annual report 2015 2016 - about us · annual report 2015 -2016. page 2. page 3 ommunity services...

“Strengthening Community”

Annual Report

2015 - 2016

Community Services Tablelands (CST) is able to support the Tablelands Region thanks to these funding bodies :

Queensland Government - Department of Communities, Child

Safety and Disability Services Queensland Government - Department of Health Queensland Government - Department of Justice and Attorney

- General Australian Government - Department of Health Australian Government - Department of Social Services

We also wish to extend our thanks to the following community minded local

businesses who have supported/sponsored CST throughout the year:

Joe Vella Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd Central Tyre Service John Cole Toyota

Lions Club of Atherton

Soroptimist International Tropical Tablelands

Central Tyre Service

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Brumby’s Bakery Atherton


Funding Bodies and Sponsors


Contents

1. President’s Report

2. Treasurer’s Report

3. Chief Executive Officers Report

4. Service Delivery Report

5. Audited Financial Statements including Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet 6. Quality Assurance


The past 12 months have really flown. After settling in to our new premises at 1 Main Street our services have continued to grow through the dedication of all staff at our Main Street, Mabel Street and Mareeba offices. Our locations now give CST more exposure to the Tablelands community. Our job share CEOs John and Gillian are to be congratulated on their performance with CST maintaining its position as a valued contributor to the needs of the Tablelands community. Recent feedback from Human Services Quality Standards audit places CST at the top of our peers. Recent gains in additional funding for family support services of $1.67m over the next three years further expands our services to the Tablelands community. Our new board members elected at last year’s AGM are settling in well and Mark, Joe and Graham attended this year’s Better Boards Conference held in Melbourne in late July. CEO Gillian’s observations at the Better Boards Conference confirmed CST is at the top of its game. Jeff, who was Cairns based, accepted a transfer to Mt Isa and has attended board meetings electronically when possible. Jeff has decided not to re-nominate for a board position. Our CEOs have continued their efforts in gaining support for establishment of a purpose built community hub for Atherton and we recently gained a commitment from the State Government for funding of initial works. Our congratulations to Joe Paronella on being elected mayor of the Tablelands Regional Council (TRC). Whilst our meeting numbers save lightly fallen, for various reasons, I am confident the board continues to function well. We are regularly using electronic communications.

Board Member Role %

Trevor Brady President 100

Hillary O'Brien Vice President 60

Mark Boniface Treasurer 100

Jeff Magnus Board Member 20

Coral Abdy Board Member 60

Joe Paronella Board Member 80

Graham Wardle Board Member 100

Lorraine Muckan Board Member 80

President’s Report


Funding received from State, Federal and Tableland Regional Council (TRC) governments is very much appreciated as is the continued financial support from local community minded business people and organisations. CST continues to provide charitable services through it’s activities as a service provider for government departments and the support of business donors. Our community bus continues to provide subsidised transport for the elderly and disadvantaged Tablelands community members who need to attend medical appointments or maintain social contact. Volunteer drivers and coordinators keep the service running smoothly. Valued donors such as Joe Vella Insurance Brokers, Lions Club of Atherton, Central Tyre Service, Soroptimist International Tropical Tablelands help keep this service on the road. Our valued volunteers also provide personal support to those in need. Tax Help is also provided by volunteer staff. I thank all who have supported CST in achieving the best possible outcomes for the Tablelands community. There will certainly be challenges ahead as CST implements it’s strategic plans to ensure long term sustainability. However, with the current enthusiasm and dedication of all staff and volunteers delivering CST Values and Strategies, I am confident that achievement of CST’s Mission into the future is assured. Trevor Brady President Email: [email protected]

President’s Report (cont.)

mailto:[email protected]


I am pleased to present results for financial year ended 30 June 2016 for CST which reflect an operating surplus of $39,467. Audited financial statements completed by McLaren Knight for financial year ended 30 June 2016 are presented with this annual report. CST is a registered charity and is classified as a large institution for purposes of reporting to the Australian Charity and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC). CST’s Annual Information Statement has been lodged with ACNC for financial year ended 30 June 2015. This statement can viewed on the ACNC’s web site www.acnc.gov.au by entering CST’s name under Find a Charity and following the links. Office of Fair Trading return for 30/06/2015 has been submitted.

Revenue $2,268,725 (+ $343,064) New programmes gained during the year were Intensive Family Support (IFS), Tableland Counselling and Support Services (TCASS) and Family and Child Connect (FaCC). These programmes provided additional income of $356,723. Additionally Non Recurrent grants of $78,560 were received. Programme management fees were lower this year as accumulated reserves remain high and this enabled more capacity in service delivery.

