Public Consultation on Proposed Changes to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) Act 1992

National Council of Social Service

Consultation Period: 29 Jul 2025 - 12 Aug 2025

Status: Closed - Summary of Responses

Consultation Outcome

SUMMARY OF KEY FEEDBACK AND RESPONSES

1. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) invited members of the public to give feedback on proposed amendments to the NCSS Act 1992 (the “NCSS Act”) from 29 July to 12 August 2025.

2. MSF and NCSS received 16 responses from a range of respondents, including staff and Board members of NCSS member organisations, and interested members of the public. Majority of the respondents were supportive of the proposals, with the main clarifications and suggestions relating to sector membership and the NCSS Board appointment process. Key feedback received and MSF’s and NCSS’s responses are summarised below.

Amendments to NCSS’s Objectives and Functions

3. Most respondents strongly supported the proposed changes to NCSS’s objectives and functions to better reflect and enable NCSS to perform its role as a Sector Developer.

4. Respondents expressed their wishes for NCSS, including convening stakeholders for greater collaboration, better integrating with the health sector, reflecting the social service sector’s needs to Government agencies, and setting guidelines to support the sector’s workforce and improving governance in SSAs. NCSS is committed to partnering with key stakeholders across the social service ecosystem to strengthen collaboration, ensure that policies reflect ground needs and to uplift the social sector.

5. Some respondents highlighted the importance of ensuring that the views of smaller organisations are heard. NCSS will continue to engage and partner with organisations of all sizes within the social service ecosystem, as our focus is on the impact of the work being done, rather than the size of an organisation.

Streamlining of NCSS Membership

6. Similar to members’ feedback during NCSS’s engagements, respondents to the public consultation had differing views on NCSS’s membership function. While some questioned membership’s continued relevance given NCSS’s role as a Sector Developer, others supported retaining and streamlining it given the networking, cross-learning opportunities and credibility it offers.

7. NCSS recognises the mixed views. On balance, NCSS will retain membership, as members play a vital role in the sector and membership continues to be a valuable platform for networking and community-building. We will streamline the membership structure to focus on organisations whose core business is to provide or directly support the provision of a social service in Singapore. For example, this could include professional bodies for social service professionals, or agencies which mobilise resources for service providers or service users. We will assess an organisation’s core business through factors such as its objectives and activities.

8. Nevertheless, as a Sector Developer, NCSS will work with various organisations, regardless of their membership status, to achieve greater collective impact.

Amendments to the NCSS Board Appointment, Structure and Composition

9. Respondents emphasised the importance of ensuring sector representation on the Board, while some respondents supported having a smaller NCSS Board for nimbleness in decision-making. Respondents supported allowing employees of NCSS member organisations to sit on the Board to tap on their ground experience. They also valued the strong emphasis on ensuring greater diversity and optimising the skills, experience and capabilities of the appointed Board.

10. Balancing the above considerations, we have revised the proposed Board size to 15-27 members. In addition, the legislation will specify that excluding the Chairperson, half of the Board will be appointed by the Minister from sector members’ nominations. The increased Board size range provides flexibility to determine the optimal Board size, informed by the Board’s and sector’s needs. Ultimately, our intent is to ensure that the sector’s diversity and vibrancy is represented on the NCSS Board and that the Board remains effective and responsive.

11. Several respondents provided useful suggestions to ensure trust with the sector is maintained, specifically that NCSS should have processes to manage potential conflicts of interest and to ensure transparency in the Board appointment process. NCSS already has processes in place to manage any conflict of interest amongst Board members, such as annual declarations of interest and abstention from voting on matters where they may have interest in. NCSS will continue to enhance processes to mitigate any risks in the Board’s decision-making. NCSS will also clearly communicate the Board nomination and appointment process to sector members.

12. Beyond ensuring sector representation on the NCSS Board, NCSS will ensure that there are open channels for sector stakeholders to share their views.

Conclusion

13. MSF and NCSS would like to thank all respondents for taking time to provide feedback, which has been invaluable in shaping the proposals. We remain committed to developing a future-ready and sustainable social service sector that improves quality of life of our citizens.

Detailed Description

Aim

1. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) invite members of the public to give feedback on proposed amendments to the NCSS Act 1992 (the “NCSS Act”).

Background

2. NCSS was established in 1992 under the NCSS Act, replacing its predecessor, the Singapore Council of Social Service. The NCSS Act enshrined NCSS's role as a membership body for the social service sector, including objects such as representing its members to present their views to the Government. The NCSS Act enabled NCSS to play a strategic and more pro-active role in social service planning and provision, including raising funds to meet the sector’s needs through the Community Chest.

