It is with great pride in the efforts and
talents of our dedicated staff across
the Centres, through a year defined by
changes, that I report to you now. Our
rebranding 12 months ago is no longer
new, but it is no less eye-catching, and
more widely known and recognised –
and has begun to reap direct dividends
for BUSHkids. Our bolder, brighter
public face has been supported by the
development of a new model of service
delivery, and everyone at BUSHkids
has come to recognise the benefits and
embrace a smarter methodology in our
team and organisational structures.
Had we a mantra for 2012, its principal
themes would be ‘accountability’ and
‘
effectiveness’. Although it may well be
argued that these traits should be – and
are – our everyday watchwords, it is
no secret that all NGOs (that is, Non-
Government Organisations) and non-
profits are facing funding constraints
in the current climate. As government
‘
drills down’ more and more, seeking
to maximise returns on its financial
investments, so BUSHkids is rising to
meet the challenges of this increased
fiduciary responsibility.
This is denoted by changes we have
made to our governance structure
and, particularly, our committees,
where we now have enhanced skillsets
in the human resources and fund-
raising fields, and representation from
clinical areas, to guide our oversight.
Almost every Council member serves
on one or more of our operational
committees, further enmeshing the
links with our frontline staff, whose
feedback and input receives the direct
attention of the executive team and
the General Manager. For example,
we are investigating improvements to
our Warwick Centre and highlighting
evidence-based areas of change in our
traditional service model.
Such changes will enable BUSHkids to
meet and, we expect, exceed provisions
of the Commonwealth Government’s
Australian Charities and Not-for-
Profits Commission (ACNC) legisla-
tion, proposed to be rolled out in a
two-stage approach over the next two
Financial Years (2012-13 and 2013-14).
In broad terms, the ACNC will require
charities and nonprofits to maintain
key operational and financial records,
report these annually, and meet certain
governance standards in structure.
The degree of detail required is said to
be assessed against a definition of an
organisation’s size – small, or medium
and large – and, as we conclude this
year’s Annual Report, is one of the
areas still being finalised by the ACNC
taskforce and its consultations.
As we understand it, the government’s
intention is to make this information
available online in a public, searchable
database, increasing transparency of
the nonprofit sector’s member bodies
and, we trust, reducing the frequency
and quantity of reporting which is
currently required of organisations by
their respective funding departments
and agencies. BUSHkids welcomes
this broad-ranging initiative and is
well placed to meet the requirements
of the ACNC. Our credentials have
been soundly demonstrated for over 75
years, and our systems and processes
are being refined, where necessary, to
further address this new framework.
Our accountability and credibility,
although not in question, has been
scrutinised through this new prism
during 2012, as we reviewed our
performance and service delivery, to
ensure we are maximising the outcome
of every funding dollar invested in
our work. We have focused internally
on better utilising existing resources:
for example, in the IT area and what
we might call ‘data mining’ – that is,
looking at the information we already
have and collect on an operational
basis. There has been much to discover
in what we already know, and we are
working to better use that data to
improve daily running and strategic
orientation of our service.
From the Chairman
One outcome of this has seen BUSH-
kids begin making structural and
operational adjustments to better
reflect demographics of the indigenous
and non-indigenous communities in
which we work and the clients which
we serve. Another outcome has been
our development of what we call our
‘
reference groups’: consultations with
myself and General Manager Carlton
Meyn and representatives of local and
state government authorities, general
practitioners and medical specialists.
The concept behind these working
parties is to inform the Council and
Committee of BUSHkids at a strategic
level and, in turn, to better interface
with other service providers and
community agencies to improve the
economy and effectiveness of our
service delivery on the ground.
Our enhanced internal reporting
mechanisms – via the structural and
Committee changes I noted earlier
–
also illuminate this process, as our
teams know their upwards feedback
is being taken on board and applied
in these working group consultations.
This enables our staff to focus on their
day to day work with confidence that
we are navigating the bigger picture,
to minimise any duplication or waste
and maximise the efficacy of every
dollar spent on our clients. We have
tested the working group concept in
Dalby and across the southern Darling
Downs, and are looking to refine and
develop this approach across the state
in the next 12 months, in partnership
with our nonprofit colleagues, clinical
service providers and government.
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