Expenditure $ 2,229,259 (-$45,791) Employment Expenses (+182,510). Employee numbers increased from 26 to 31 this year. Annual wage case increase of 3.5% applied. Capital Works Main Street premises expense reduced by $208,605 to Nil.

Equity $ 731,012 (-$137,099) Current Year Earnings -$ 137,099. See Note 2 in audited financials - Change in accounting policy for unexpended grants. The following amounts have been allocated for specific purposes out of capital account:

Gift Fund $ 19,694 Building Fund $ 82,442 Equipment & Resources $ 11,042 Service Delivery Motor Vehicles $ 8,143 Community Bus $ 19,341

Treasurer’s Report

http://www.acnc.gov.au


Future Income Streams Contract Expiry Amount due by 30/06/2017 Programme funding is as follows: Qld Community Care 30/06/2017 $ 31,269 Community Support 30/09/2018 $ 109,474 Counselling Centre 30/06/2017 $ 323,750 ER Commonwealth 30/06/2017 $ 16,373 Family and Child Connect Variable $ 35,140 Intensive Family Support 31/03/2019 $ 549,989 Tableland Counselling and Support Services 30/06/2017 $ 229,180 Bail Support 30/06/2017 $ 215,964 Family Support 30/06/2018 $ 193,778 Family Intervention 30/06/2019 $ 320,595 Tablelands Drug and Alcohol Counselling 30/06/2017 $ 323,750 Community and Home Support (C’wlth) 30/06/2018 $ 284,482 Queensland Illicit Drug Diversion 30/06/2017 $ 72,912 Clinical Services N/A $ 36,000 (Projected)

Contracts for income streams can be affected by funding bodies’ assessment of service delivery outcomes.

Sponsorship/Donations

We again acknowledge the continued support of the following community minded major donors/sponsors:

Joe Vella Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd

Lions Club of Atherton

Central Tyre Service

John Cole Toyota

Soroptimist International Tropical Tablelands

Brumby’s Bakery Atherton ANZ Bank

Also we thank those who have contributed in any way.

Treasurer’s Report (cont.)


Acknowledgements

Through the good stewardship of CEOs, John Russell and Gillian Long and bookkeeper David Feeney, CST remains in a strong financial position. Our appreciation is extended to our auditors McLaren Knight. Their guidance to Board and Management has assisted with CST’s continued financial health and growth. We seek to appoint McLaren Knight as auditors for financial year ended June 2017.

Mark Boniface Treasurer




Income 2015/16



Expenses 2015/16


This year has been one of growth and expansion for CST with a significant change of focus under a new five year strategic plan. The plan focusses on building three primary areas of priority for service delivery into the community. These are related to our charitable contributions, our government grant funded services and a new area of commercial services. As a charity, CST hopes to build a better case as to why local business donors should support CST’s work through charitable donations which are tax deductable. We continue seeking donations from the corporate sector for specific purposes such as those we secured through the Commonwealth and ANZ banks this year to help fund youth programmes. Other charitable services such as the Bus and personal support services continue, thanks to the commitment of our volunteers, but we need, and are looking for, more innovative ways to be of use to the community. Because our charitable services do not have funded coordination they take longer to build for there is little time to spend on innova-tive solutions. However, we continue to progress in this space slowly. The beginning of the 2015 to 2016 financial year saw CST providing support for many victims of the Ravenshoe café explosion as well as supporting the Community Centre. We provided training and support to local volunteers to carry out mental health first aid in the community and the CEO participated on the recovery committee. CST would like to take this opportunity to thank our members for the many contributions of cash made to help the victims and their families. They have been very grateful for your support. Recently we have supported the establishment of a Southern Tablelands Indigenous Elders Group. Since the official creation of this region as a local government area, there has never been a forum for the traditional owners to speak with one voice on behalf of the first families of the region, until now. CST will continue with our support with the intention of improving the wellbeing of all families within the region. For the same reason CST has supported the Koko Muluridji Traditional Owners of the Mareeba area in establishing their own community garden. This is not a CST project, but we are happy to provide some support for its establishment as a way of bringing Mareeba families together and improve their wellbeing. Another group we helped establish, along with other partners such as Anglicare, is the Herberton Carers Group, which is to ensure frail and aged community members are getting the services they require. In the coming year we also hope to partner with a university to carry out research which will help families and the community in the years ahead. As a significant charitable contribution to the community CST supports 21 volunteers, with roles including administration, service support, bus driving, and personal support initiatives. Under the area of grant funded services, CST has retained its funded programmes (see the service delivery report), with several renewals of programmes being granted this past year. In particular, CST has gained three more programmes. These are the Intensive Family Support Programme, a sub-contract to provide the Family and Child Connect Service to the Tablelands Region, and the

