CEO Report

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

Over the past year, Afford has continued to grow & evolve as one of the premier service providers in the Disability Sector. With almost 70 years of experience in the provision of an ever widening range of services, we continually draw upon our experience and expertise to delight our clients and carers. Further we continually strive to innovate and adopt more person-centred approaches to maintain our position as a service provider and employer of choice.

As with other service providers in the sector we have had to face up to delivering great services within the confines of tightening funding levels under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). To ensure we continue to meet these needs we have implemented a new operational structure over the past year that is weighted much more heavily towards our frontline staff providing services to the people we support on a daily basis, with a leaner Management & Head Office structure. This has helped improve the culture of our organisation with the emergence of a much keener sense of customer service and consistency across our many sites.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) heralds a completely new approach to the provision of Disability Services. The NDIS sees a move away from a Governmentdirected, program-centric approach to a modern, customer-directed competitive market. The challenge for all Not for Profit organisations like ours is to survive in a much more competitive world while remaining true to our mission. We are very confident that we have achieved that and can guarantee that we will continue to do so.

The Financial Year ended 30 June 2016, was my first full year as CEO and I am proud to say it has seen a significant financial turnaround. Over the last 5 years our underlying Operating Profit has been slightly above break even, with various adjustments. In 2016 we achieved a sustainable Operating profit of almost $5.7 mil with further capital funding delivering an overall surplus of $7 million.

This surplus has been used to pay down debt as we prepare for the much tougher cashflow of the NDIS. I am proud to say we now own all of our operational sites including factories which guarantees services for years to come. We have recently invested in 4 new properties for Day Programs and invested heavily in facilities and their maintenance programs. Further, we have now been able to launch numerous ‘unfunded’ programs including our extensive Carers Programs, ‘Club Afford’, and the redevelopment of our 22 hectare Cherrywood site at Llandilo where we are establishing Secret Gardens, Petting Zoo, Mens’ Shed, Gymnasium, Behavioural therapies with animals and so on. Our new Clinical Team will also be an important addition with Psychologist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist and Physiotherapist as we look to offer a more complete range of supports to our clients including our new Childrens’ Services.

We also invested heavily in IT during the year with the very successful rollout of CIMs/Microsoft Dynamics NAV across all sites in our organisation. This software is the most powerful seamlessly integrated full solution in the marketplace and gives us a great advantage going forward. Indeed, we will be providing back office solutions to other organisations in the sector.

To truly delight customers and deliver great customer service every day we need to have the best staff and the best culture. Along with the flat management structure we have implemented a very detailed strategy around being an Employer of Choice. In this Report is a detailed description of this strategy that helps us attract the best candidates when recruiting, maintain great morale in our many teams, and limit staff turnover. To maximise our professional expertise we have a comprehensive training program which includes using the latest eLearning technologies and leveraging our strong relationships with tertiary education organisations. 80% of our frontline staff have Certificate IV in Disability, and I truly believe we have the best staff in the Sector.

Having a flat management structure also means our teams are truly empowered and as the NDIS rolls out we believe that will give us the agility to respond to clients’ wants and needs promptly in spite of our large size. Conversely, our considerable reserves give our clients and employees certainty at a time when there is fast paced change and many smaller organisations may struggle.

During the year we completed the build of 7 Group Homes providing Shared Living for 20 clients. A further 5 Homes were delayed by the liquidation of the builder, and they will be completed in early 2017 providing a home for another 20 clients. These homes represent a $16 million investment

funded equally by Afford and Department Ageing, Disability & Home Care (ADHC). The change in lifestyle for our clients has been amazing to be a part of

During the year our Day Programs continued to grow at a fast pace, including the opening of a number of new sites. At Afford we are very proud of the high standard of our Day Program facilities and the programs that they offer. With more than 20 Day Program sites throughout Sydney we provide services to over 700 clients every day. Considerable effort has been placed into making sure that our operations can accommodate the needs of all clients with intellectual disabilities, both in terms of the ‘bricks and mortar’, a vast fleet of wheelchair vehicles, and staff with the appropriate training to meet clients’ needs.

Education has long been an area of strength for Afford and continues to grow with new innovative programs and partnerships. Transition to Work (TTW) programs saw 56 people mentored in making the transition from school to a work environment. The expertise we have developed in these programs along with the specialist knowledge of our education experts saw the continuation of our Transition to Retirement (TTR) program.

Employment Services have also long been a central part of Afford’s business. We take pride in being one of Australia’s largest employers of people with disabilities with just under 500 supported employees in our 5 Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs). Certainly, we are the largest employer of people with Disabilities in Metropolitan Sydney. With the recent developments around wage setting tools in the sector there has been some uncertainty, but we remain committed to giving our clients the opportunity to have a job and earn money on top of their Disability Pension. The self-esteem from having a job along with the social interaction & friendships provided by going to work are invaluable to our clients.

During the year we worked very hard to increase our Social Enterprises. Our Pallets business is a great success story in providing meaningful employment in a commercial enterprise outside of the historical labelling and packaging areas. Our Warehousing /Distribution business grew significantly this year and the launch of our Mowing/ Landscaping business through the winning of tenders with the Department of Housing and the like is very pleasing. In the coming year we will be exploring exciting new opportunities such as Car Wash services to help give job security to our supported employees for years to come.

Conversely, we exited a number of businesses, most notably our Coat Hanger Importing Business. These businesses generated over $5 million revenue per annum but no longer contributed anything to our mission or profits.

Further, our Disability Employment Services (DES) have a caseload of over 700 clients and found jobs for hundreds of people with disabilities in open employment. I am proud to say that half of our sites continue to achieve 5 star ratings Respite Services was an area of considerable growth with our Centre Based Respite in St Marys providing overnight stays from Friday through Saturday. This limited offering has been expanded as additional funding becomes available under the NDIS.

Also during the year we provided various types of Flexible Respite including community access and in home support. This has grown significantly over the last few months as NDIS packages have included much larger 1 to 1 components. This is a fabulous outcome for our clients.

‘Afford Getaways’ has proven to be a runaway success offering exciting supported travel opportunities locally and overseas. Our first Disneyland trip was the pinnacle of a year of fabulous adventures for our clients including cruises, the Gold Coast and so on.

‘Club Afford’ builds on the community participation we provide to our clients. ‘Club Afford’ is a Club that opens up numerous opportunities for our clients to enjoy activities and social interaction opportunities with their friends, like their other family members may enjoy including fitness programs, day outings, social groups and the like.

On behalf of everyone at Afford, I would like to acknowledge the support of the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability & Home Care (ADHC), and in particular the support of the Minister for Disability Services, the Hon. John Ajaka MP. Thanks also to the Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS), and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)

The wonderful achievements of our customers would not be possible without our sponsors, supporters, donor and raffle ticket purchasers who provide the funding to make many fabulous services possible.

I would also like to thank our Board whose support has made the last year of change and great achievements possible.

Also, a huge thank you to all of the staff at Afford. Your ongoing dedication to working with our clients with care, integrity and respect will see Afford continue to grow and provide lifestyle, learning and vocational services to people with disabilities, their families and carers for many years to come.

Finally, thank you to our clients, families and carers for giving us the privilege of being a part of your lives and helping to make people achieve extraordinary things.

STEVEN HERALD B. Bus, CA Chief Executive Officer