2012 / 2013
ANNUAL
REPORT
introduction Windermere has a heritage of caring for the disadvantaged and vulnerable. At the time of the gold rush, in Melbourne’s 1850s the wife of the Bishop of Melbourne was concerned about the growing number of abandoned children. As a result, she opened the orphanage that eventually resided in Windermere Crescent, Brighton - hence our name. With the closure of the orphanage came new beginnings.
Who we assist At Windermere we work with approximately 14,000 consumers each year. experienced or are dealing with issues such as physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect, violence in the family, lack of housing, have been the victim of a violent crime, are living with a disability, who care for a child with a developmental delay or
Narre Warren our home.
who just need help to fit in or feel part of
Our deliberate aim was to not only locate
their community. We provide emotional
our head office here but to be part of and
and practical support, counselling,
to represent our community. To live and
advice, education, advocacy, therapeutic
grow together.
interventions and reasons to come
largest independent community services organisation operating solely in Victoria’s South East. We provide services from multiple locations in the South East Metropolitan and Gippsland regions, with major centres at Narre Warren, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Berwick, Hampton, Morwell and Bairnsdale.
Purpose We get in early to make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities
We support individuals who have
Over 20 years ago we decided to make
Today we are proud to be one of the
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
together. We also provide quality in home and centre-based childcare and work together with a number of schools to help children remain healthy and engaged. Windermere’s greatest strength is our broad array of services and expertise, which enables consumers to access multiple support options. Our core business is working with individuals, families and community to improve lives. While we offer a suite of interventions, our key focus is on prevention and early intervention, and innovative practice.
Vision A stronger, connected and supported community
Values We believe that everyone is someone in our community where: • Equity is viewed as a natural right • Fairness embraces and incorporates difference • Collaboration results in social good • Opportunity creates empowerment and inclusion
03
GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT
CONTENT
05
05
06
07
Governance & Management
Services Overview
Locations of Operation
08
10
12
Chairman’s Report
CEO’s Report
Know Our Community
Our Board
Risk and Compliance
Finance and Audit
Carl Strachan - Chairman
Elizabeth Mildwater - Chair
Ricki Ryan - Chair
Ian Forsyth - Vice Chairman
Dr Kevin McKenzie
Malcolm Wells
Ricki Ryan - Treasurer
Robyn Rourke
Gary Castricum
Dr Kevin McKenzie
Harley Brown
Nicola Mendleson
Dr Tricia Szirom
Kelly Dickson
Dr Lynette Buoy
Elizabeth Mildwater
Malcolm Brown
Susanna Laurens
Pam Usher
Dr Tricia Szirom
Lil Banks
Nicola Mendleson
Dr Lynette Buoy
Jenny Brooks
Max Warwick
Susanna Laurens
Innes Willox
Lil Banks Sue Beattie-Johnson
Board of Governance
Executive Committee
Dr Lynette Buoy CEO
Tania Davis
Finance & Audit Committee
Risk Management & Compliance Committee
Executive Assistant
16
20
24
Listen to Our Consumers
Improve Lives
Strengthen Our Future
28 Inspire Enterprising Practice
32 Financials
38 Special Thanks
Susanna Laurens
Lil Banks
General Manager Client Services
General Manager Corporate Services
Jan Donaldson
Brad Desmond
Daniel Grant
Brian Eckersley
Sue Beattie -Johnson
Serap Ozdemir
Carina Tomietto
Manager Victims Assistance & Counselling Program
Manager Counselling Services
Manager Human Resources
Manager Property & Administration
Manager Quality Improvement
Manager Business Development / Special Projects
Manager Community Partnerships & Marketing
Bronwyn Owen
Ryan Stapleton
Jenny Brooks
Manager Housing Support
Manager Communities for Children
Manager Information Technology
Manager Finance / Accounts & Payroll
Lisa Smyth
Tracey Millen
Manager Early Childhood Eduction and Care Services
Manager Early Childhood Development Services
Lisa Gort
Julie Knowles
Manager Integrated Family Services
Manager Windermere’s OnTrack & Disabillity Services
services overview
Locations of Operation
Services and programs we offer:
With headquarters at Narre Warren in
The area in which we work encompasses
Victoria’s South East, Windermere assists
multiple municipalities and a population of
thousands of children and families.
over 1.5 million people.
We work in arguably Australia’s fastest
Main areas of service delivery:
06
Early Childhood Development Services
Integrated Family Services
Improves the lives of children with
Assists and supports families to function
developmental delays and disabilities,
better, by focusing on strengths and
by providing innovative, educational and
developing parenting skills through
therapeutic services.
an outreach, in-home and family
Counselling Services
centered approach.
For individuals, families, adolescents
Housing Support
and children to identify and use their
Offers families who are homeless, facing
strengths to resolve difficulties they may
homelessness or who are in emergency
be experiencing.
accommodation, information and
Communities for Children
support to successfully secure long-term accommodation.
providing support and focus on the health,
Victims Assistance and Counselling Program
development, learning and wellbeing
Provides a range of support and
of children aged 0 to 5 years living
counselling services for individuals,
in Cranbourne.
families or groups who have been affected
Cranbourne is a Federally funded program
Disability Services Provides children, young people and
by violent crimes such as family violence, sexual assault, physical assault and murder.
adults aged 0 to 64 years - who have a
CALD
disability - and their carers, with improved
Supports our Cultural and Linguistically
life opportunities.
Diverse communities by establishing a
Early Childhood Education and Care Services
Windermere also delivers a number of philanthropically funded special projects working with schools and community in areas of school engagement, racial harmony, suicide prevention and community education.
growing urban growth corridor, where demand for our services is growing at an
City of Casey City
alarming rate.
