Community Information Support Services

What Community Information Support Services does

Community Information Support Services (CISS) is an Australian not-for-profit social enterprise and registered Health Promotion Charity, headquartered in Fortitude Valley, Queensland, and incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. The organisation operates the My Community Platform, a portfolio of interconnected community-information products: My Community Directory (an online directory of health and community services), My Community Diary (an events calendar that also surfaces visiting/outreach services), My Give Local (a place-branded volunteering platform), and Access My Healthcare (a unified calendar for health services and outreach). Supporting these is the Community Information Exchange platform and the Australian Community Data Standard (ACDS), an interoperability framework the organisation developed to standardise data exchange across the community sector. Additional frameworks include SHIFT (Shared Health Information Framework and Terminology) and the Australian Impact Framework, which uses validated tools such as PROMIS for outcomes measurement.

CISS generates revenue through a hybrid model: free public access funded by council and government data subscriptions, tax-deductible donations (enabled by its DGR endorsement from 08 Jan 2015), open-data consultancy services, and partner-provided professional services. Its customers include local councils (Brisbane City Council, Toowoomba Regional Council, City of Armadale, City of Cockburn), state and federal health bodies (Queensland Health, WA Primary Health Alliance, Metro South, Partners in Recovery), and the broad public. The organisation explicitly focuses on vulnerable populations, including people with mental health challenges, older Australians, young parents, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with chronic disease, and people with disability. Operations span approximately 16 staff across offices in Queensland, Melbourne, and Perth, with an active National Team 2025 and stated expansion plans into New South Wales and Victoria.

The business model is unusual in combining freemium public access with council-funded subscription and donation-based support. GTM motion is event-driven, relying on free webinars (community, data, tool, and healthcare tracks), council partnerships, community information sessions, and an annual reporting cycle to drive engagement. Distribution blends self-serve digital access (the platforms themselves, plus a 1300 762 515 helpdesk) with channel partnerships through councils and health networks. Competitive positioning rests on the largest verified collection of Health and Community Services data in Queensland, deep council relationships that act as distribution anchors, and regulatory standing as a Health Promotion Charity that competing commercial directory providers cannot replicate.

Name

Community Information Support Services

Legal name

Community Information Support Services Ltd

Website

https://communityinfo.org.au

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community Information Support Services is an Australian not-for-profit social enterprise operating the My Community Platform — directory, events, volunteering, and healthcare-access products — funded by council/government subscriptions and donations to connect vulnerable Australians with local health and community services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Information and Health Services Directory

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Social Assistance (624), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGAEAG), Accessibility, Accommodations & Assistive Services (EDALAFAN), Dependent & Family Support Services (spouse/partner, children, family resources) (EDALANAH)

Keywords

• Community information services
• Health and community directory
• Open data consultancy
• Data interoperability standards
• Social prescribing platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Fortitude Valley

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Community Organization Memberships (Free Tier): Community organisations can list their service details at no cost, providing free access to their information for the public and other interested stakeholders. This supports the primary purpose of providing a service directory to the public at no cost.
2. Council and Government Data Services: Fee-based services provided to Councils and Government including: data downloads under limited licence for use within member activities; specific community service provider information access for approved members; consultation services on website layout and page recognition.
3. Tax-Deductible Donations: Registered charity accepting tax-deductible donations. Donations help maintain and expand digital infrastructure ensuring every Australian has access to community information they need. Platform is free for public, community groups and service providers.
4. Professional Services: Professional services including graphic art, financial services, and marketing provided by partners and supporters. These support the organization's ongoing work for communities.
5. Open Data Consultancy Services: Consultancy services to help Community Organisations, Councils and Government define and build Open Data projects. Includes implementing Australian Community Data Standard, developing tools and web applications for data exchange, and designing frameworks to standardize data.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Community Information Support Services (CISS) operates the My Community Platform, a suite of interconnected digital products that connect Australians to local community, health, and volunteering services. Its core products include My Community Directory (community services directory), My Community Diary (events and outreach calendar), My Give Local (volunteering platform), and Access My Healthcare (health services calendar), supported by the Community Information Exchange data platform and the Australian Community Data Standard (ACDS) interoperability framework. The organization provides these platforms free to the public and community organizations while earning revenue from council and government memberships, data services, consultancy, and tax-deductible donations.

