Caritas Australia
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Caritas Australia Limited | |
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| Predecessor | 1962–1964: Catholic Church Relief Fund (CCRF) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1964 |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Legal status | Public Benevolent Institution, Registered Charity |
| Headquarters | Mascot, New South Wales, Australia |
| Location |
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| Coordinates | 33°55′33″S 151°11′18″E / 33.92581°S 151.18824°E |
| Origins | Catholic Social Teaching |
Region served | worldwide |
| Fields | social work |
CEO | Kirsten Sayers |
Main organ | board of directors |
| Affiliations | Caritas Oceania, Caritas Internationalis, ACFID |
| Budget | Part of Australia's Official Development Assistance (ODA); specific figures available in annual reports (2023–2024) |
| Revenue | 45.8 million AUD[1] (2023) |
| Expenses | 54.6 million AUD[1] (2023) |
| Funding | private donations (62%), one-off government grants (32%), other (7%)[1] |
| Staff | 137[2] (2023) |
| Volunteers | Community and office-based volunteers across Australia; active in fundraising, advocacy, and support roles (Ongoing volunteer engagement; includes long-term and seasonal volunteers across Australia) |
| Students | Thousands of students from Catholic schools across Australia participate annually in Project Compassion and educational initiatives (Thousands of students participate annually in Project Compassion and Caritas-led educational programs) |
| Award | Caritas Australia Art Award (annual student recognition) |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | 1964–1966: Catholic Overseas Relief Committee (CORC) 1966–1996: Australian Catholic Relief |
Caritas Australia is an Australian Catholic agency for development cooperation and humanitarian aid.
Caritas is a member of Caritas Internationalis and its region Caritas Oceania, as well as of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID).
Caritas Australia's predecessor was the Catholic Church Relief Fund (CCRF), established in 1962 and whose name was changed two years to Episcopal Committee for Catholic Overseas Relief (COR). Later that same year, in 1964, the Catholic Bishops started the Catholic Overseas Relief Executive Committee, whose members were lay people. It became the Australian Catholic Relief in 1966 and Caritas Australia in 1996.[3]
In the 1960s, parish communities in Adelaide, Sydney and Wagga Wagga were collecting funds during Lent for missionary projects and activities to reduce poverty abroad. This practice, named "Project Compassion", developed over the years and is still Caritas Australia's main fundraising appeal.[4]
