AGL is pleased to support the Thriving Communities Partnership (TCP) as a Founding Partner.

The TCP, which was formally launched at the end of August, is a cross-sectoral initiative aimed at improving outcomes for customers experiencing a period of vulnerability or financial hardship and contributing to the overall inclusiveness of Australian society.  The TCP will provide Australia’s first centralised platform for collaboration, learning, research and projects that advance organisational contributions to combatting customer vulnerability and hardship.

By its very nature, the TCP recognises that customers presenting to one service provider in circumstances of financial strain or vulnerability, are likely to be feeling this pressure in many other facets of their lives. Where a coordinated and consistent approach is adopted across sectors (including energy, water, banking, telecommunications) – including the active referral of customers to other channels of assistance available to them – outcomes for customers are likely to be more predictable and their resilience greatly improved.

The TCP also recognises that we have a lot to learn from one another. Sharing experiences around new approaches trialed or implemented, and new insights gained from organisational research and projects, will improve the likelihood that better practices are adopted sooner. We are excited by the potential of the TCP to accelerate ongoing improvements in the manner in which organisations effectively support customers through periods of vulnerability.