Cardinia Shire Council
Enriching our organisation, we provide
Gippsland
services to and work with the diverse
City of Greater Dandenong
and rich mix of people that make up the South East, including emerging CALD and
City of Bayside
Offers better access to a diverse range of
childcare in an environment that allows
services under one roof, including those
children to be children. In-Home Care
provided by psychologists, occupational
offers a supportive registered care provider
therapists, speech pathologists, exercise
in the family’s own home.
physiologists and physiotherapists.
City of Glen Eira City of Port Philip City of Bayside City of Frankston City of Stonnington Shire of Mornington Peninsula
Hume Region
Grampians Region
North & West Region CBD Port Phillip
Stonnington
Bayside Kingston Frankston
residing in the Southern region.
Offers quality in home and centre-based
City of Kingston
refugee communities.
strong and integrated approach to services
Windermere’s OnTrack
Other councils and shires in which we provide services:
Barwon South Region Mornington Peninsula
Glen Eira Greater Dandenong Cardinia Casey
Gippsland Region
07
Chairman’s Report 2013
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Having announced last year a number of significant achievements, this year has focussed on embracing new activities and ensuring we continue to deliver services of the highest possible quality to the community. Carl Strachan
09
Having opened our Early Learning Centre
a much stronger and stable organisation
in Frankston in February we are pleased
able to meet the needs of a very complex
by the way the community has welcomed
community. In my report this year I would
us and become part of our growing
like to formally acknowledge Cheryl’s
and exciting centre. Working with our
contributions and, on behalf of the board,
community to ensure that we are able to
thank her for her seven years of hard work
meet their needs, and with such wonderful
and dedication.
partners as Monash University, has
In February this year I also had the pleasure
made this venture into early childhood education in the long day care setting, a great extension to our family day care services.
of welcoming our new CEO Dr Lynette Buoy to Windermere. After an extensive recruitment process, Lynette joined us and brings over 20 years experience within
I am also very pleased by the great
the community services sector, having
achievement of our expansion into
held a number of high-profile positions.
Gippsland, having been successfully
Across the first half of 2013, Lynette has
awarded the Gippsland Victims Assistance
worked to get to know our community and
and Counselling Program. Any concerns
Windermere, and to support the board in
of developing a presence in a new
the development our 2013-16 strategic
community were easily overcome by the
plan as further outlined in this report.
dynamic and enthusiastic team working
In closing, I would like to specifically thank
in this area. With an office on the main street of Morwell and staff committed to reaching out to the community, this expansion has ensured the community of Gippsland is now receiving a high level of support.
all those people who continue to support me in my role as the Chairman. Each year I ask many of you to continue to help, and your support and the great work of Windermere means that together, we can continue making a real difference.
Our other great addition is still in the final stages of being built, and this of course is the Cardinia Road Community Centre (Toomah Centre). Due for completion in mid-December, watching its development and undertaking many planning activities with the Cardinia Shire Council, we are very excited by the opportunities this new location in Pakenham has to offer. This year also saw the departure of our long-term CEO, Cheryl De Zilwa. After seven years of service, Cheryl’s departure was a significant change and one felt by all at Windermere. Cheryl provided strong and loyal leadership, resulting in
Carl Strachan, Chairman
CEO’s report
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
With 150 staff, 60 contractors and a large network of supporters, getting to know Windermere has been very rewarding. What has stood out the most has been the high level of dedication and pride demonstrated by the board, staff, volunteers and supporters, and the great achievements across our 20 years here in Narre Warren. As an organisation much has changed over 20 years, including not only the types of services we deliver, but also where we deliver them. Today we provide services from multiple locations across the South East Metropolitan and Gippsland regions of Victoria, comprising 16 local government areas with an approximate population of 1.5 million people. Our primary service locations are situated in Narre Warren, Cranbourne, Pakenham,
strategic priorities:
facilitate community participation, and build sector coordination and knowledge. To
• Know our community
achieve this we engage with multiple local,
• Listen to our consumers
state and federal government departments,
• Improve lives
and partner with a broad number of community philanthropists/supports all joining us to build a stronger, more supported and connected community. In presenting the many achievements of this year, and there have been many, we have elected in this report to project these through our newly developed strategic priorities. In May, a facilitated board and management planning day was held to set the strategic directions for 2013-16 followed by a whole-of-agency forum where staff were called upon to test the outcome and to bring their local knowledge to the table.
Bairnsdale. For the period of 2012/13
With over 90 staff working together, our
we worked with 14,000 individuals
draft strategic road map was tested with
and families.
five key strategic priorities emerging
With a range of fee-based, philanthropic
from a series of significant and robust
Windermere has continued to support individuals and families who are dealing with issues such as physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect, family violence, lack of housing, impacts of a violent crime, living with a disability, and a child with a developmental delay. We also work across
Dr Lynette Buoy
to present this report under our new five
services, improve school engagement,
Berwick, Hampton, Morwell and
and government-funded service types,
With Windermere’s wide and diverse mix of services and an expansive reach across some of Melbourne’s fastest growing communities, being asked to join as CEO in February 2013 was both an honour and an opportunity to be part of something very exciting.
racial harmony, provide allied health
our communities to provide high-quality accredited child care and education, build
11
• Strengthen our future • Inspire enterprising practice As we continue to build on these over the next three years and utilise these to drive our work and measure our effectiveness, I am confident of us all continuing to achieve many great outcomes. In closing my first annual report as the CEO of Windermere, I would like to thank all staff, Windermere supporters and the board for welcoming me to this role. I am truly looking forward to continuing the great work of the organisation and hope you find the body of our 2012/13 report both informative and interesting.
