Impact Investment Taskforce finds Government action needed to drive impact investment
Impact Investing Australia (IIA) has welcomed the interim report of the Prime Minister’s Social Impact Investing (SII) Taskforce. The interim initiatives outlined include: developing evidence and data on social impact; principles for future initiatives; and capacity and awareness raising through an information portal.
The interim report lays the foundations for a set of three larger recommendations flagged for the final report. All are closely aligned to recommendations IIA has been actively advocating to Government for action. They include the establishment of a SII wholesaler to catalyse Australia’s for-purpose market.
“This report recognises that the Government has a clear role to play in catalysing and driving Australia’s impact investing market to realise the potential benefits for Australian communities. The Government is unique in its ability to use policy levers and partnering with the private sector to enable the market”, said Sally McCutchan, CEO, Impact Investing Australia, a member of the Expert Panel guiding the Taskforce.
“Through the establishment of a social impact investing wholesaler, the Government has the immediate opportunity to drive scale by making a one-time investment in a game-changing initiative. Designed as a catalytic, independent institution, with impact at its core, a SII wholesaler will unlock capital and capacity to tackle social issues at scale”, she continued.
The interim report also signals final report recommendations for early stage funding to support the market gap of social entrepreneurs accessing support and capital; and increasing a range of outcomes-based funding opportunities.
IIA Director of Policy and Social Enterprise Development, Sabina Curatolo, also welcomed the report’s recommendations which would further support Australia’s social enterprises and intermediaries. Ms Curatolo said she looks forward to the Government’s response to the interim report. In doing so, Ms Curatolo stressed the need to embed impact in early policy design rather than as a “tack on” at the end of the process, saying “our experience is that the best solutions are developed by people driven by the social issues they are seeking to solve through developing sustainable business models. The focus on impact needs to be at the heart of any solution so that it doesn’t get outgrown as the business scales or changes.”
For further information, please see IIA pre-budget submission
Contact: Sabina Curatolo on 0400 318 205