‘But we others, we are too young to intervene in the social struggle. Should we remain inactive therefore in the midst of a suffering and groaning world? No, there is a preparatory path open to us: before taking action for the public good we can take action for the good of individuals; before regenerating France, we can solace poor persons. I would further wish that all young people might unite in head and heart in some charitable work and that there be formed throughout the whole country a vast generous association for the relief of the common people.’ - Blessed Frédéric Ozanam

I had the pleasure, alongside the National President, of joining with our young Vincentians in Melbourne for the opening of the Australian Catholic Youth Festival. Our members were well represented from all the states and Canberra-Goulburn. It was a wonderful gathering which was led by Ashley Carvalho, Lachlan Dent and Maddy de Dassel.

Lachlan guided the group through “Pilgrims of Hope through History” which had highlighted quotes taken from some of the letters written by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati. These words highlighted their authors’ strong faith and demonstrations of love for those in their local community who were needing a hand up. These reflections ended with references from Pope Leo XIV to the centrality of Catholic Social Teaching to working for a fairer and more just world. Our Pilgrims noted the relevance of these writings, penned by people of their own age and expressed over a 200-year timeframe, and which underpin our commitment to live a Vincentian lifestyle of charity today and beyond.

The talent, the caring for each other, and the compassion for our Companions demonstrated during this gathering gives confidence to National Council that our pool of future Council Members and company directors is growing.

In July 2026, I look forward to hosting with our Spirit of Youth Standing Committee a second ‘Levelled Up’ workshop for our younger Members. This workshop provides the Society in Australia an opportunity to nurture and to mentor our future leaders. It allows us to instil in participants the importance of understanding the role good corporate governance plays in guiding the Society into the future. Those attending the Levelled-Up workshop will likely be the Society’s Stewards in coming years.

Acquiring the knowledge of what it means to be a Steward of the Society in Australia and contemplating how to apply this knowledge is a journey. The Society’s core vision of offering solace to those in need and advocating to address the public policies that keep people in poverty has not changed since the 1830s. But, as The Rule (I, 1.6) advises, we need to adapt to a changing world and remain contemporary. This means more than moving into social media spaces – essential though this is. Being relevant in the many different local communities in which we are present requires our Stewards to ensure our governance and operations comply with local legislative requirements and to be vigilant that our vision is front and centre.

With respect to the social media environment aided by AI, the Society continues to be the object of scams. These scams have involved innocent citizens having their ‘donation’ redirected into scammer accounts. These occurrences literally rob those in need of support.

Scams adversely affect the Society brand and our hard-earned reputation, undermine trust, cause confusion and divert significant human and dollar resources away from delivering our good works. We, and other not-for-profit charities, look to the Commonwealth Government to help us tackle this fraud and grow the sector’s cyber security strategies and systems.

As 2025 draws to an end, and the second Albanese Government moves into a fourth year, the Society continues to promote the Not-for-Profit Sector Development Blueprint. The sector’s requests for targeted support to address current challenges that threaten its capacity to continue to offer social capital to all Australians are detailed in the Blueprint’s three pillars. Until the challenges identified therein are addressed, the sector will continue to struggle.

This will not be good for local communities. The sector will struggle to assist all governments with delivering targeted support services, easing cost-of-living pressures, and responding during times of natural disasters.

We thank Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, for his ongoing promotion of the Blueprint across whole of government. And we are encouraged by Minister Plibersek and Assistant Minister Kearney for the support they have expressed for implementation of the Blueprint’s three pillars.

Thank you to all the Society’s supporters, our volunteers, our Members and our employees.