discussions. Clear outcomes from the discussions identified that the strategic plan going forward should ensure we remain focussed on our community and our consumers and should also aim to use simple language and keep our objectives clear. As the new CEO, I have very much enjoyed the opportunity to drive a planning process based on engagement, conversation and testing and I’m proud
Dr Lynette Buoy, CEO
know our community
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
13
One of Windermere’s greatest strengths lies in the depth and breadth of our knowledge about our local community. This knowledge informs our work in a number of important ways, from identifying the key issues affecting individuals, families and groups, to how our services are delivered and refined over time. Knowing our community also enables us to anticipate need and know how and where to build new connections. Being based in one of Melbourne’s fastest
really knowing our community. It’s also
growing regions the statistics and data
important for us to understand the scale
are quite amazing. With extraordinary
of need, and any patterns and trends. For
numbers of young families moving to the
instance, Windermere’s Disability Services
area on a monthly basis and populations
has identified a substantial inequity in
projected to increase by around 50% by
the number of people with disabilities
2026 our community will continue to
and their carers who have moved into
experience immense challenges.
our community in the last decade, and
Seeking to understand these challenges
the pace of increased state-funded
Windermere has a history of conduction research and evaluation. Back in 2010 in partnership with Monash University we undertook a two year study ‘Building Family and Community Resilience in Cardinia Growth Corridor: A Case Study of Officer’. This research highlighted many
brokerage and respite services. This has resulted in the service participating in a number of key networks including those advocating for increased funding. As the situation appears set to worsen during 2013-14, Disability Services will continue articulating the urgency of this issue to the
of the issues that today are informing our
relevant funding bodies.
developmental work around our Toomah
A strong research focus also lies at the
Centre. With issues such as isolation,
heart of our Integrated Family Services,
poor health and financial stressors highly
which has overseen the Cardinia Family
prevalent, through a Healthy Families-
Hub for several years. Recent learnings and
Connect Communities strategy we hope
research from the hub have identified the
to reduce the often associated poor social
suitability of this approach across other
• Connect with and be a visible part of our community
outcomes particularly that arise in the new
communities with a focus of consolidating
• Initiate and partner in research to improve knowledge, practice and influence social change
and emerging communities. Of course,
valuable parenting skills.
identifying the key issues facing our
Put simply, knowing our community is
• Work together with our community to understand who they are and what they need • Map community needs, service patterns, issues and trends to inform our work
• Use evidence to inform our practice
community only takes us part-way towards
14
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
all about providing the best possible
collaborative groups like steering and
outcomes for those who are in most need.
advisory committees.
Our Victims of Crime program, which
Our success also depends on our capacity
operates across the Southern region and more recently Gippsland, considers its community connectedness to be of paramount importance. Victims of crime come from all walks of life and all backgrounds but they share one thing in common: they all operate within a very localised community. Our service relies on the resources of these communities to help victims recover from the impact of
to know our community and to embrace all - especially those individuals and businesses that are looking for ways of supporting our work. Our global Windermere Adventure Challenges and popular annual events including the Windermere Cup golf challenge and our iconic Bounce of the Ball luncheon help to raise our public profile and generate substantial funds. More recently, through
the crime.
social media, Windermere is actively
As such, Windermere’s Victims of
engaging on a two-way basis with a
Crime works hard at maintaining a
variety of people from our community and
grass-roots presence by participating
building an entirely new audience to help
regularly in community events, and by
others to also get to know our community.
developing strong relationships with local
Put simply, knowing our community is all about providing the best possible outcomes for those who are in most need
15
LISTEN TO OUR consumers
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Taking the time to listen to what people have to say is at the very heart of Windermere’s service quality. For our clients, it’s especially important - knowing they can share their stories and challenges with us, without fear of judgement - helping them to feel safe and supported. From our perspective, one of the biggest
just about Windermere but also other
benefits of listening to our consumers
services. This is because our program is
is that it enables mutual learning. Most
not standalone. Consumers are also in
importantly, it helps us to understand what
touch with Victoria Police, Courts and
they and the wider community expect of
Tribunals, solicitors, psychologists and
us - and how to improve our services to
other community services. Consumers
meet these needs.
tend to have varied experience within the
Listening, planning and working together
criminal justice system and by listening
is a regular part of our Mums and Bubs residential program. Our young mums attend a weekly ‘house meeting’ where educational and excursion-based activities are agreed on for the mums and their children. The young women also have the opportunity to provide feedback on the
to their stories we can identify gaps in the system and related services, which we then advocate to fix. Evaluating our program from both an internal and external perspective is vital to providing a responsive service, and this is ongoing with regards to our standards, guidelines
program every three months, which is
and practice manual.
used to help refine our service.
In fact, listening to our consumers and
‘Person-centred’ is the phrase used
acting on feedback has been instrumental
by Windermere’s Counselling service
in a number of important improvements to
to describe the way they work with
our services this year.
individual clients. This approach is based
As well as developing individual Family
on developing a deep understanding of
Support and Development Plans, which
each client’s personal situation and the
are reviewed every six months with
challenges they are facing. By helping
families, our Early Childhood Development
them to identify their unique strengths,
Service has implemented a number of
and where necessary enlisting the support
important changes to its program, based
of important people in their lives, we can
on feedback. These improvements include
help them find the best way forward.
a different invoicing procedure, updating
• Work together with our consumers to understand what they expect of Windermere
Our Victims of Crime service also focuses
our service information, introducing a
• Involve our community in identifying service improvements
on individual consumer feedback - not
• Ensure consumers feel safe and supported and are heard • Establish a consumer engagement approach that creates mutual learning
regular newsletter for enrolled families and
17
18
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
19
We have also continued to listen to the business community and understand how they can best support Windermere and its work help to contribute to our commitment
that informed its development. It was an
to continually improving our service.
afternoon full of discussion and dynamic
Meanwhile, our Wellbeing Measurement
collaboration - pushing the boundaries
Tool is now in its third year of development
and helping to drive our future.
and testing. Made possibly by a
Earlier in the year the voices of staff
partnership with RMIT and ANZ Trustees, it is a further part of our ambition to ensure we listen to our consumers through adjusting our intake to ongoing, rather
feedback in a number of ways. A current
Rowellyn Park Primary School and Cardinia
Our Disability service receives vital
than just once or twice a year.
survey will help to determine families’
Shire Council, it became clear that there
guidance and feedback from its Consumer
Our Family Day Care service has listened
opening hours requirements and the
was a need to address the issue of bullying
Consultative Committee and they would
demand for a funded pre-school program
and young people, and to help build a
like to publicly acknowledge their
expect of them and, as a result, now also
in 2014.
culture of more empathic behaviour. In
assistance. The committee meets monthly
provides non-standard hours of care, as
Meanwhile our Building Harmony
response, a dedicated session for students
and provides input on a wide range of
well as an out-of-hours on-call process.
