I am pleased to rise to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026, specifically on the sections which relate to the social services portfolio. The Department of Social Services is a major employer in my electorate of Bean, and the department and its minister, the member for Sydney, with the assistant minister, my good friend the member for Cooper, sit at the forefront of the social change agenda of the government. The appropriations under discussions here today will improve the lives of many, many Australians.

A key part of the social agenda of our government is the Targeting Entrenched Disadvantage package. This package, which is funded for $230 million, is delivering tangible and sustainable change for disadvantaged Australians and their communities. The package covers a range of areas of disadvantage, utilising different levers to tackle different types of disadvantage. I would like to focus in my time today on one particular area of the package that I have recently learned a little more about.

Under the $100 million outcomes fund within the Targeting Entrenched Disadvantage package is the Social Enterprise Development Initiative. The purpose of the outcomes fund is for the Commonwealth government to partner with the states and territories and social enterprises to fund projects which deliver outcomes in tackling social disadvantage. Of the $100 million related to the outcomes fund, $11.6 million has gone towards funding the Social Enterprise Development Initiative.

The objective of the Social Enterprise Development Initiative is positive—to empower local communities and organisations, to use their knowledge and expertise to develop and implement appropriate solutions for Australians who need help. Grants by the Social Enterprise Development Initiative have supported 32 organisations across Australia to support people to build their own positive futures. It is expected that around 60 organisations will benefit over the course of the initiative. In my electorate of Bean, Nansen Digital Forensics received support to engage in critical work to support women experiencing domestic violence. They received a Social Enterprise Development Initiative grant of $92,000. It supports women experiencing domestic violence who want to protect their digital and online security. They provide digital, forensic and cybersecurity services Australia-wide, assisting survivors of domestic violence by providing tailored, trauma informed digital safety audits that help victim-survivors detect and manage technology related risks to prevent and combat technology facilitated abuse. Nansen Digital Forensics also offers training in digital safety and technology abuse for police, caseworkers and legal professionals, and provides skill-development pathways for women re-entering the workforce in ICT security. The support provided to Nansen Digital Forensics through the Social Enterprise Development Initiative has allowed it to scale its reach and social impact, including protecting vulnerable communities from technology facilitated abuse. I have had the good fortune to meet with Rose MacDonald and Andrew Collins from Nansen Digital Forensics on multiple occasions, and I've always been impressed by their commitment to fostering positive social change and helping people in need. Their support for women experiencing domestic violence will be critical and life-changing.

The story of Nansen Digital Forensics is a wonderful example of the types of organisations that are supported by the Social Enterprise Development Initiative. The work done by these organisations will be so important to achieve the social change agenda of our government. Finding the right people in communities with the right ideas and supporting them to achieve real and positive change is how we build a better and fairer Australia.

The social change agenda is one that is in the DNA of Labor governments. In 1891, one of the founders of the Labor Party, George Black, declared that Labor existed to make and unmake social conditions. It's as true now as it was all those years ago. What is contained in this appropriations bill as it pertains to social services is a testament to this, and I look forward to the continued benefits which will flow from it to communities right across Australia.