St John Ambulance Australia Annual Report 2010 St John Ambulance Australia Annual Report 2010 for 12 months ending 31 December 2010 Our Values St John is a charity in the Australian community working for the Service of Humanity. Our vision for the future, whether acting alone or in partnership with others, is the provision of charitable and humanitarian services to individuals, groups and organisations. Our relief work for persons in sickness, distress, suffering or danger recognises no barrier of race, colour or creed. Funds raised for the services St John provides are a means for achieving our overall humanitarian objectives. Fundraising is not, nor will be allowed to become, an end in itself. St John takes pride in its volunteer ethos, its ethical standards and its independence. These together provide the firm foundation on which St John determines the best means of achieving the objectives to which it is dedicated. ii Contents The National Board v Chancellor 1 Finance 4 Training 5 First Aid Services 7 Community Care 9 Ophthalmic 11 Australian Youth Council 13 Historical Society 15 National Office 16 St John around Australia Australian Capital Territory 18 New South Wales 19 Northern Territory 20 Queensland 21 South Australia 22 Tasmania 23 Victoria 24 Western Australia 25 Appendices 1. The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem 27 2. Priory in Australia 27 3. Admissions and Promotions 28 4. Priory Votes of Thanks 30 5. Competitions and Awards 31 6. Obituary 32 7. Priory Chapter 33 8. National Committees and Office Holders 37 9. Finances 40 National contact directory 64 iii Our Mission The encouragement and promotion of all work of humanity and charity for the relief of persons in sickness, distress, suffering or danger, without distinction of race, class or creed. Our Goals We will: 1 Make first aid a part of everybody’s life. 2 Be the leading provider of first aid services, training and products. 3 Provide first aid related services which build community and individual resilience. 4 Provide highly accessible and effective ambulance services where contracted by Government. Our Strategies We will follow the endorsed One St John Policies and Standards, and in particular: 1. Ensure our people are well trained and treated with professionalism and respect. 2. Ensure long term financial sustainability by growing revenue and managing costs. 3. Employ contemporary professional principles in governance and management. 4. Continue to strengthen the St John brand. 5. Deliver quality products and services to meet customer and stakeholder needs. 6. Support The Order of St John and collaborate with other St John entities. iv National Board (left to right) The Honourable Peter Collins, AM, QC (New South Wales), Professor Paul Arbon, AM (Chief Commissioner), Peter Cudlipp (Chair, Victoria), Dr Michael Campion (Hospitaller), Greg Melick, AM, RFD, CS (Chair, Tasmania), Gerard King (Chair, Western Australia), Dr Neil Conn, AO (Chancellor), Sally Hasler (Chair, Community Care), Mark Compton, AM (Receiver General), Glen Brewer, (Chair, South Australia), Associate Professor Peter Warfe, CSC (Director of Training), Michael Mooney (Chair, Northern Territory), Amy Winner (Chair, Australian Youth Council), Col. John R Quantrill (Retd) (Chair, Australian Capital Territory), Peter LeCornu, (Chief Executive Officer), Dr Vlas Efstathis, OAM (Chair, Queensland). v Chancellor Strengthening the federation With these robust foundations in place, the national board turned next to the essential questions of: It sometimes comes as a surprise to outside observers to learn that St John Ambulance Australia is not a single • what we should be doing, corporate entity with branches in every State and Territory, • how we should be doing it, and but is instead a federation of largely autonomous • who is to be responsible for making it happen. associations and companies which choose to operate under the common banner of St John. On the first question, the board resolved in September to adopt, under the umbrella of The Humanitarian Mission The fact that it presents so well as a national entity in an of The Order, four Goals in Australia: Annual Report like this is a considerable tribute to the • Make first aid a part of everybody’s life; goodwill and devotion of St John staff and volunteers right across Australia. • Be the leading provider of first aid services, training and products; There is obviously more to it than that. For a federation • Provide first aid related services which build community like ours to prosper there has to be general agreement — and individual resilience; and periodically refreshed — on the ground-rules and • Provide highly accessible and effective ambulance processes governing the work we do, the treatment services where contracted by Government. of our members, the way St John is organised and the guardianship of our brand. The vital aspect of this statement is the way it has sharpened our focus on first aid, including first At the time I reported last year, the national board had aid-related services. just