Social Impact Bonds: An Australian Snapshot

This paper captures insights from the presenters at the Centre for Social Impact’s inaugural Social Finance Forum, which focused on Social Impact Bonds.

It presents the experiences to date of the government, charity and investor participants in the New South Wales Social Benefit Bonds trial, as well as experience from the Peterborough Social Impact Bond, shared by David Hutchison, CEO of Social Finance UK.

Project Objectives

The paper contains six sections:

• The first section sets the context for Social Impact Bonds in Australia
• The second section outlines the organisations involved in the NSW Social Benefit Bonds trial and the general structure they might follow
• The third section contains a description of benefits already realised by the organisations involved in the trial
• The fourth section identifies several types of risk associated with Social Benefit Bonds and how they are managed
• In the fifth section, measuring outcomes is presented as the basis for Social Impact Bonds
• The sixth and final section presents expectations going forward