Through this role her awareness of the challenges
faced by many families and the value of a multi-
disciplinary approach to the assessment and care
of children developed. Her career has taken her
across eastern Australia, gaining experience in a
range of roles in government and non-government
health and education organisations and private
practice. Gail introduced early intervention expert
Dr Doug Shelton to BUSHkids.
Thank you to all the members of the BUSHkids
Council. It is refreshing to work in an organisation
where people involved in the governance and
strategic direction of the organisation are also so
willing to respond to requests for practical support
for the day-to-day needs of the organisation, while
leaving the overall operations of the organisation to
the General Manager. I do value the support and
feedback I receive from you all.
ADMINISTRATION MATTERS
Policies and Procedures
Too often policy and procedure documents are
looked upon as being ‘just a lot of words’ or ‘boring
stuff’ that may be kept in the bottom drawer of the
desk, but not read. This, of course, is far from the
case. Policies provide an organisation with a meas-
ure of consistency, a safety net when staff are unsure
how to progress an issue, and a protection against
accusations of wrongdoing or a lack of fairness.
In 2012, BUSHkids began the daunting task of
reviewing and updating all policies and procedures.
A consultant, Dr Phil Costigan from Wildwood
Consulting, completed the initial job of writing draft
policies and procedures to cover hundreds of issues
in four key areas – Governance, Human Resources,
Client Services and Health and Safety, Assets and
Finance.
A comprehensive consultation process followed,
in which Councillors and all staff members were
invited to comment, resulting in all the appropriate
alterations being made. The final drafts of all but
the Client Service Section are now ready for
‘
publication’.
The Client Service policies and procedures are
currently being reviewed by an expert committee
before they, too, are made available for consultation.
Our sincere thanks to Dr Philip Costigan for his
expertise and involvement.
Work Health and Safety
In January, 2012, Queensland joined other States
in passing new Work Health and Safety Laws, in
accordance with the Commonwealth Government’s
desire for ‘harmonisation’ of these laws across the
country. The 2012 laws spell out expectations of
workers caring for the health and safety of them-
selves and others in the organisation and provide
for visits by government auditors to ensure
compliance with the legal requirements. In accord
with the requirements of the Act, which call for
Consultation Sessions to be held with staff on a
regular basis, the first information session was held
as a part of the BUSHkids Conference in October.
The accountable officer is myself, the General
Manager – the “Person Conducting the Business
or Undertaking”. In the case of BUSHkids, I am
assisted by the Coordinator of Work, Health and
Safety, Brett Wall. Brett has visited or communicated
with each regional Centre to ensure that we are
complying with all the requirements of the Act.
Work Health and Safety will continue to play a
prominent role in the operations of BUSHkids.
Thank-you to Brett.
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GM