglicare Central Queensland and Anglicare NQ Ltd.
“Thank you QCOSS for leading the way and harnessing our collective support on these important issues!”
– Act for Kids
Keeping the key issues in the spotlight:
In the reporting year, QCOSS was featured in over 1,100 media mentions across state and national print, television and radio outlets, reaching millions of Australians. The coverage spanned a wide range of social issues and policy advocacy efforts, reflecting QCOSS’ role as Queensland’s peak body for the sector.
We continued to advocate for the community sector’s priorities, shaping the public conversation with media appearances on the following key issues:
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Pre-election media highlights
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Youth justice – including Adult Crime, Adult Time policy
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Housing and homelessness
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Cost of living
Post-election media highlights
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Youth justice – responding to the Making Queensland Safer Act and getting children out of watch-houses. This included a joint press conference with QATSICPP, Youth Advocacy Centre and Queensland Family and Child Commission.
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Domestic and Family Violence – including advocacy against Police Protection Directions (PPDs).
QCOSS with our members and then Queensland Human Rights Commissioner and the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner, holding a press conference to stand against the Adult Crime, Adult Time laws, September 2024
Make Renting Fair campaign partners at the launch of Queensland's Rental Crisis Report, September 2024
Delivered communications
to members and key stakeholders:
We delivered targeted communications to members and key stakeholders. These focused on sharing messages about our value, advocacy priorities, and workforce planning and capability building activities. Communications were tailored by channel to reach the right audiences and strengthen our brand and influence.
Our key 2024-25 communications highlights:
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Launched a refresh of the QCOSS website in June 2025
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Reached over 28,000 subscribers including
members and non-members with targeted email campaigns -
Saw an increase of over 2,000 LinkedIn followers, reflecting strong engagement from our key audience, while also maintaining and growing our presence on Facebook and Instagram
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Delivered monthly Conduit editions and targeted email campaigns to engage members (over 3,600 on our subscription list) and achieved an average open rate of over 28%
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Over 96,830 users accessed the QCOSS website (75,481 in 2023-24)
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Over 64,282 users viewed Community Door (74,157 in 2023-24).
Developing the 2025 QCOSS Conference: Changing State
We began work to deliver the 2025 QCOSS Conference, including developing a theme, branding, event pre-production, booking speakers, locking in sponsors and partners, confirming a program and launching ticket sales.
The theme of the 2025 QCOSS Conference: Changing State, builds on the work our sector does every day - we dream outside the constructs of what our societies think is possible, we dare to enact those dreams and we roll up our sleeves to do the work that is needed to maintain our dreams, all in aid of changing our current state to the future we envision.
The branding and design, featuring a curving arrow, illustrate that the path towards progress is not always linear.