Program, used recent feedback gathered
called ‘Bulling, Bystander Behaviour and
issues including service, policies
This enables us to meet our professional
from school students to implement
Peer Pressure‘ has been created, and will
and procedures.
obligations under the Education and
changes to its program. The feedback
be delivered into schools in Term 3 of 2013.
Our Help Us Improve client survey was
Care Services National Law 2011 by
revealed that students wanted more team-
Feedback from calls to clients of
also conducted across the year and all
providing emergency telephone support
based and sporting activities, resulting
Windermere’s Integrated Family Services
clients were encouraged to respond. This
to educators and more planned and
in the introduction of a soccer day with
has also identified an overwhelming need
important source of information has been
unplanned visits.
mixed school teams, a role modelling day
to ensure ‘the voice of the child’ is always
a traditional tool used by Windermere for
At our Frankston-based Early Learning
with team treasure hunts and a Leadership
heard. To explore this topic further, and
many years. To expand on this and ensure
Day, which included the opportunity to
help inform how we might address this
a broad set of evidence, we also developed
‘collaborative partnerships‘ with families
model different responses to conflict.
issue through our service, a community
an online survey for distribution in early
to achieve quality outcomes for children.
Following discussions this year between
feedback session is being planned.
July. These results will be considered as we
Families are encouraged to provide
staff involved in our Kids on Track program,
to what consumers and educators
Centre, the focus of the program is on
build our 2013-16 operational plan and
multiple strategies and ensure that their outcomes, experience and voice drives our work.
were also sought in the biannual Staff Satisfaction Survey. While the results were positive, there was some room for improvement in ensuring communication reaches all the way through to our staff and through multiple locations. An
Listening to our external consumers is
important lesson and one for us to remain
as important as listening to our internal
vigilant about.
consumers - our staff. This year we
We have also continued to listen to the
have built our agency forums around development issues, and also the need to stop and get to know fellow colleagues. With 150 staff, every chance to do this is relished and always results in new collaboration and opportunity. In February, we spent time sharing our work and building great cross-agency knowledge, and in May we began the 2013-16 strategic planning process. In a management-free meeting of over 90 staff, the draft plan was presented by the CEO for comment, and to collectively test the assumptions
business community and understand how they can best support Windermere and its work. An example of this is the Endota Spa Helping Hands promotion, which helped to raise funds for the delivery of our programs; our ongoing partnership with The Good Guys through their transaction-based giving program; and with employees of organisations like Cardinia Shire Council and Jayco, who have chosen to support us through their payroll giving programs.
improve lives
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Windermere staff are well known throughout our community for putting their heart and soul into their work. The depth of their passion comes, we believe, from knowing they are making a positive difference through their efforts, and helping to improve lives.
21
How this is achieved varies from service
living with disabilities, and their families
to service. However, one common thread
and carers. Support has included the
that runs through all our work is our
provision of equipment like wheelchairs,
commitment to placing the consumer at
ramps, splints and commodes. We have
the centre of everything we do. This often
also regularly funded other supports such
means going beyond individual service
as respite, continence aids, home and
frameworks to achieve the best outcome
vehicle modifications, medication and
for each person or family.
oxygen needs. Sometimes even small
Our Housing service, for instance,
changes can make a huge difference to the
maintains ongoing contact with families
daily quality of people’s lives.
after they have settled into their new
This year, Windermere’s OnTrack
homes. Often the difficulties that led them
has provided around 2,000 hours of
into homelessness in the first place are still
Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy
present and the issues can be complex.
and Psychology services to consumers to
We work with parents to find long-term
help address a range of issues including
solutions through links to education,
anxiety, depression, suicide, trauma, family
drug and alcohol services, financial
breakdown, and assisting children with
assistance and employment opportunities
developmental delays and disabilities.
and with children through education,
This fee-for-service program provided vital
sport and creative activities to help them
support for people who could otherwise
remain engaged.
not access government program services,
Our Integrated Family Services works in
or who would have sometimes waited
close partnership across our community
months or even longer on public wait lists.
with the South East Family Services
Windermere’s dedicated Counselling
Alliance. This relationship enables us to
Service provided over 600 consumers
often start working with troubled
with evidence-based practice to reduce
families before their problems escalate
the effects of anxiety and depression
to the Child Protection stage. Our
in clients, as well as helping to address
strengths-based approach draws on the
the psychological effects of traumatised
collective strengths and resources of the
women and children.
family and its individuals to find lasting
Windermere’s Victims of Crime service,
positive outcomes.
which operates across the Southern
Through Windermere’s Disability Services
Region and Gippsland, continued with its
we have provided many forms of tangible
main aim of ‘getting in early’ following an
assistance to approximately 570 people
incident. Assistance for victims of crime has included providing practical support, debriefing using psychological first aid, normalising reactions and response to an abnormal incident, and providing referrals
• Place the consumer at the centre of what we do
to other services and agencies to enable recovery. The service operates in the
• Model a transdisciplinary approach to provide a seamless experience for consumers
‘Windermere way’, meaning it embodies
• Seek partnerships that create a coordinated response to diverse needs
the practice of providing consistent,
• Implement the Wellbeing Measurement Tool to ensure we make a difference
with appropriate advocacy and support.