concluded the first stage of a review which settled twenty-two national standards and policies. These have There has been a similar outcome on the second question been well-accepted and applied throughout Australia. — ‘how to deliver’. The national board has accepted a set of six Strategic Principles, distilled by the Chief Executives During 2010 progress continued on the development of Committee from the plans and processes followed within supplementary guidelines which will detail the interpretation the State and Territory organisations. I am confident that all and practical application of each standard or policy. The jurisdictions are moving towards following these principles full set of guidelines will be completed early in 2011. and thereby applying best practice everywhere, to the ultimate benefit of the entire federation. The statement of the four Goals has also helped us to highlight State and Territory responsibility for the actual delivery of St John’s services to the community. The Lord Prior, Professor Anthony Mellows with five past Administrators of the Northern Territory (including Dr Neil Conn, Chancellor) at a St John NT Investiture, Government House, Darwin, May 2010. Left to right: Chancellor Neil Conn AO KStJ, Mr Austin Asche AC QC KStJ, the current Administrator His Honour Mr Tom Pauling AO QC KStJ, Lord Prior, Professor Anthony Mellows OBE TD KStJ, Mr Ted Egan AO KStJ, and Mr John Anictomatis AO. 1 From the Chancellor With the essential role of State and Territory bodies From the national vantage point I would, however, clarified in this way, much of the question ‘who is to be single out for special mention the following examples responsible’ was answered. It remained only to assign of collaborative achievement within the federation: tasks to the national body at the centre of the federation. • During the year, the National Business Centre was This was achieved with agreement on Our One St John closed. The National Product Sourcing Unit within the national office was established to source first aid Strategies for St John Ambulance Australia Incorporated, components and kits from the best possible sources. a list of eight tasks to be performed by, or directed from, our national body based in Canberra. • The National Commercial Development Group was very active during 2010 in rationalising the first aid kits These tasks range from ensuring that valuable information and products sold by St John in Australia. is shared across St John, through elevating our national • In June, the Board agreed that the constitutions for profile by coordinated marketing, to managing all St John State/Territory and national organisations membership and awards within The Most Venerable Order. should contain a minimum agreed set of eighteen rules, with further work to be undertaken on the wording for The pieces now fit together in a binding statement of model rules. It further agreed that all St John Strategic Direction 2010, comprising: State/Territory/national organisations would consider becoming companies limited by guarantee, and that • The Humanitarian Mission of The Order a licensing deed would be developed covering the • Our Goals in Australia relationship between each State/Territory body and • Our Strategic Principles the national organisation. • Our One St John Strategies. • The St John National Conference, held in June in Victoria, was again a highpoint of the year. It was very I do not propose to review progress on each of these well attended by members from all over Australia, with fronts, since achievement of our Goals and the application a wide range of sessions providing a diverse program of our Strategic Principles is covered by the reports from that catered for the interests of all. individual State and Territory organisations. These are • And what are we worth? During 2010, we supplemented by reports provided by our Priory Officers commissioned Access Economics to analyse and later in this Annual Report. Likewise, work done within estimate St John’s economic contribution to the each of our eight One St John Strategies is reported on Australian community. The study valued the first aid systematically by our national CEO. and associated wellbeing services provided by St John Ambulance Australia at more than $368 million a year. Chancellor 2 Our national CEO is to be congratulated for the significant As the year ended, St John was the beneficiary of a successes he and his staff have chalked up during 2010, singular act of great generosity —The Harper Family including: Endowment Scholarship. • Regular distribution of the newsletters Disperse, Mr and Mrs Peter Harper established the Scholarship, Fire Up!, Chief Commissioners News, CC Broadcast worth up to $20,000 per year, in December 2010. This (the Community Care newsletter) and News from the will provide an opportunity for a committed individual to National Board, with increasing use being made of make a continuing contribution to St John Ambulance web-based communication and document-sharing Australia through enhanced managerial, professional or tools.