Community Accessability Inc. Annual Report 2014 – 2015 Enabling Independence 1 2 Community Accessability Inc. We were founded in 1998 to support the growing need of transport disadvantaged community memebers throughout the Hume region. We have 20 employees and utilise the conttributions of more than 220 volunteers to deliver our programs and services. Our offices are located in Wodonga, Shepparton, Wangaratta and Seymour. We deliver a range of funded and un-funded services and programs via our 2 services arms: 1. Assisted Transport Programs: a. Community Transport*: providing transport for clients to medical and social outings, utilizing volunteer drivers and a fleet of vehicles. b. The Getting There Network: acts as a portal for all transport information, services, training and assistance programs and provides access to transport assets located in the region. c. The Access Spot**: provides support, assistance and transport and access information from a manned location in Wangaratta and static deplays in the King Valley. 2. Volunteer Friends Program***: a. a disability respite program offering opportunities for 16+ year olds to enjoy community access through social gatherings, holidays and outings. * Funding is provided by the Home and Community Care program via the Department of Health ** Support is provided from the Rural City of Wangaratta *** Funding is provided by the Department of Human Services Our Vision Excellence in the delivery of accessible support services within the community. Mission Community Accessability Inc. works in partnership with clients, carers and other professionals, providing high quality and flexible services. Through leadership and a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, we promote social wellbeing and independence. Organisational Purpose To enable independence through the provision of assisted transport services and community respite programs. 3 Our Values Confidentiality We respect you right to privacy and information will only be shared with your consent Integrity We provide an open, equitable and trustworthy service Safety Your safety and wellbeing is our priority Teamwork Working together to deliver a professional and high quality service Professionalism We will endeavor to meet the needs of our clients in an efficient and effective manner Respect We value, encourage and embrace our differences and diverse needs Empathy We understand and respond to the needs of all Communication We are open and honest in all our communications. Our Service Commitment Our Service Commitment is our promise to all Community Accessability Inc. service users that we will: Make it easy for you to contact us Help you to apply for or use our services Tell you about your rights and responsibilities Arrange for an interpreter or other language services, if you need this Do the things we say we will do, like getting back to you when we say we will Be polite and respect your views, opinions and personal circumstances such as your culture, family situation, age, gender, disability, faith, sexual orientation or gender identity Protect your personal information and only use it for the right reasons Tell you if you are not eligible for a service or if there is a waiting list Provide you with advice on other support that may be available Give you opportunities to be involved in decisions about the services you access, and support you to have a say Tell you about any decision that affects you and the reasons for our decision Tell you how you can ask for our decision to be reviewed. Tell you how you can make a compliment, complaint or suggestion. 4 5 Meet our Committee of Management Chairp erson – Jason Osmand Jason has been a volunteer driver with Community Accessability Inc. for many years. Even though this is only his second year as a member of the Committee, Jason has taken a very active role and is the Committee representative on the Fleet Management sub-committee. Secretary – Peter Bennett Peter is our only member that is not from the Wodonga area and is new to the Community Accessability family. He is from Yarrawonga and was instrumental in securing community funding for the Yarrawonga Community Car. Peter brings a regional perspective to our Committee. Treasurer – Marg Darmody Marg has served as a committee member for 7 years and has been a very active member throughout that time, even though she is very busy at home looking after the farm and her family. General Members Joyce Ransley Joyce has been a member of the Committee for 4 years. She has a wealth of experience in the disability and aged care sectors as well as administration and has great empathy with those we serve and wants to make a difference. Joyce has chosen to work closely with the Volunteer Friends Program and assists the VFP to develop its Holiday and Activities program. David Alan Dave joined Community Accessability as a volunteer driver in late 2014. Dave regularly offers to do whatever is necessary and also assists with the garden and has attended Volunteer Friends activities as a driver. Prior to that, he served on the NSW Police Force for 35 years and has a strong back ground in OH&S and has agreed to be the Committee representative in that area. Jacqui Thomson Jacqui is a more recent volunteer with a Community Accessability and drives for our Wodonga Office. It is through this role and her time spent in the Wodonga office that Jacqui was encouraged to (she says railroaded) join the Committee. She brings with her many years of experience running her own businesses and is a great asset. Graeme Simpson Graeme is our newest member of the Committee and joins with many years of experience as a Chartered Accountant. His wealth of knowledge will be invaluable to us as we move into more uncertain times with the changes to our funding. Thank you all for your ongoing commitment. 6 Chairperson Report Welcome everyone to the Annual Report of our organization, Community Accessability, for the financial year of 2014/2015. Thank you for your continued support. The last 12 months have seen significant change across many levels of our organization. A few examples have been a move to a more central location for our Wodonga office, our Seymour office relocating to the Seymour Railway Station as part of our new partnership with V/Line and Travellers Aid and the appointment of an outstanding Acting General Manager in Helen Hunter, to replace Helen Vey, who left Community Accessability in very good shape, both structurally and financially, setting us up for a very bright future. With the many policy and funding changes that have occurred in 2015, more will continue in 2016 with a re-structure to our Home and Community Care (HACC) funding to commence in July 2016 and from July 2017, we begin the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Exactly how these changes will affect our organisation is not 100% certain as yet but one thing is for sure, we will rise to the challenge and implement policy and funding changes for the betterment of our clients and Community Accessability as a whole. In closing, I would like to say a special thank you to our volunteers; without you, we do not provide our day to day services, our hard working staff and excellent management team and also a dedicated Committee of Management to drive Community Accessability forward into an exciting future for all. With More than 2,000 clients, 43,848 passenger trips Over 750,000 km’s all in the last 12 months Our future seems assured. Jason Osmand Chairperson 7 Treasurers Report It is a pleasure that I am able to present to the members of Community Accessability, the financial report for 2015. Community Accessability continues to boast a healthy financial position, with a total equity of $1,186,487 as stated in the audited statements. This compares with a total equity of $1,326,172 last year. Community Accessability reports a deficit (operating loss) of $139,685. This can be attributed to a much needed upgrade of our computers and software, the purchase of new and used vehicles to replace some of our older vehicles, and the replacement of our aging transport database with a new system, but it is in fact a smaller deficit than last year ($225,420). Our income from investments this year has been lower than expected, due to lower than expected interest rates, which have averaged around 3%. This year’s income from investments sits at $16,884, compared with $21,560 last year. As reported by Mike Collins in his Shepparton Office report, the Shepparton office this year received a donation from MHA Care of $15,000, which is to be spent on operating the transport service at Cobram, Numurkah and Yarrawonga. We are also into our third year of a three-year $20,000 sponsorship by City of Greater Shepparton, which is being used to fund the Street Rider Bus and cemetery visits in Shepparton. Bridget Hourigan also reported in her report the generous donation from the Bright Opportunity Shop of $10,000 toward the purchase of a new vehicle in the Ovens Alpine region. We acknowledge the financial contributions of MHA Care, the City of Greater Shepparton and the Bright Opportunity Shop and of other donors. The move of the Wodonga office to new premises in central Wodonga has meant that our Wodonga office can now be, and is, a ticketing agency for V/Line. This is already bringing in income, which will and hopefully grow in future years. Our Smartlink program is also growing and we are starting to see an increase in income in this area. Overall we anticipate that our financial position will continue to improve. It is interesting to note that the letter from our auditors that accompanied our annual financial audit complimented and thanked Community Accessability for “the good order” in which our financial records were maintained and presented.