3. In the more than thirty years since, the social service sector has changed significantly, with increasingly complex social needs, changing donor expectations and accelerated digital transformation. Government funding and support to the sector has also increased significantly. In response to these changes and to improve outcomes for social service users, NCSS's role has expanded beyond being a membership body to also become a Sector Developer. Some examples of NCSS’s initiatives to develop the sector include:

   1. Launching the Social Service Sector Strategic Roadmap (4ST) with key strategic thrusts and recommendations to guide the sector to actively participate and collaborate to deliver impactful services and empower social service users;

   2. Supporting the sector’s capability-building, such as in people practices, digital adoption and volunteer management, through the Social Service Institute and the Community Capability Trust; and

   3. Introducing the Sustainable Philanthropy Framework to deepen corporates’ involvement in the sector and helping them to measure the social impact of their philanthropy and volunteerism efforts, as well as their inclusive business practices (including but not limited to inclusive hiring and social procurement).

4. It is thus timely to amend the NCSS Act to better reflect and enable NCSS’s updated role and functions.

5. Since 2024, NCSS has engaged more than 320 NCSS members through closed-door sessions and incorporated their feedback in formulating the key proposed amendments to the NCSS Act. NCSS members are supportive of the proposals, which can be categorised into strengthening three areas relating to capability, partnerships and governance:

   1. Amendments to NCSS’s objectives and functions;

   2. Streamlining of NCSS membership; and

   3. Amendments to the NCSS Board appointment process, structure and composition.

A. Amendments to NCSS’s Objectives and Functions

6. While the current Act does not preclude NCSS from carrying out its work as a Sector Developer, the legislated objectives emphasise its role as a membership body. We intend to propose amendments to update NCSS’s objectives and functions to better reflect and equip NCSS with the levers to perform its evolved role as a Sector Developer.

7. As Sector Developer, NCSS will support stakeholders in the social service landscape to meet service users’ needs, regardless of membership status. In that vein, NCSS’s key priorities will be defined as:

   1. Strengthening social service delivery such as by coordinating services amongst stakeholders and allocating resources to critical and emerging areas;

   2. Building organisational and professional capabilities in the sector to better equip organisations to meet service needs; and

   3. Building a robust social service ecosystem by rallying community support and encouraging sustainable philanthropy and volunteerism to amplify the sector’s impact.

B. Streamlining of NCSS Membership

8. Today, NCSS has more than 500 members. While members form a majority of service providers in the social service sector, there are also member organisations whose objectives or activities are unrelated to the social service sector.

9. Our engagements with members have yielded diverse views on NCSS's membership function. Some members thought there might no longer be a need to retain a membership scheme, given that NCSS would partner both members and non-member organisations to meet social needs. Others felt that the value of NCSS membership extended beyond practical support, to community building and sector collaboration. Building on this foundation and considering members’ feedback, we intend to propose amendments to:

   1. Streamline membership from two tiers (“Full” and “Associate” Members) into a single “Sector Member” tier;

   2. Scope membership to focus on organisations whose core business is providing or directly supporting the provision of social services in Singapore; and

   3. Discontinue membership fees.

10. As Sector Developer, NCSS will continue to strengthen partnerships with members and expand engagements and collaborations to include non-member organisations such as private service providers and corporates. With evolving social service needs, these non-member organisations provide valuable resources to support the delivery of social services. Access to networking opportunities and funding support will be available to both members and non-members, aligned with NCSS’s core focus of improving the outcomes of service users, and our commitment to develop the social service sector.

C. Amendments to the NCSS Board Appointment, Structure and Composition

11. The current NCSS Act provides for a 23-person NCSS Board, with almost equal numbers of appointed and elected Board members. With NCSS’s broadened mandate as a Sector Developer, the NCSS Board must be able to represent the views of both social service agencies and wider sector players.

12. We thus intend to propose changes to the NCSS Board appointment process, structure and composition to:

    1. Move to a smaller Board of up to 15 individuals appointed by the Minister for Social and Family Development, for nimbleness, to ensure an optimal mix of skills, experience, and knowledge, and to align with practices in other Statutory Boards. The minimum size of the board will be seven;

    2. Maintain sector representation by appointing at least three Board members from sector members’ nominations;

    3. Allow NCSS members’ employees to sit on the NCSS Board, to tap on their ground experience and sector knowledge; and

    4. Increase the Board term from two to three years, to enable Board members to develop deeper insights and have a longer runway to contribute.

13. NCSS will ensure that there are open channels and engagement platforms so that the views of the whole sector are heard and represented.

Feedback on NCSS Act Amendments

14. Beyond the key proposals indicated above, we will also be proposing miscellaneous and technical amendments to modernise the Act, as well as to align with other Statutory Boards and better reflect operational practices.

15. The proposed amendments to the NCSS Act represent a significant step in strengthening NCSS’s role as Sector Developer. We welcome your feedback on the proposed amendments as we continue building a more caring and inclusive society.

16. Please provide your feedback via this link: https://go.gov.sg/feedback-ncss-act-review by Tuesday, 12 August 2025. Your responses will be kept confidential and used only for the purpose of refining the proposals. After the public consultation exercise ends, MSF and NCSS will publish a summary of key feedback received and our responses. Thank you.