• Articulate a strengths-based and self directed practice
person-centred, strength-based assistance One of the most satisfying aspects of our
22
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
work is witnessing the improvements we
by-stander to bullies.”; and “Choose good
families this year. Our assistance included
are helping to make in young people’s
friends to have around you, not people
providing information and support
lives. For instance, by bringing young
who want you to do the wrong thing”.
tailored to individuals, accessing additional
people together through our Building
To help enhance literacy among children
funds to purchase specialist equipment
Harmony Program, local school students are gaining a greater awareness and understanding of other cultures and religions from an early age. Our greatest
with special needs and disabilities, indigenous and non-English speaking communities, Windermere’s Communities
or resources, provision of generalised and specialist educational groups, access to allied health services, and links to outreach
for Children ran a number of programs
support services.
throughout the year under its banner of a
Our Family Day Care service has
flexible and multi-arts learning approach.
collaborated closely this year with internal
Different styles of learning undertaken
and external partners to help support
included narrative and art therapy,
the needs and capacity of families and
During the year with over 300 young
song, dance movement, photography,
enhance children’s wellbeing. This has
students, our Kids on Track Program
storyboarding and storytelling.
resulted in improved access to a range
covered a number of topics including:
Our federally funded Cranbourne
of standard and non-standard hours
hope is for them to carry these valuable insights with them into the future to help create a more harmonious and respectful community.
family and connection to the broader community; mental health, alcohol and other drugs; and anger management. Qualitative research conducted at the end of each term produced a range of comments from young people giving feedback on the program: “If I see someone alone, I’ll invite them to play”; “Don’t be a
Communities for Children program is now in it’s 8th year. This year we continued to
child care placements. The service has
Windermere’s Disability Services have provided many forms of tangible assistance to 570 people living with disabilities, and their families and carers
also advocated on behalf of families experiencing financial hardship through
Helping families regain independence
applications for support through the
and to feel part of their community is a
commonwealth government’s Special
key focus of our work. Helping to educate
Matter’, also a significant highlight was
Child Care Benefits scheme.
and support is also a critical component.
the annual Cranbourne Botanical Gardens
Windermere’s Early Learning Centre has
Windermere throughout 2012/13 has
Woodlands Walk again attracting over 250
continued to focus on its commitment
people this year.
to supporting children’s individual
For many of the young mums involved
development strengths and learning
work with 8 community partners in the delivery of 10 community based programs including ‘The Library has Legs’ and ‘Dads
in our residential Mums and Bubs program, the life skills they have acquired this year have enabled them to move onto permanent accommodation and employment. Their children have also had the chance to enjoy popular programs and social activities like Rhythm Sticks and Mother Goose. Windermere’s Early Childhood Development service supported 164
capabilities. This has enabled equal access and opportunity to a number of children with additional needs by supporting their participation in early learning. The centre has also advocated for families
continued to focus and to provide education and support services in the area of suicide prevention. Working through schools, community and individual workplaces we have delivered training and general awareness to 752 people helping to build a stronger understanding of how we can help and influence more positive
and children needing additional support
outcomes for individuals in need.
and funding through the commonwealth
Across 2012/13 we have worked with over
government’s range of Inclusion
14,000 people either in individual, family
Support services.
or group settings. Some of these people
Help for families comes in many forms
come to us needing advice, information or
and at Christmas time we know that there are always extra pressures. This year we again undertook the Windermere Merry Mission an annual program of connecting those with the capacity to give to those in need. With over $40,000 of donations, comprising of 1,100 individual items including toys, gift vouchers and hampers we were able to again support many many families.
connections; others come needing much more intensive support to regain their independence. We remain proud to have the opportunity to provide support and to also work in partnership with some of our local community groups such as Rotary, The Cardinia Foundation, the Dominion Hotel Group, and Berwick Soroptomist to help make a difference.
23
strengthen our future
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Of Windermere’s five strategic priorities, strengthening our future is the only one that is intentionally inwardly focussed. This is where striving for higher organisational and service quality standards, monitoring of systems, building our public profile, creating cost efficiencies and leading a culture of values-shared responsibilities all come together to drive future growth and success. Our quality journey has, by design,
This rating meant that Windermere, in
we are delivering our administrative and
become a large part of who we are. In
relation to these standards, demonstrated
support services as efficiently as possible
2004 Windermere decided to embark on
evidence of innovation, good practice and
in order to allocate a greater proportion of
the challenge of driving a quality agenda
sustained, improved outcomes - qualities
our budget on front-line service delivery.
throughout the whole of the organisation.
we are committed to integrate into our
The five back-of-house functions: human
Recognising that many of our service areas
everyday work practices.
resources, payroll, fleet, finance and ICT
were subject to a range of accreditation
To support these processes, Windermere
are all being compared through the
processes, we committed early to a whole organisation approach.
has comprehensive systems for ensuring our practices are compliant with our
quality levels. The benefits gained from participation is not only the data obtained,
funding agreements, legislation and
we are currently preparing for our next
service standards. We are responsive
accreditation process scheduled for
to government directives and changes
that create greater efficiencies.
September 2014. This will be focussed
in legislation to ensure the work we do
Through 2012/13 there has been much
on QIC organisational standards
achieves the best possible outcomes for
consideration given to a number of our
compliance and the new Department of
the community.
systems, both informed by the above
Human Services Standards. These newly
Legislative and contractual details relevant
benchmarking process and our own desire
streamlined process. The focus is for us is to demonstrate evidence of systems that:
to our business are maintained and compliance is monitored by operational managers and Board committees. The
but the sharing of differing approaches
to seek greater efficiency gains. As our practice becomes more outreach, the need for our staff to have mobile responses to data collection and entry is becoming
• Promote and uphold client rights
mandate of these committees is to
• Deliver positive outcomes for
monitor, advise and assist the organisation
more urgent every day.
to regularly review and improve its systems.
