CatholicCare Tasmania is the primary social services agency of the Catholic Church across Tasmania. We have 60 years’ experience delivering a wide range of services and support to improve individual, family and community wellbeing.
We employ more than 450 staff across the state and offer a variety of programs and projects across key areas:
- Children
- Family
- Housing
- Multicultural Services
- Counselling
- Emergency Relief
Our services are available to people of all backgrounds, religious beliefs and circumstances, and focus in particular on children, young people and families.
In 2020, CatholicCare Tasmania celebrated 60 years of exceptional and compassionate service to Tasmanians. We began in Hobart in 1960 as the Catholic Family Welfare Bureau. Our founding service was marriage, family and relationship counselling, a provision that remains at the heart of our mission.
Under the direction of inspirational people, such as Sr Phillipa Chapman, CatholicCare has continually assessed the needs of Tasmanians and responded with diverse services which foster a love for the poor and the vulnerable, a spirit of humble service, of mercy and compassion for all.
In 2020, Archbishop Julian Porteous DD, Archbishop of Hobart launched The Archbishop’s Charter for CatholicCare as a guide to inspire our work at CatholicCare, as an instrument of the Church’s compassionate care for those in need. The Archbishop’s Charter articulates CatholicCare’s Mission and Identity.
Our Mission
CatholicCare engages to further the healing and saving mission of Jesus Christ in the world by conducting works that enable healing of the whole human person. We seek to enhance the human life of people by offering the full Christian vision for human life. CatholicCare seeks to foster a love for the poor and the vulnerable, a spirit of humble service, of mercy and compassion for all.
Our Identity
As a work of the Catholic Church in Tasmania our services are inspired by the faith of the Church. Our specific identity is grounded in Catholic faith and teaching, and stands in the long tradition of Christian service to those in need.
Catholic Social Teaching and Values
Our values are informed by the teachings of the Catholic Church, in particular Catholic Social Teaching which provides a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living our lives amidst the challenges of modern society.
CatholicCare has developed a social impact approach to inform how it designs, delivers, and connects services. The social impact approach focuses on the integration of internal services and the strengthening of external partnerships, with a particular emphasis on place-based support. CatholicCare works to improve individual, family, and community wellbeing. CatholicCare offers a range of complementary services, allowing for cross-service planning that is critical to effectively supporting the needs of people experiencing vulnerabilities. The integration of services means an improvement in access and outcomes.
Well-being and change at the community level are complex. To address these complexities CatholicCare works across seven interconnected domains:
- Education
- Housing
- Safety
- Economics
- Health
- Spirituality
- Community Engagement
The objective of the social impact approach is to improve outcomes across the seven domains that form the basis of our evaluation of effectiveness. The social impact framework is aligned to the Tasmanian Government’s Child and Youth Wellbeing Framework.
