IMPROVING OUR GOVERNANCE
SDA REGISTRATION
WHS AUDIT
In July 2019, Evolve Housing achieved registration as
At Evolve Housing, we are committed to ensuring
a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Provider
a safe working environment for our employees.
with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
During the year, an independent audit by an external
(the NDIS Commission). At Evolve Housing, we are
provider was carried out to ensure our conformance
committed to:
to the WHS Act and Regulations. There are several
• ensuring internal systems and processes
ongoing projects and actions in place to ensure the
conform against NDIS Practice standards and
continuous improvement of WHS practices within
quality indicators
Evolve Housing.
• ensuring the capability and effectiveness of our management system in ensuring
BOARD PORTAL
continual compliance with client, statutory
In line with Evolve Housing’s commitment to
and regulatory requirements.
continually improve on our information security practices, a Board Portal software was implemented
RISK MANAGEMENT AND
during the year. This provided the Board with
CONTROL ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK
a modern governance tool that was secure and
The Risk & Compliance Team successfully carried out
easy to use, allowing them to expand their reach
22 control assurance reviews during the year
outside the boardroom. Amongst many benefits, the
as planned. Control assurance reviews are anchored
software enables:
around Evolve Housing’s Risk Management Framework
• easy management of agendas, annotations,
which articulates a solid risk and control architecture
documents, discussions of Board meetings, and
methodology. Where key risks are identified across
board meeting minutes quickly and securely
the organisation, control assurance reviews seek to: • identify the key controls in managing those risks • test the design and operating effectiveness of those controls.
• real-time updates to Board materials anywhere onthe-go , i.e. phone, tablet, computers or even offline • collaboration in a secure environment so the Board can easily make annotations and share them with the whole Board or just individual members before,
Where gaps are identified, actions are prioritised
during or after a Board meeting.
to address those gaps. These enable: • an improved internal control environment
In addition, Evolve Housing has achieved paperless
• proactive rather than reactive management of risks
Board meetings, which helps the environment and
• a level of assurance to stakeholders (internal
saves time and resources that would have been
and external) • better identification of opportunities and threats • better decision making and planning • enhanced communication and reporting of risk. 24 | Evolve Housing Annual Report 2019–20
otherwise spent on compiling and distributing Board packs.