Connecting our differing sites to ensure
Ensuring that we are using our resources
smooth and efficient communications is
the community • Provide greater assurance of service quality
as effectively as possible has seen us
• Foster reflective practice
participate for the second time this year in
We continue striving to exceed quality
the Not-for-Profit back-of-house function
• Monitor systems for legislative, contract and funding compliance
standards as demonstrated in our
benchmarking project. Windermere is
• Build our public profile to secure future funding, attract support and engage consumers
second round accreditation in 2011,
one of 13 not-for-profit organisations participating in this project, which is
• Create cost efficiencies while retaining quality and effectiveness
where we received ‘exceeded’ ratings for our management systems, and our
contracted to the NOUS Group. The aim
collaborative and strategic partnerships.
for participating agencies is to ensure that
• Lead a culture that values shared responsibility
creation of comparative data on cost and
In continuing with this commitment,
integrated standards enable a more
• Strive to exceed organisational and service quality standards
25
also critical for our ongoing development. This year we began the review and have made the commitment to implementing more effective ITC strategies to act as the foundation for our ongoing development. The scoping, costing and preparation of a business case to implement a new pointto-point wireless connectivity solution has begun with an ambitious implementation
26
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
schedule for the coming year. Work has
Building our public profile is an
also progressed in reviewing and scope
important part of our commitment to our
of a new HR system that will enable
community. While many people know who
us to bring back in-house a number
we are, there are more new arrivals each
of operations, and to develop a more
month as part of our growth corridor. Our
comprehensive approach to our
excellent relations with our local media
record management.
has been very important to us this year.
The development of a new Strategic Plan
With tremendous achievements comes
commenced with the arrival of our new CEO. Purposefully delayed to enable its development to take place under new
wonderful stories worth sharing with our community, ranging from great consumer outcomes to extraordinary contributions
leadership, a whole-of-agency approach
to our work.
was adopted in its development.
We have proudly talked about our program
Commencing with an Appreciative Inquiry
successes, our community adventure
session, reflecting on what we did well
challenges and partnership achievements.
and what we learnt, the process was then
With such unsurpassed support from local
taken up by the board and management
media organisations, Windermere’s ‘brand’
through a facilitated process of robust
has gone from strength to strength in
and collective thinking. Several months
recent times. Several hundred thousand
of ongoing reflection, refinement and
dollars in funding has also been raised this
consultation has resulted in the ‘Our Way
year - an amount that many not-for-profits
Forward - 2013-16 Strategic Plan’. This
could only dream about.
work embraces the consultative nature
The support we enjoy from media has
of the organisation and will continue to be developed and implemented over the coming years.
also enabled us to spread our name to a much wider audience, and brought us additional donations of cash, and gifts in
Compiling an evidence base charting
kind and time, through volunteering. We
the impact of our work has seen the
can never thank our public and private
continuation of our partnership with
supporters enough for all they do, along
RMIT University in the development
with our critical partners, government
of our Wellbeing Measurement Tool.
and the community. Our commitment
Having the capacity to articulate and
is to continue to analyse how we do our
collate the difference we are making in
business, to ensure our viability today
the lives of individuals as they engage
and into the future, and to provide much
with our service is critical. The Wellbeing
needed services for a community that we
Measurement Tool is currently in its second
value so highly.
stage of development, with the focus on improving outcome-based accountability in community services. This will enable us to deliver enhanced consumer wellbeing through better informed organisational decision-making.
Connecting our differing sites to ensure smooth and efficient communications is also critical for our ongoing development
27
inspire enterprising practice
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Across Windermere’s many services and programs there are some outstanding examples of how our work is helping to inspire enterprising practice. This may involve developing and trialling new ideas, seeking additional strategic partnerships, and /or identifying opportunities to diversify and grow our income.
Our Victims of Crime service, which
Supporting enterprising practice
operates across the Southern region and
sometimes requires organisations to be
Gippsland, has maintained its focus on
bold. With a 20 year history in a growth
training and professional development
corridor, Windermere knows the struggle
of staff to promote growth in knowledge,
of meeting demand and finding suitable
best practice and creative delivery.
locations to deliver much-needed services
This has included our involvement in
from. This year our bold move taken in
a Monash University program run in
2010/11 to financially contribute to the
conjunction with a Latrobe aboriginal
development of Toomah a community
community organisation to ensure our
centre in the Cardinia Shire has started
cultural competence when working with
to come to fruition. With the slab laid in
members of the Koori community. These
early February we have watched with
partnerships are not only inspiring
great excitement as the construction
new practice but also forming new
has continued. This $6.8m facility, jointly
partnerships that positively impact
funded by Cardinia Shire Council, State
the whole organisation.
Government and Windermere, will act
Windermere has also helped to inspire
as an integrated community and service
enterprising practice by delivering professional training to around 150 external practitioners. ‘123 Magic and Emotion Coaching‘ training enables practitioners to run this highly successful parenting skills course with their own
coordinated, collaborative approach to addressing local needs. Current planning hopes to result in a mix of service providers working together in new ways to make a difference. This is an exciting opportunity under development.
and provides like-minded professionals
Pushing the boundaries of our well-
with the opportunity to learn and grow
established Family Day Care service this
from each other.
year, Windermere was selected as one of
In seeking new ways of challenging old
only three Victorian service providers who
has sought to innovate and expand their operations by developing a youth case management model. This model is based on putting young people who need our
• Identify and trial new ideas and different ways of working
help at the centre of intervention, while
• Seek strategic partnerships to engage in enterprising practice
wrapping their extended family
• Capitalise on our Toomah investment to demonstrate our enterprising spirit
centre providing opportunities for a
clients, creates a strengths-based approach
problems, Integrated Family Services
• Identify opportunities to diversify and increase our income
29
around them.
will participate in the commonwealth government’s Child Care Flexi Trials. The trial commenced in July 2013 and is specifically aimed at providing more flexible child care options for serving members of the Victorian police force. As a new initiative, we are looking forward to contributing to the development and delivery of this wonderful and muchneeded service for our community.
