Sydney Zero Local Leadership Group

Outcomes from meeting held 24 January 2024

Measurement of the Success of Sydney Zero

The purpose of Sydney Zero (SZ) is to make rough sleeping rare, brief and non-recurring. To be able to measure outcomes against these goals, the BNL will need to be at a quality standard to create baselines for each measure.

The LLG agreed as follows:

-          These goals have not been measured previously and this is a very important step for the success of SZ, as well as having broader strategic importance across the sector and NSW.

-          Discussions with DCJ should proceed to see how these measures can be incorporated into DCJ policy and commissioning processes.

-          It will be helpful to have FACSIAR review the measures.

Participants in Sydney Zero

A briefing was held with homelessness organisations not yet part of Sydney Zero. This includes organisations focusing on First Nations peoples experiencing homelessness. A number of these organisations expressed a desire to become part of the project.

Further briefings were held with CHPs active in Sydney. All expressed support of Sydney Zero. Bridge Housing and Link-Wentworth will both send people to the train-the-trainer session for the simplified BNL in late February. St George is considering whether to do the same.

The LLG resolved to invite Bridge Housing to join the LLG.

Homes NSW

It was recognised that the creation of HOMES NSW and movement of key people may impact Sydney Zero. DCJ highlighted that this project remains a priority for them and will ensure the right people are briefed and included.

Simplified By-Name-List

Launch of the simplified BNL continues to be planned for mid-March. A train-the-trainer session in the simplified BNL is planned for late February, with each organisation rolling-out their internal

DCJ is progressing work for the data integration between BNL and HOMES.

ESSC has all available resources engaged in the introduction of the simplified BNL but is committed to pursuing an assertive outreach module (now referred to as the early engagement module) as soon as practicable. This piece of work has not yet been costed and, thus, funding may still need to be discussed. The LLG agreed that the early engagement module was a “game changer” and was of utmost importance.

Privacy

A privacy briefing was held for Sydney Zero stakeholders in December. No significant issues with the current privacy framework for the BNL were identified. Updated policies and procedures have been forwarded to the Ministry of Health for their sign-off for LHDs.

It was noted that the early engagement module will likely necessitate some changes in the privacy framework because of the different practices currently used for privacy consenting when initially engaging with people on the streets.

Case Coordination

Meetings of the Case Coordination Champions (CCC) Group - HART, CSI, Non-residents Group and Aboriginal Case Coordination Group – have continued, with a focus on enhancing the effectiveness of case co-ordination meetings, including embedding use of the BNL.

The CCC Group requested that the LLG consider how best to incorporate the voice of lived experience into the work of Sydney Zero. It was agreed by the LLG that this was very important and a sub-group of LLG members were tasked with forming a recommendation as to how best to achieve this.

Escalation

Escalation can address two factors: (1) The removal of blockages for individuals for which normal processes are not working; and (2) common barriers that lead to recommendations for system change. The Chair of CSI will attend future LLG meetings to present and talk to the escalation report.

In terms of systems change, it was noted that a Sydney Zero collaborative proposal had been sent to DCJ to create a triage service and to expand the provision of services to people entering Temporary Accommodation in Sydney.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Local Leadership Group is on 21 February.