Product overview

Community Information Support Services is a social enterprise that operates the My Community Platform, a suite of interconnected digital products focused on community information and health services. The core portfolio includes My Community Directory (an online directory of community services), My Community Diary (an events calendar for local community events), My Give Local (volunteering platform), and Access My Healthcare (health services calendar). These are supported by the Community Information Exchange platform for data interoperability and the Australian Community Data Standard (ACDS) framework. The organization also provides Open Data Consultancy Services and operates initiatives such as SHIFT (health information framework) and the Australian Impact Framework. The products serve councils, government agencies, health providers, and community organisations across Australia, with a focus on Queensland and expansion into other states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• My Community Directory An online community directory that transforms data into information, providing a link between people and local community organisations to deliver better health and social outcomes. It is established as a primary source of information across Queensland communities and is growing nationally, with over 10 million uses across Australia in 12 years.
• My Community Diary An online events calendar focused on connecting people with local neighbourhoods at community events such as festivals, markets, and fetes. Also includes visiting/outreach services information integrated from the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse.
• My Give Local A volunteering platform that enables communities to post and find volunteer opportunities. The 'My' prefix is substituted for the local area name. Supports open and shared information, allowing volunteer ads to be linked back to My Community Directory listings.
• Access My Healthcare An online calendar of health and community services and events that brings together information from My Community Directory and My Community Diary into a single view to help health consumers, carers, clinicians and community find health services provided by Hospital and Health Services, federal and state funded providers.
• Community Information Exchange A platform that offers access to high quality community information, actively supporting the development of the digital economy. It focuses on building and supporting products and services that improve the health and wellbeing of the community.
• (Open) Data Consultancy Services Consultancy services designed to help Community Organisations, Councils and Government define and build Open Data projects, including implementing the Australian Community Data Standard, developing tools and web applications for data exchange, and designing frameworks to standardise data.
• Australian Community Data Standard (ACDS) A framework for interoperability between Community Sector data and other data sources, developed to facilitate access and exchange of community information. Part of the standard includes the Volunteer and Jobs Data Standard.
• SHIFT (Shared Health Information Framework and Terminology) A collaborative initiative designed to standardise health information exchange and terminology across systems, organisations, and communities. Provides consistency in health data, interoperability between healthcare systems, and a unified language for healthcare to improve communication and enhance patient outcomes.
• Australian Impact Framework A national approach designed to measure, evaluate, and improve the outcomes of social and health initiatives across communities. Provides a shared structure for impact measurement using standardised measures including PROMIS validated tools for physical, mental, and social health.
• Service Linker (ASSI Linker) Part of the Community Information Support Services product ecosystem supporting social prescribing and connecting vulnerable Australians to community services.
• The Big Blue Book - Lifeline Community Directory A community directory product associated with Lifeline, supported through the Community Information Support Services office.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 10 million uses across Australia in past 12 years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2017Partnership to help connect people to important health services across Western Australia. Data migration was underway to bring WA health information into the My Community Directory platform. Supported by WAPHA and other Primary Health Networks across the country.
• Healthy PlacescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Partnership to deliver Traditional Wisdom Mentoring project training across Australia. In 2012, 20 Traditional Wisdom Mentors trained in Tasmania. In 2013, 40 Traditional Wisdom Mentors trained across the Northern Territory. Programs included Cook Well Be Well, How to be an Urban Hippy, My Future Our Community and Health @ Home.
• Queensland HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVisionary staff in Queensland Health supported the establishment of Access My Healthcare website for a joined-up health system. Ongoing collaboration on health outreach and community health information.
• Metro South (Virtual Health Precinct)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with Metro South to provide community information for the Virtual Health Precinct Project - identifying ways to link Health and Community services for better outcomes.
• Civic Technology InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on developing or supporting Civic Technology that would help vulnerable Australians including people with mental health issues, older Australians, young parents, Indigenous people, people with chronic disease, and people with disability.
• Community CentralminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsored and supported by Community Central for community information sessions and sharing of community information.
• Brisbane City CouncilcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContinues to provide The Brisbane Community Directory to its residents. Council funds the platform to serve the Brisbane community.
• Toowoomba Regional CouncilcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContinues to provide Toowoomba Regional Community Directory to its residents.
• City of ArmadalecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJoined My Community Directory and launched the Armadale Community Directory for Western Australian residents.
• City of CockburncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJoined My Community Directory and launched the Cockburn Community Directory for Western Australian residents.
• Partners in Recovery ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal Government initiative supporting people with severe and persistent mental illness. My Community Directory provides information tools for local PIR Partners to create connections between people with mental illness and local support agencies.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National Health Services Directory (NHSD): National directory of Australian health services and practitioners — competes in the health-services discovery space where Access My Healthcare operates, with broader geographic coverage but less community-services breadth.
• Healthdirect Australia: Federally funded national health information and service directory operated by a consortium of state/territory governments — overlaps with CISS's Access My Healthcare and addresses a similar health-navigation use case but at national-government scale.
• Our Community: Australian not-for-profit providing advice, technology and resources to community organisations and councils — adjacent peer with overlapping customers (community orgs, local government) and a broader support-services platform mix.

Emerging players

• GoShift Australia: Australian volunteer-matching and community-engagement platform — directly comparable to CISS's My Give Local product and similar vulnerability-focused community outcomes framing.
• Pro Bono Australia: Australian NFP news, jobs and resources platform serving the community sector — comparable audience of NFP staff and community organisations, though focused on information/jobs rather than service directories.

Others

• Open Data Institute / data.gov.au ecosystem: Government open-data infrastructure and standards bodies — CISS's ACDS and SHIFT directly intersect with this ecosystem, and these entities shape the regulatory environment in which CISS's data standards operate.
• LocalBuy (Local Government Association of Queensland): Pre-qualified supplier arrangement used by Queensland councils — CISS is already listed here; it represents the procurement rail through which council customers access CISS, making it an ecosystem enabler rather than direct competitor.

Direct peers

• Infoxchange: Australian not-for-profit social enterprise that builds technology and resources for the community sector — most directly comparable to CISS as a fellow NFP tech-for-community-services provider with overlapping customer base (councils, community organisations, government).
• Service Seeker Australia: Australian online directory of community, health and disability service providers — direct competitor to My Community Directory for both public service-finding and council/health-partner listings.
• Ask Izzy: Australian service directory connecting people in need with nearby services (housing, food, health) — directly competes with My Community Directory in the community-services discovery category and targets similar vulnerable cohorts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/communityinformaitonexchange
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-information-support-services-ciss-

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Information Support Services