30
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Our Frankston-based Early Learning Centre has also had the opportunity this year of helping to inspire enterprising practice by supporting NEIT, a local education service. This service provides training for professionals working in the early years sector and enables students to observe the delivery of early education practices. Monash University students have also had the opportunity to embed their theoretical learning by observing the delivery of a quality educational program within our Early Learning Centre, and participating the co-design of learning plans. As part of our management agreement with Monash University Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, allied health students are now joining us on a regular basis to share their learnings with our staff and to observe practice in action. Next year we are looking forward to taking on more formal placements and benefiting through supervised hands-on training and support, working with our children with specific needs. In Term 2 of this school year, Windermere’s Kids on Track introduced a number of engaging new activities to deliver the content of its program. Included in the offering was a range of physical games, hands-on creative activities, audio visual
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
This year our bold move taken in 2010/11 to financially contribute to the development of Toomah a community centre in the Cardinia Shire has started to come to fruition
tools including interactive whiteboards and You Tube clips, and reinforced
have been implemented, with a total of
beliefs shape the delivery of and access
all responding to different contractual
reflective learning and content recall. This
398 students participating in both formal
to services, or of how to counter racism in
obligations, diverse groups and separate
was delivered in a ‘game show’ format with
and informal program activities.
order to address social disadvantage and
reporting systems challenges us every day.
teams, dress-ups and even buzzers.
Understanding that we live in a
exclusion. Through our involvement in this
Building our strategic plan throughout May
work we hope to support greater attention
and June has certainly placed our focus
Our Building Harmony Program, a
community of growing cultural diversity,
Windermere initiative that commenced in
together with Monash University we have
2010 through philanthropic funding, has
been supporting the development of a
initiatives in organisations and civil society.
continued to work together with young
new screening tool specifically focussed
Being enterprising in the way we work is
of conceptualising our Windermere
people from diverse backgrounds to build
on identifying racist attitudes. What we
a constant challenge. Through the lens of
Integrated Care Team - a team designed
skills, respect and empathy. As a program,
already know is that most racism occurs
Appreciative Inquiry, as an organisation
to collectively share knowledge about
Building Harmony aims to promote and
subtly, however, through discriminatory
we often stop to look at what we are doing
clients, refine responses and to improve
support harmonious living in our diverse,
attitudes and covert practices. Yet we know
well, and how can we do more of what we
outcomes for our consumers. This will form
emerging community of Officer. Since its
little about the everyday understandings
do well, or how can we apply this to other
an exciting journey for our consumers and
inception, 19 major inter-school activities
and experiences of racism, of how racist
areas of our work. Having 10 service areas
our agency into 2013/14.
to racism and increased active anti-racist
on our community and our consumers. In late 2011 we began the process
31
Financials
32
Windermere Financials 2012/2013
• Summary Statement of Comprehensive Income For The Year Ended 30 June 2013 • Summary Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2013 • Independent Audit Report to The Members of Windermere Child & Family Services Inc. • Government Income By Program • Sources of Income • Expenditure
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
33
Summary Statement Of Comprehensive Income For The Year Ended 30 June 2013 Revenue Government Funding Donations and Fundraising (Net) Donation Land and Building Other Income
2013 ($)
2012 ($)
13,017,584
13,117,015
316,881
255,984
-
335,000
2,549,609
2,170,087
15,884,074
15,878,086
Employment
8,377,028
7,938,336
Family Day Care / In Home Care Contractor Payments
3,079,809
3,087,604
440,663
366,422
1,620,679
2,373,072
556,821
487,021
Total Revenue
Expenses
Accommodation Direct Client Assistance Brokered Contracts Other Costs Total Expenses
Operating surplus Loss on Sale of Property, Plant and Equipment
1,733,276
1,468,843
15,808,276
15,721,298
75,798
156,788
(12,252)
(17,923)
Specific Purpose Donations and Memorial Fund Revenue
2,000
2,000
Specific Purpose Donations and Memorial Fund Expenses
(2,216)
(12,148)
Net Surplus
63,330
128,717
-
118,546
Other Comprehensive Income Surplus on revaluation of land and buildings
Total Comprehensive Income For The Year
63,330 247,263
34
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Summary Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2013
Independent Audit Report to The Members of Windermere Child & Family Services Inc.
2013 ($)
2012 ($)
Current Assets
7,903,472
7,509,250
Non-Current Assets
5,920,886
5,943,812
13,824,358
13,453,062
6,027,401
5,884,723
291,114
125,826
6,318,515
6,010,549
Total Assets Current Liabilities Non-Current Liabilities Total Liabilities
7,505,843
Net Assets
7,442,513
We have audited the summarised financial
In our opinion, the information reported
For a better understanding of the scope
report of Windermere Child & Family
in the summarised financial report is
of our audit, this report should be read in
Services Inc. for the year ended 30 June
consistent with the annual financial report
conjunction with our audit report on the
2013 comprising the Summary Statement
from which it is derived and upon which
annual financial report.
of Comprehensive Income and the
we expressed an unqualified audit opinion
Summary Balance Sheet in accordance
in our report to the members dated 10
with Australian Auditing Standards.
October 2013.
McLean Delmo Bentleys Audit Pty Ltd
Kevin P Adams, Hawthorn Director, 10 October 2013
Please note: As required by the Association Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Victoria), members of Windermere Child and Family Services Inc. have been provided with a complete copy of the Financial Report for the year ended 30 June 2013. Persons seeking information are invited to direct enquiries to the Chief Executive Officer.
