What We Do
The Big Issue Australia is one of Australia’s leading social enterprises providing creative solutions to the issue of homelessness.
We achieve this by using different mechanisms to connect people with the community, such as The Big Issue Street Magazine Enterprise (a fortnightly independent current affairs magazine sold on the street by our authorised vendors), the Street Soccer Program (a national initiative using the positive power of sport to change lives), and the Education Program (that challenges primary and secondary students to break down stereotypes surrounding homelessness and encourage tolerance and empathy towards all people).
The Big Issue opens its doors to all members of the community who are homeless or marginalised.
The Big Issue Street Magazine Enterprise: a good read for a good deed
The Big Issue Street Magazine Enterprise is a unique business solution to a social problem; using the publishing model to produce a quality product, the sale of which provides opportunities for homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people to make positive changes in their lives.
Authorised vendors buy the magazine for $2.50 from The Big Issue and sell it on the streets for $5, keeping the difference.
Since its launch in 1996, The Big Issue vendors in Australia have sold over 5 million magazines, with almost $10 million going into the pockets of Australia’s homeless and unemployed.
Street Soccer Program: changing lives through the power of sport
Street Soccer is a new approach to alleviate the plight of the disadvantaged and homeless.
The program uses physical activity, in the form of organised sport, as a catalyst for transforming the lives by reconnecting homeless with the community and providing them with a real sense of purpose and belonging. Most critically, it gives them a great boost in self-esteem and a vision for a brighter future.
The Street Soccer Program can be adapted to meet the challenges and needs of local communities throughout Australia, including Indigenous Australians and refugees.