Chief Executive Officers Report


Tablelands Counselling and Support Services under sub contract to Mareeba Shire Council. As an outcome of the new strategic plan, a new organisational structure took effect at the start of the financial year. Since its inception, the performance of all our grant funded services has improved significantly. Most programmes are at capacity and are achieving the benchmarks set by the agreements. Our staffing skills and capability go from strength to strength, with training for professionalism and performance a staffing priority. To this end, CST has recruited several more professional staff as well as adopting a trainee programme whereby we recruit trainees, who work towards professional qualifications while working part-time for CST. We also provide mentoring and support as well as APRHA qualified supervision to provisional psychologists so they can become fully registered. The CST Leadership Team also undertook leadership and management training to provide better support to their teams. A significant achievement in the grant funded programme space has been our successful attainment, against all criteria, for both the State and Commonwealth quality assurance frameworks for two family programmes and one aged care programme. The third priority from the new strategic plan is to develop commercial services from which profits may contribute to supporting our charitable work. In setting about this initiative we have taken on Medicare work, fee for service for psychological testing and forensic reporting for courts and lawyers, as well as engaging in a fee for service psychology services supplier contract with the Department of Justice and Attorney General. Our Home Maintenance Team also has provision for fee for service arrangements to carry out small maintenance and modification projects for those in the community who do not fit within our service parameters. These programmes are slow to start but are progressing carefully while we evaluate their ongoing potential usefulness to the community and CST. While our business plan has a number of key performance indicators, including client satisfaction and contractual obligation indicators, CST has also developed an outcome performance indicator which measures the level of change CST services make to the lives of our clients. This measure is based on the theoretical model of stages of change, and gives a real understanding to staff about the difference they make in our community on a daily basis. We are honoured to be of such significant support to the community. Our plans to build a purpose built Community Hub are still progressing. The Minister for Communities, the Hon. Shannon Fentiman visited the Atherton Tablelands last October. With the support of our local member, the Hon. Shane Knuth, the CEO met with the Minister and showed her CST’s plans. As a result we were granted seed money to progress the project management, plans and drawings for the hub and we hope to be successful in applying for capital grants in the next year or two.

Chief Executive Officers Report (cont.)


The Tablelands Regional Council has been very supportive of our plans, and have offered land for CST to take under long term lease. Over the past year, the CEO has attended a number of meetings throughout the region, including participating as a panel member at ICE forums, as a member of the Child and Family Reform Committee, working on the Local Level Alliance (LLA) steering group. Participating on the Ravenshoe Recovery Committee and the Intensive Family Support Stakeholder Engagement Meetings. As well as participating in the Southern Tablelands Traditional Owners Group, the Muluridji Tribal Aboriginal Corporation, the Tablelands Community Housing Board and a number of both State and Commonwealth Department Service overview meetings. On a corporate note, an activity led by our very capable, thorough and patient Claudia Morris, CST continues to focus on continuous improvement initiatives which feed into the Quality Assurance processes and the Business Plan. We place much emphasis on providing a safe and secure workplace and continue to conduct regular Workplace Health and Safety risk assessments, as well as meeting legislative requirements around fire and evacuation training, and holding an annual evacuation practice. Two of our Client Intake team have First Aid Certificates so they can administer First Aid in the workplace. This past year CST has recruited 3 more staff and are in the process of recruiting two more. For our financial auditing we have again contracted McLaren Knight. Finally, we would like to thank our staff for their dedication and commitment to making CST the great community service provider that it is today. Without their professionalism and care many people in the community would not get the help and support they need to overcome trauma or crisis to live more fulfilling lives. Comments from clients have included several who said, ‘they would not still be here, if it hadn’t been for the support of our staff.’ This feedback makes all out jobs worthwhile. A special thank you goes to those of our staff who are volunteers. Without them we would be required to restrict the services offered to the community. Volunteers ensure CST is able to punch above its weight and they put back into the community the equivalent of $233,616.81 per annum. We are grateful and indebted to them for their time and commitment to CST. They are board members, bus drivers, personal supports and administration volunteers. Without the commitment and dedication of such wonderful people, CST would be a lesser place. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our membership for their continued support of CST. Your interest and commitment to the organisation is very much appreciated. John Russell and Gillian Long Co CEOs

Chief Executive Officers Report (cont.)


