PRESIDENT’S PAGE

In my final magazine article as your QJA President, I take this opportunity to reflect on the evolution of the organisation over the last five years. So, how has QJA grown and developed in its journey since the beginning of 2017?

EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT IN LAST FIVE YEARS

Financial reserves

In this respect, QJA has sustained substantial growth. The value of financial reserves, as per the published financial statements has grown by 44%, from $359,249 in 2017 to $518,358 in 2021. Admittedly, the 2021 number includes, for the first time, the financial reserves held by the 24 QJA branches. In any case, the QJA’s financial reserves have developed to now be in excess of $0.5M - a very sound position.

Business development initiatives

In order to remain relevant and to meet the needs and expectations of our continually changing membership, QJA has committed to continually improve and expand the programs and services provided to members and branches. So, what initiatives have been introduced in the last 5 years?

2017

For the first time in 2017, QJA introduced the Branch Forum program under which leadership representatives from regional clusters of QJA Branches were gathered together with representatives from the QJA Board to discuss matters of mutual interest. Strong positive feedback from attendees at that inaugural program convinced the Board that regular structured sessions involving board and branch representatives should be continued and enhanced into the future.

The QJA Awards program was also introduced in 2017 to recognise and reward exceptional performance. The inaugural winners of the awards were: Branch of the Year – Hornibrook Branch; Member of the Year – David Harris (Brisbane North); and Community Engagement award – Logan Branch.

2018

The initiatives of 2018 were focused primarily on recognising and celebrating QJA’s centennial year. A special gold-coloured centennial badge was struck and regional functions were held across the State to present these badges to members who attended.

As well, the Board commissioned the writing of a QJA-history publication to document and recognise the evolution and development of the organisation over the preceding one hundred years. QJA certainly endured some ups and downs over that timeframe and the history publication, titled Across the Generations, faithfully tracks that chequered path.

The major celebratory event was the Centennial Year Conference and Gala Dinner, involving three high profile keynote speakers and 25 other presenters, and was held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. This event attracted in excess of 200 delegates, whose feedback (more than 90% rating the overall experience as excellent or very good) confirmed the high calibre of the conference content and the associated social events.

2019

The most significant initiative for 2019 was the introduction of the QJA eLogbook. With functionality and resources to guide and support users in undertaking and recording all JP duties, the eLogbook has become an indispensable tool for the modern-day JP/CDec. This innovative product is available exclusively to QJA members as an included benefit of membership – no extra charge,

Also in 2019, the suite of QJA Awards was expanded to include an Emerging Leader category. The inaugural winner of this award was Carol Dravandi from the Gold Coast.

2020

As we all remember, the world-wide event of 2020 was the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic which presented challenges for all aspects of the business. During lockdown and periods of restriction on numbers allowed to attend physical gatherings, innovative working arrangements (including some working from home) were introduced in order to keep QJA staff employed and operational within the boundaries prescribed by prevailing COVID protocols.

Changes were also made to the QJA pre-appointment classroom training courses. QJA introduced a new, blended course delivery medium (part selfpaced online learning; part trainer-guided sessions via videoconference) to meet the needs of students who were unable to attend physical classrooms.

Videoconferencing technology was also embraced to allow the delivery of the 2020 Branch Forum program when the holding of physical gatherings was disallowed or uncertain. Similarly, many QJA branches introduced videoconferencing processes to remain engaged with the local QJA membership. Even in the post-COVID era, it is expected many parts of the QJA business will make greater use of videoconferencing to connect with other members of the QJA family.

The 2020 QJA State Conference (a physical gathering event) was deferred from November 2020 to May 2021 when it was anticipated restrictions would be would be more relaxed. Fortunately, this proved to be correct.

2021

The leading business initiative of 2021 was the introduction, in May, of the QJA Member Accreditation Program. Established to encourage, recognise and acknowledge members who demonstrate technical knowledge and problem-solving skills beyond the basic requirements for appointment, this program is the latest addition to the QJA suite of professional development resources, designed to enable members to be highly competent and professional JP practitioners.

The traditional QJA magazine underwent a significant makeover in 2021, giving it a refreshed appearance, enhanced content and a new name – the QJA Quarterly. Feedback from members indicates their satisfaction with these changes.

A membership management software upgrade has also been introduced this year. The new system provides improved functionality and access for all categories of users: staff, members and branch committee members. Associated with this new software was a move to a new and improved QJA website. Later in 2021, the existing learning management software will also be upgraded to a more sophisticated and enhanced product.

Early in 2021, the Board approved the adoption of a more balanced approach to the investment of financial reserves, with the goal of improving earnings on those reserves.

Finally, for the first time, the published QJA financial statements for 2020-21 (included in the Annual Report document distributed with this magazine) include the finances of all the QJA Branches. This is a considerable achievement which provides members with full transparency about the overall state of the business. The cooperation and support of all branches in achieving this outcome is sincerely appreciated.

Summary

So, as we look back at the range of initiatives introduced over the last five years, it is satisfying to appreciate how much the organisation has continued to evolve and develop in order to improve the quality and scope of support programs and services provided to our members and our branches.

John Carpendale, President JP(Qual)