50 Years of Supporting
Community and Advocating for Change
Mark Glasson, Chief Executive Officer, Anglicare WA
This year, Anglicare WA proudly celebrates 50 years of supporting individuals, families, and communities across WA and advocating for a more just, compassionate, and inclusive society where everyone can thrive.
Advocacy has long been a central part of Anglicare WA’s work. The Anglican Marks of Mission call us to serve people in need and to challenge the injustices and systems that contribute to poverty, exclusion and inequality.
Our Advocacy Aims
Anglicare WA’s advocacy challenges the systems and structures that prevent people from living safe, stable and hopeful lives, and calls for a better and fairer life for all. Our advocacy is guided by four key priorities: creating economic justice and fairness, ensuring everyone has a home, freedom from family and domestic violence and abuse, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recognition and justice. These priorities are informed by research and the lived experience and needs of the people and communities we serve.
How We Advocate
At Anglicare WA, we identify community needs and the barriers that prevent people from thriving through deep listening, evidence-based research, and collaboration. We bring together insights from people with lived experience, frontline services, research, and sector expertise to develop innovative solutions to complex structural challenges and inform our advocacy and policy work.
We share these insights with sector partners, Members of Parliament, government policymakers, and decision-makers to influence the policies, systems, and institutions that shape people’s lives. Through trusted relationships across government, academia, civil society, and the community services sector, we work to shift public narratives, amplify community voices, and drive meaningful and lasting systems change.
Over the last year we have made numerous policy submissions, convened and supported coalitions, and contributed to important public conversations on issues affecting our communities. These include social and affordable housing, poverty and economic justice, family and domestic violence, human rights, reconciliation and truth-telling, and social inclusion. We believe that by working collaboratively across sectors, we can help create the conditions for a fairer and more equitable WA.
Our Impact
We have seen positive social policy reforms and investment following Anglicare WA’s targeted and collective advocacy.
Our advocacy efforts, delivered in partnership and collaboration with sector colleagues, community organisations and supporters, have contributed to significant policy wins, reforms and government commitments over the past year. A key milestone is the annual launch and circulation of the Rental Affordability Snapshot, which continues to spotlight the growing challenges facing people seeking affordable housing in WA.
We also welcomed important reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA), including the end of no-grounds evictions, new legal protections for boarders and lodgers, and the introduction of minimum rental standards to ensure properties provide adequate facilities, health, safety and privacy.
Alongside these reforms, we saw progress through fairer tax settings, extended funding for the WA Rent Relief Program, and the celebration of No Place for Poverty’s first anniversary, highlighting the growing momentum for systemic change.
Importantly, we know governments are considering measures that address the broader drivers of poverty and disadvantage. These include boosting the supply of social and affordable housing and associated support services, investment in housing and construction workforce initiatives, expanding universal access to high-quality early childhood education and care, increasing healthcare bulk billing, and improving access to free mental health support.
Together, these outcomes represent meaningful progress towards a fairer WA where everyone has access to secure housing and the supports they need to thrive.
Our Collaboration
Collaboration is central to our approach, enabling us to achieve lasting impact and build a fairer, more inclusive WA. We are proud to have worked alongside partners on campaigns including Make Renting Fair, Social Reinvestment WA, WA for a Human Rights Act, and Human Rights Act Australia. We have also supported initiatives that advance truth-telling, reconciliation, and anti-racism, including engagement around Change the Date discussions and broader efforts to challenge racism and discrimination in all their forms.
The Future
As we mark 50 years of service and advocacy, we are grateful to the communities, partners, supporters and advocates who have worked alongside us to advance positive change. While we celebrate this milestone, we also recognise that the challenges facing Western Australians continue to evolve, and our advocacy must evolve with them.
The next 50 years will require courage, collaboration and compassion. By continuing to listen deeply, elevate lived experience, strengthen partnerships, shape public narratives and advocate for systemic change, Anglicare WA will remain committed to creating a fairer, safer and more connected WA where everyone can thrive.