In addition to corporate services, CST‘s new structure includes, a Client Intake Team, a Community Team, a Psychological Services Team, a Home Maintenance Team and the Tablelands Counselling and Support Services Team. Each of these teams delivers the following services.

Client Intake Team The Client Intake Team, including reception volunteers, is the first point of contact for all clients connecting to CST. They play an important role within the organisation, as all internal and external referrals are received and processed through the team to ensure CST’s clients experience a seamless service from referral to attending appointments or other service requests. CST now has an EFTPOS machine at front reception which can be used for Medicare claims and credit/debit card payments. Having this facility has facilitated CST’s ability to take on clients who have been referred from their GP with a Health Care Plan, allowing CST to bulk bill their sessions. The team also manages room bookings at Mabel Street, Counselling rooms’ bookings and vehicle bookings which are often booked to capacity. This team, under Kerry Landford’s adept and efficient leadership, has made a significant difference to the smooth operations within the office and to the public face of CST. The team members make a difference to the way clients feel and their level of comfort and safety, as well as making all our jobs easier with their cheerful helpfulness and efficient processes.

Community Team (Funded by Department of Justice and Attorney General, Department of Health both State and Commonwealth, Department of Communities, Child Safety, and Disability Services.) The Community Team is our largest team with approximately 15 staff, located in Atherton and Mareeba, but servicing the whole region. Most staff are professionals although the number includes three trainees undertaking tertiary qualifications. They work across multiple programmes including youth, family, emergency relief, drug diversionary programmes, community engagement and providing services through case management and education frameworks. CST provided support and case management to 73 youth, 60 families with children, with 60 percent being of first nation descent. In addition, 135 clients received counselling through drug and alcohol

Service Delivery Report


diversionary programmes. 34 people were supported with tax help enquiries, 166 people sought accommodation, transport and community bus services; 743 people were provided with personal support and 24 people sought help with social connection and looking for volunteering work and education placements. 32 clients were provided with parenting programmes; 25 clients attended anger management sessions, with 18 youth supported through training initiatives. The performance of this team has been exceptional under the capable leadership of Senior Social Worker Cam Nguyen. The team has met all performance benchmarks within a 5% error margin, despite significant new programmes being incorporated during the year. With so many changes for this team it’s been a challenging year, but they have come out of it stronger, more professional and with higher performance and better client outcomes than we have seen previously.

Psychological Services Team (Funded by the Department of Communities, Child Care, and Disability Services and the State and Commonwealth Health Departments, as well as Medicare and fee for service arrangements.) CST currently employs two fully registered psychologists and three provisionally registered psychologists. We provide services such as psychometric testing, forensic reports, risk assessment reports (for the Parole Board) and psychological reports at a fee for service cost. We also offer group counselling and counselling for families and individuals through Medicare. During the last financial year the Team completed 4 pre-sentence reports for the Department of Justice and Attorney-General. Since the introduction of the Medicare initiative, CST has received approximately 72 referrals from local medical practices and our psychologists have seen 278 clients under the family support grant. We have a specialist drug and alcohol programme which incorporates counselling, assessment and education. There was a change to the service model this year – this was a quality improvement to provide counsellors more time to work with clients with complex issues under a dual diagnoses framework. Over the year 233 clients accessed our services, an increase from the previous year. Group counselling and relapse prevention as well as music therapy programmes are also offered through the Drug and Alcohol programme We also offer Carer counselling under the My Aged Care and Community Care programmes. Because of the changes to the My Aged Care referral process, counselling has reduced in this area and only 10 people accessed this service over the year. This team, under Senior Psychologist Cathy Weston’s calm and principled leadership, are highly specialised professionals, providing significant outcomes for their clients.

Service Delivery Report (cont.)


Their services are in high demand and their performance is consistently of excellent standards.

Home Maintenance Team (Funded by the Federal Department of Health and Queensland Department of Health or provided on a fee for service arrangement where consumers are not eligible for the grant funded services.) This year 489 consumers received maintenance services, including mowing, shrubbery trimming removal of trees as well as assistance with preparing for the wet season, and after wet season clean-up. 139 consumers received modifications to enable them to remain in their homes safely, with 15 receiving a full assessment from an Occupational Therapist. Fifty one clients from Department of Veteran Affairs also received modifications services from CST. This team, under Anne Stephensen’s expert leadership, receives more consumer compliments than average for their ability to provide high standards of service. A quote from a customer stated that ‘you don’t need to know how things work, just ring Anne she will know, she gets things done.’ Her team also receive many compliments each week for their considerate, efficient and pleasant approach along with quality workmanship.

