After delivering two successful social benefit bonds, the NSW Government is now looking to expand its social impact investment program to tackle key social challenges, Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian has announced.
The NSW Government has today released the 2016 Statement of Opportunities, which outlines the Government’s priority policy areas that have strong potential for social impact investment.
The three key policy areas are:
- Establishing an Aboriginal Centre for Excellence in Western Sydney;
- Increasing access to early childhood education and;
- Increasing permanency for children in out-of-home care, particularly through open adoption.
Ms Berejiklian said the NSW Government was keen to build on the momentum it had built through its first two social benefit bonds.
“We have been really heartened by the strong social and financial results of our first two social benefit bonds and are working hard to deliver even more,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“As a state, we have been on the cutting edge in this space and we want to go even further. Social impact investment gives us the opportunity to deliver better outcomes for our community while opening up new sources of funding.”
NSW created Australia’s first social benefit bonds in 2013 – the Newpin bond and the Benevolent Society bond. Both bonds support vulnerable families by successfully reuniting them and supporting them to stay together.
In its first two years, the Newpin bond has successfully restored 66 children in out-of-home care to their families and supported another 35 families to prevent their children from entering care. The Newpin bond has also delivered an 8.9 percent return to investors in 2015.
The second bond, The Benevolent Society bond, is well underway and its results will be measured at the end of its five-year term.
“Social impact investment encourages great collaboration between Government, the community sector and private investors,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“It is a win-win for everyone but most importantly these investments support the most vulnerable in our community.
“Providing opportunities to improve the quality of life of our citizens is the bread and butter of good government.
“The potential for growth in this area is absolutely enormous.”
A series of market sounding events will be held in the coming months for interested parties to get more information on the Government’s priority policy areas outlined in the statement.
Feedback from these market soundings will inform how Government proceeds with formal requests for social impact investment proposals that will be announced later this year.
