Elements and Performance Criteria

Referrals may be:
Both inside and outside the organisation
To other workers, service providers or organisations
To specialist services

Issues and concerns may include:
Employment
Housing
Financial support
Access to education and training
Health
Child care
Community issues such as domestic violence, aged care, disability services, etc

Operational arrangements include:
Legal framework for operation
Funding arrangements
Models for operation
Decision making arrangements
Baby sitting
Vouchers
Location
Location
Advertising/promotion

Opportunities for groups to participate include:
Activities at service delivery, program, operative and management levels
Formal and informal systems
Promotion
Support meeting
Focus groups on relevant issues
Community meetings

Key people may include:
Advocacy groups
Policy and decision makers in the specific community
Individuals, groups or communities most likely to be affected by strategies or action plans
Community leaders
People with formal and informal representative roles
Community elders
Council members

Working with individuals and groups to achieve community development outcomes may include engagement with various structures and patterns of work undertaken by practitioners and community members including:
Community service delivery
Community projects
Community development
Community action
Community planning
Consultative and planning committees
Sector development structures

Strategies may include:
Establishment of advocacy groups
Promotion activities
Development of community facilities
Increasing access to facilities, services or decision making
Lobbying

Resources may include:
Skills/administrative support
Physical, transport, venues, material, equipment
Provision of training
Financial
Equipment
Staff skills and time
Provision of facilities
Educational materials
Funding
Personnel

Critical aspects of assessment:
Capacity to identify individual concerns and translate them into public issues by facilitating individual awareness of issues which may be common to the group and to assist establishment of access to group processes
Development and maintenance of public processes to address common issues
Ability to work with key people or stakeholders in the community

Essential knowledge:
Community development principles and practices
The community profile
Funding sources and their policies and strategies for encouraging community input and participation
Relevant local, state and federal strategies/legislation
Community processes and protocols

Depending on the work role or services provided, specific knowledge of particular groups or issues may be required, including (see additional information on page 24):

Alcohol and other drugs
Cultural and linguistic diversity
Risk of self harm
Women
Men
Community education
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
Mental health

Essential skills:
Research
Project/program evaluation
Budgeting
Negotiation, liaison, networking
Group facilitation

Resource implications:
Assessors should allow for access to appropriate structures, people or organisations for assessment purposes

Context of assessment:
This unit will be assessed in the workplace or in a simulated workplace under the normal range of workplace conditions