Tableland Counselling and Support Service Team (Funded by the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services) Tableland Counselling and Support Services (TCASS) has three staff located in Mareeba and is funded to deliver Family Support services to improve the safety and wellbeing of children. The team’s aim is to assist families to build capacity to nurture and protect their children, and provide linkages to other resources, local support services and community groups that will help strengthen and empower families to develop functional patterns of behaviour and improve family wellbeing. TCASS is particularly committed to developing and building relationships with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in a manner that is culturally appropriate. During the 2015-2016 Financial year they spent 3,432 hours delivering services to 152 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and 141 non Indigenous clients in the Mareeba Shire. TCASS takes a case management approach and has a strong theoretical and evidenced based foundation. Intervention methods include counselling, family therapy, emotional release, art therapy and expressive therapy. Community engagement events are a core aspect of TCASS service delivery and are operationalized through workshops, community education events, group activities and social events. Under Kate Jaffer’s respectful and considerate leadership, the team has worked consistently in a very challenging environment to engage vulnerable target groups and it continues to receive positive



feedback from the Department, the Mareeba Shire Council, and the community. Since CST has undertaken the sub-contract for the programme, this team’s performance continues to go from strength to strength.

Community Bus Our unfunded community bus has been kept busy again this year with regular weekly services around Atherton and to Cairns, and every other fortnight to Mt Garnet and Tolga. The CST bus runs are about keeping people connected to their community, as well as to services such as medical facilities etc. The bus continues to be a door-to-door service with some runs having a volunteer ‘host’ to assist passengers getting on or off the bus, and to carry their shopping inside. For some of our passengers our service has become a social occasion, a time to catch up with others in their local community they may not see between bus runs. For others, this may be their only opportunity to travel outside their local neighbourhood. Our social outings continue to be a highlight for many of our senior community members who enjoy ‘going for a drive’. The interaction between the passengers and the drivers is also very encouraging. In the past twelve months our community bus has been on 8 social runs. The passengers often choose destinations they would like to visit and in the last 12 months the social outings have been to:

Lake Barrine Herberton Historical Village Skybury Mareeba Historical Society’s WW1 Display followed by lunch at Tolga Hotel. Scenic drive culminating in lunch at the Malanda Hotel Torimba Festival at Ravenshoe Coffee Works and Mareeba Historical Society Scenic drive and Gallos dairy

There were a total of 82 passengers enjoying these outings and we look forward to being able to provide more runs in the next financial year. Of course, to be able to provide all of these bus activities we need quite a few volunteers to assist. CST needs drivers, event organisers, marketing organisers etc. If you know of anyone please get in touch so that the community bus can continue with it’s much needed service.

We look forward to continuing this charitable service into the future.



We are always grateful to our sponsors for their kind donations without them the bus would struggle to stay on the road. So a big thank you to all of our all of them. .

Our Volunteer Bus Drivers

Our bus drivers are all CST volunteers fully accredited with driver authorisation through the Department of Transport.

They love their involvement with the bus and it’s passengers. The following quote from Trevor, who is one of our drivers, tells the story :- “I enjoy the social aspect of driving which I have been doing for past 9 years. Meeting diverse groups of passengers and enjoying the conversations which cover most popular topics, news of the day, local events etc. ensures pleasurable journeys.

We have great passengers who assist the driver by being at designated pickup points on time to ensure the bus stays on schedule. Special

mention for Bob who provides the early start Mt Garnet driver’s tea and toast on arrival and then marshals the local passengers.

It is especially gratifying to receive regular compliments for the invaluable service CST offers to local and remote passengers. CST maintains a reliable vehicle and diversity of routes is a bonus for me as a driver - country to Mt Garnet and city to Cairns. Belonging to a team of dedicated volunteers makes for efficient, friendly service I am proud to be a part of and I hope to be a volunteer CST driver for many years to come.”

CST is always looking for additional bus drivers. If you think you would like to join our team please

phone us on 4091 3850.



Community Services Tablelands Inc ABN 19 549 242 329

Financial Statements

For the Year Ended 30 June 2016

Audit Report 2014 - 2015

Financial Year


Quality Assurance


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1 Main Street 38 Mabel Street

(PO Box 793) Atherton Qld 4883

Phone : 07 4091 3850

Fax : 07 4091 3941

Email: [email protected]

www.cst.org.au /CommunityServicesTablelands

KD0005 (Sep16)

www.cst.org.au

https://www.facebook.com/CommunityServicesTablelands

annual report 2015 2016 - about us · annual report 2015 -2016. page 2. page 3 ommunity services...

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