Annual Report 2015 Achieving Real Change
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Annual Report 2015 Achieving real change WORLD VISION AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Through agriculture, World Vision is helping the people of South Sudan get back on their feet. Photo: Jon Warren/World Vision WHO WE ARE 3 World Vision Australia ABN 28 004 778 081 1 Vision Drive, Burwood East, Victoria, 3151 Incorporation and charitable status About this Annual Report • Public company limited by guarantee under the Corporations This Annual Report covers our activities and performance for the Act from 19 June 1969. Members are our current Directors. period 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015, our financial year. • Registered charity with the Australian Charities and This Annual Report is one of the ways we seek to satisfy our Not-for-Profits Commission from 3 December 2012. accountability obligations to all our stakeholders, including our partners and supporters. We believe accountability is crucial for our sustainability and therefore our ability to fulfil our Mission. Tax concessions and fundraising By holding ourselves accountable, we demonstrate that we are worthy of the trust our stakeholders place in us. • Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) and endorsed It has been prepared to respond to specific legal requirements and by the Australian Taxation Office as: the ACFID Code of Conduct and also with reference to the Global o a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR); and Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and the GRI NGO Sector Supplement. A table showing how the content of this o an income tax exempt charity (holding tax Annual Report responds to the indicators under the GRI framework concessions and exemptions relating to income, can be found on our website together with this report. goods and services, and fringe benefits taxes). We encourage you to read this Annual Report together with: • Operates an Overseas Aid Fund and a Necessitous Persons Fund, endorsed as DGRs. 1. Our Annual Evaluation Review 2015, available at worldvision.com.au/annualreports. • Fundraises throughout Australia and registered This covers reviews undertaken in 2015 of evaluation reports under fundraising legislation as required: from projects we funded which were completed in 2014. NSW – Registration no. 13579 2. The most recent Accountability Report of the World Vision QLD – Registration no. CH0675 International Partnership at wvi.org/accountability. This addresses the mechanisms and processes that the Partnership, of which we SA – Licence no. CPP605 are a part, has in place to assure quality improvement and ensure TAS – Registration no. 1 integrity, as well as the challenges the Partnership faces as a whole. VIC – Registration no. 10214.15 This report covers activities we (World Vision Australia) have undertaken or supported. Where we have undertaken or WA – Licence no. CC18076 supported an activity with other World Vision offices we describe them as “World Vision” activities. Accreditations Fully accredited by the Australian Government through its Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The accreditation process provides the Australian Government and the Australian public with confidence that they are funding a professional, well- managed, community-based organisation capable of delivering good development outcomes. World Vision Australia was pleased to be recognised as the Member of the Australian Council for International Development winner in the revenue greater than $30m category in the (ACFID) and adherent to the ACFID Code of Conduct 2009 and 2013 PwC Transparency Awards for the quality (acfid.asn.au/code-of-conduct). The code defines minimum standards and transparency of our reporting for those years. This of governance, management and accountability for non-government award is no longer running. organisations and aims to improve international development outcomes and increase stakeholder trust by enhancing transparency and accountability of signatory organisations. Feedback and complaints Feedback on this report and on our operations and conduct more generally can be sent to [email protected] or in writing to: Chief of Staff, Office of the CEO, 1 Vision Drive, Burwood East, Vic, 3151. Feedback will be acknowledged and response will be given. Complaints relating to a breach of the ACFID Code of Conduct can be made to the ACFID Code of Conduct Committee Cover photo: The day’s work starts early for these women (wva.me/acfid-complaints). in southern Zambia. Photo: Jon Warren/World Vision WORLD VISION AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Who The people who we are 8 make it possible 10 Our How we work strategy 22 around the world 32 Stories of real change 42 Governance and Financial position management 56 and performance 70 WHO WE ARE 5 Message from our Board Chair The past year has brought both challenges and World Vision’s Board, our dedicated staff and volunteers opportunities for World Vision Australia, and we and our many partners and supporters will do all we can have chosen to focus on maximising our commitment to change and adapt to new circumstances. We will to field programs and concentrating our efforts and keep pursuing innovation in program areas – from child resources on our core purpose. health to peacebuilding, from economic development to gender empowerment. Without doubt Australians are affected by complexity and uncertainty in the international economy, and this And we will continue to pursue new sources of funds, has created a more challenging environment for the new forms of partnership, and inventive ways to charity sector in general. For international agencies like engage and communicate with our supporters. World Vision, a long-term fall in currency exchange At the same time, we always strive to stay true to the rates puts additional pressure on us in meeting our purpose and inspiration that we began with, reflecting field commitments. our Christian heritage and our hope for every child to In this environment we are choosing to pursue enjoy life in all its fullness. a simpler organisational structure and reduced My fellow Board members and I have deeply operating costs. appreciated the leadership provided by our We live in a media culture where our messages must Chief Executive Tim Costello and his team compete with thousands of other messages, but I find throughout this challenging year, and the significant Australians are genuinely moved by the importance organisational changes that will lay a strong foundation of what World Vision does. There is an enormous for the future. reservoir of goodwill towards the communities we work with. The world does not stand still, and every year brings new demands and new situations requiring creative and innovative responses. George Savvides WORLD VISION AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Message from our Chief Executive A while ago I had an unusual opportunity to share They met children who were full of hope for the some of World Vision’s work with a large group of future, and parents who spoke with optimism and mostly young Australians who happened to be in pride in their achievements. Africa attending a wedding. Extreme poverty not only stops people from They were astounded at the dramatic impact our reaching their full potential; it is a blight on the human programming was having for children and their spirit. It’s an unnecessary condition that the world community in a part of Uganda that had been hit should not tolerate, and the good news is that overall, hard not just by poverty but also by a long-running despite setbacks, great progress is being made. and cruel guerrilla war. World Vision plays a vital role in bringing relief in Seeing is believing, and I was impressed by how humanitarian emergencies, in walking alongside ready these Australians were to commit to long-term communities as they transform their world, support for this transformative work. and in giving voice to the vulnerable for justice and compassion. But it was a reminder for me that World Vision ultimately belongs to our supporters, and we need to Our Australian supporters are achieving extraordinary constantly bring our supporters closer to our work. things, and I am profoundly thankful for the faithfulness We need to keep sharing stories of the lives that they show to the people we serve. are changing and the new opportunities opening up because of our supporters. One message these new supporters gave me was that they were most impressed not by the many material Tim Costello changes they could see in the community, but by the emotional and spiritual transformation. WHO WE ARE 7 Mongolian sponsored child Dulamsuren with local staff member Nasanbayar. Our organisation Support from Dulamsuren’s Australian sponsors has helped her family grow their flock of sheep. Photo: Jon Warren/World Vision World Vision Australia is an organisation incorporated in Australia. We are one of many World Vision offices, which, through a Covenant of Partnership, together form the World Vision International Partnership that collectively operates in more than 90 countries. In this sense, we are a “twin citizen”, operating in Australia but also with international obligations. As a whole, the Partnership is one of the world’s largest non- governmental, humanitarian and development agencies. All offices in the Partnership are signatories to the Covenant of Partnership. You can find out about our history at worldvision. com.au/History and read more information about the Partnership at wvi.org. Additionally, you will find out more about how we work and fund our projects through the Partnership on pages 34-35. WORLD VISION AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Our Mission Our Mission is to be a Christian organisation that Christian beliefs in an inclusive and non-judgmental engages people to eliminate poverty and its causes. manner and we are committed to working with people of all cultures, faiths and genders to achieve Our Christian faith is the foundation for all we transformation. You can find out more about our do and we strive to follow the teachings of Jesus Christian identity and how our aid and development Christ.