Government Income By Program 5%
$ 685,333
11%
18%
$ 2,342,230
15%
$ 1,943,404
$ 1,361,553
Legends
27%
$ 3,524,382
Counselling Services
13%
$ 1,717,160
3%
1%
7%
$ 915,286
$ 445,132
$ 74,305
12/13
Early Childhood Dev’t Services
0% $ 8,799
11/12
0% 5%
$ 609,382
11%
$ 1,445,582
24
% $ 3,120,828
35
12%
$ 1,623,607
5%
9%
$ 1,182,914
$ 629,005
28%
$ 3,664,257
6%
$ 836,804
$ 4,636
Disability Services Integrated Family Services Victims Assistance & Counselling Program Early Learning Centre Family Day Care & In-Home Care Housing Support Communities for Children Other
36
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Sources of Income Federal Government
State Government
Local Government
Contracted Government Partnerships
Interest
Client Fees
Corporate Contributions
Expenditure
2013
2012
30%
Salaries, Contractors and Oncosts
$ 4,673,959
29%
$ 4,658,992
52%
53%
Family Day Care Educators
$ 8,425,988
0%
Accomodation Costs
$ 29,963
0%
$ 32,035
2%
Client Assistance
$ 262,953
1%
$ 202,699
2%
Depreciation
$ 273,842
2%
$ 367,764
3%
Brokered Contracts
$ 494,832
3%
$ 402,134
3%
3%
Other Operating Costs
5%
$ 770,909 Donations & Fundraising (net of expenses)
Donation Land & Buildings
Other
2%
53%
$ 8,377,028
$ 8,313,662
$ 546,219 Commercial Contracts
2013
19%
2012
51%
$ 7,938,336
20%
$ 3,079,809
$ 3,087,604
3%
2%
$ 440,663
$ 366,422
10%
15%
$ 1,620,679
2%
$ 2,373,072
2%
$ 350,125
$ 342,369
4%
3%
$ 556,821
$ 487,021
9%
7%
$ 414,747
$ 1,395,619
$ 1,154,545
4%
$15,820,744
$15,749,369
$ 655,687
2%
$ 316,881
$ 255,984
0%
2%
$0
$ 335,000
1%
1%
$ 200,854
$ 127,056
$15,884,074
$15,878,086
37
special thanks 38
Ambassador Matthew Richardson David Parkin OAM
significant donors APT Engineering Arci Grilles (Aust) Moonlight Fabrication Automotive Holdings Group Limited Bainbridge Family Pty Ltd Bank of Queensland Bodyworks Fitness Branjar Investments Pty Ltd BUPA Cardinia Shire Council City of Casey Clerk Foley Commonwealth Bank of Australia Concept Office Corrs Chambers Westgarth Dominion Hotel Group Drew Robinson Pty Ltd Endota Spa Berwick Fabio Ongarato Design Facey Industrial - Commercial G & K O’Connor Gembrook Uniting Church Grill’d Grossi & Cardamone IPAR Rehabilitation K & S Group Pty Ltd Kevin & Alison Thomson Khan’s Catering Lander & Rogers Macpherson & Kelley Lawyers Montague Group Morgan & Griffin Myer Stores Community Fund Newmarket Shopping Plaza Outlook Victoria Pakenham Cricket Club Inc Pakenham Opportunity Shop
Pakenham Racing Club Parklea Pty Ltd Prestige Hino Briony Hayllar Carl Strachan Catherine Zulian Christine Harvey Craig Ferguson Dave Allison David Beak David Thomson Ian Ball Kayla Brimble Lou Anceschi Norman Moss Paul Wheelton OAM Roger Donnazan Ros Facey Scott McNamara Susan Delaney Tom Warwick Rotary Club of Berwick Samantha Wills Pty Ltd Sette Bello Soroptimist International Inc of Berwick South East Business Park Pty Ltd Sunshine and Crocodiles Pty Ltd Fund Tarmac Civil Constructions Taylors Lakes Hotel The Good Guys Foundation The Russell Foundation The Shannon Company The Sock Agency Pty Ltd The Trust Company The Woolsery W & B Cabinets Wagstaff Trading Pty Ltd Warfam Pty Limited Zagame Automotive Pty Ltd
Windermere Annual Report 2012/2013
Agencies, Trusts & Foundations Anglicare ANZ Trustees - The William Buckland Foundation Australian Communities Foundation Cardinia Foundation Children’s Promise Collier Charitable Fund Gandel Charitable Trust Gandel Philanthropic Management Ltd Jean Anderson Fund P and L White Foundation Pty Ltd Sidney Myer Fund Sunshine and Crocodiles Fund The Good Guys Foundation The Marian & EH Flack Trust
Government Departments Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Department of Human Services Department of Justice
Windermere Adventure Challenge Ambassadors 2012-2013, each raising over $6,500 Alison McHenry
Jane Emery
Brian Paynter
Kim Yeoman
Brooke Hayward
Krista Tomlinson
Brooke Tomlinson
Louise Kay
Catherine Sharpe
Meleea Wood
Catherine Zulian
Olivia Lyon
Chris Harvey
Ross Cheesewright
Eva Foster
Samantha Smith
Garry Howe
Sandra Kimpton-Moss
Gaylene Howe
Shanae Brooks
Geoff Bainbridge
Simon Crowe
Graeme Moore
Suellen Conway
Greta Melina Fullagar
Tracy Walker
James Wynne Please note that donations of less than $1K are not acknowledged in this Annual Report due to space restrictions only. We appreciate and individually thank all donors and while every effort has been made to thank our supporters, we apologise for any oversight or omission in this document.
We also would like to thank ...
Tertiary Institutions
All of the other agencies who have supported Windermere.
Deakin University
And as always, we’d like to provide a very special and sincere thank you to all of our
LaTrobe University
volunteers and in-kind supporters.
Monash University RMIT University
Media Acknowledgments Star News Group The Age The Leader Group 97.7FM Casey Radio
39
How You Can Help Every year we rely on the support of caring, generous individuals, families, businesses, community organisations, trusts and foundations. Every dollar, every gift in kind, every hour of your time makes a difference to the lives of vulnerable children and families that we help. You can help by: • Making a donation • Becoming a corporate sponsor • Running a fundraising event • Donating through a workplace giving program • Joining our regular giving program • Giving a gift in kind • Leaving a bequest • Attending our fundraising events
Head Office. 48 Webb Street Narre Warren VIC 3805 Phone. (03) 9705 3200 Fax. (03) 9796 7650 Email. info@windermere.org.au Website. www.windermere.org.au