Westpac and Social Outcomes' Youth CONNECT Bond

Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) has partnered with Social Outcomes to support Churches of Christ in Queensland, raise $5 million via a social benefit bond to fund the Youth CONNECT program in Queensland over 6.5 years.

The Program aims to support young people 15 to 25 years old who are exiting or have exited statutory care and are homeless or are at risk of homelessness.

Social Outcomes managing director, Sandy Blackburn-Wright, said of the Program: "We are focussed on increasing resilience for young people exiting statutory care. We have designed a measurement framework for the bond that reflects the situation they find themselves in and measures the progress they make towards greater resilience and a more stable future."

Peter Taplin, Westpac's director of structured finance added: "Investment returns are based on the agreed outcomes being achieved generating avoided cost for government over time. By reducing the incidence of homelessness and supporting education, employment and community connection, we can effectively return this money to the investors who supported the service upfront."

Key dates
Redemption date: 30 June 2017
Settlement date: 30 September 2017