Focus Life 2018-2019 Annual Report

2018 - 19 ANNUAL REPORT

"Communication is open and they care. They go that little bit extra. I am very happy with them.

One-on-one support.

Community access during the week."

ANONYMOUS QUOTE PROVIDED VIA STAKEHOLDER 2019 SURVEY

CHAIRMAN & CEO REPORT It is with pleasure we present the annual achievements of focus Individualised Support Services. 2018-2019 has not been without its challenges but for most people receiving services they have received increased support and flexibility in their lives.

In reviewing the annual reports for the last few years, we can see that the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has featured heavily and has largely been the dominant theme. We have discussed what it is, how it will work and the changes focus needed to make to continue to be sustainable working in this new system.

This year we are pleased to report that our transition to the NDIS has been completed; every person receiving services from focus now has an NDIS plan. It has been a challenging year supporting families to access the Scheme when the rules and processes changed so frequently. We congratulate all the staff on the work that each and every one of them has put in to get focus to the finish line of what turned out to be quite a marathon. We would like to thank our clients and their families for taking this journey with us over the last few years. Your patience through the many changes has been appreciated.

The exciting part of the transition has been the excellent plans that people have received as a result of the introduction of the NDIS. The majority of people have succeeded in gaining more support than they have previously had and we are starting the see people take control of their lives and use their 1:1 support to attend activities all over Melbourne.

These are the outcomes that were predicted in the report written by the Productivity Commission in 2011. The idea that every person in Australia with a disability would have the support they required to live an ordinary life, is the premise that the scheme was built on. The difficulties that we have all experienced along the way feel like they were minor transition issues now that so many people are benefiting from the Scheme.

For several years now it has felt like the only thing we have been doing has been transitioning to the Scheme, but of course that is not true, we still need to manage the business of the organisation and care for the people receiving services; and it has been an exciting year in so many ways. Like every other disability provider, we have faced the pressures of operating in the face of growing complexities and uncertainty, staff shortages and increased regulation. We have also seen an increase in profitability and the freedom to make strategic decisions without the constraints we have previously had to contend with from our funding bodies. Overall it has been a very satisfying year.

Earlier this year the Board of Directors embarked on a strategic planning process to set the direction of the organisation over the next five-years. The priority objective to come out of that process was to: ‘Foster growth as an important element of sustainability’. For focus that meant growing and developing the accommodation area.

"They were very good in such a difficult period with NDIS. They managed very well."

ANONYMOUS QUOTE PROVIDED VIA STAKEHOLDER 2019 SURVEY

Before we made any major decisions, research was required to test the anecdotal evidence that more accommodation was required on the Mornington Peninsula. focus partnered with neighbouring disability providers and surveyed their families to determine just how many families required accommodation over the next five years. It was pleasing to see 82 families completed the survey.

Results were: • 33 people require accommodation in the next 2-years.

• An additional 44 people require accommodation in 2-5 years.

• People requiring accommodation range in age from 18-50 years.

• Preferred locations were within the City of Casey, Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula.

Already we have been able to support some of those families to access permanent accommodation and envisage assisting several more over the next couple of years as our building program progresses.

The strategic planning process set a goal of developing six new accommodation services over the next 5-years.

This will increase the number of people living in focus accommodation by 50% over that time.

One of the first steps to achieving this ambitious goal was to move the administration of the organisation and sell the buildings at Dromana. The sale of the buildings will help fund two new houses. The buildings were sold in April and the administration of the organisation was moved to The Coolstores, Moorooduc in late May.

To enable the development of the first of those houses the former day service in Beach Street, Dromana was closed and the property is currently being renovated.

This house will be opened before the end of this year and will be home to three people. Similarly, the old house in Frankston that is being used as a day service will close at Christmas time and a new home will be constructed on that site in 2020. Two more blocks have been purchased; one in Langwarrin and the other in Frankston South. Plans are underway to have new homes constructed on those properties.

As part of the strategy planning the decision was made to close the outreach division of the organisation. focus had been providing outreach/in-home services for around 20 years to a small number of people. The service had not grown over those years and was very staff intensive. It was no longer viable for focus to continue with the service.

The families were given time and support to access other organisation’s that could provide the services that they required.

Given the age of the majority of people living with focus, most people are starting to slow down. With this in mind we decided to move to a Home-to-Community model for some of the day service participants. This model doesn’t suit everyone but for those that it does, it has made their life a lot easier. Instead of getting up early each day to catch the bus to the day service, they stay at home and get ready in their own time. They are then picked up from home and taken directly to their community activity.

focus once again underwent a surveillance audit against the disability standards at the end of 2018. We are pleased to report that we finished the audit with no nonconformities.

"It is obvious that focus has been striving to make things better. I am impressed with all of the different things that have been put forward in the past 12 months."

ANONYMOUS QUOTE PROVIDED VIA STAKEHOLDER 2019 SURVEY

In seven years of regular audits focus has never had a non-conformity. This is an enviable record and testament to the work the staff put in to ensuring the standards are continually at the forefront of everything we do.

This will be the last audit against the disability standards.

On the 1st July 2019, all disability providers (except those in Western Australia) were transferred to the NDIS Quality & Safeguarding Commission. The Commission is an independent agency established to improve the quality and safety of NDIS participants. The Commission will use a new Quality & Safeguarding Framework to audit all disability providers for a nationally consistent approach.

This change will require a re-write of all policy and procedure as well as reporting processes. We believe this new agency will support the sector and bring more consistency for people with a disability but, like everything, it will take some time to develop their processes and bed them down. However, when they achieve this, every disability service in Australia will be audited against the same framework.

Financially it has been another very successful year, focus completed the year showing a $2.7m surplus. It is this strong financial position that allows us to achieve the best outcomes for the people we support. Only from a positive financial position are we able to plan a viable future for the organisation. For this we again owe a debt of gratitude to our very generous benefactors, who have provided invaluable support to the work we are doing. In particular, we must thank the Halkyard family for their extremely generous donation on behalf of Geoffrey. Your generosity provides us with the ability to try some new programs that will improve life for many of our clients. On behalf of the whole organisation, we express our appreciation to all our benefactors.

As always we must congratulate the outstanding effort of Beverly Stacpoole and her team of volunteers at the Opportunity Shop, once again a magnificent year contributing $270,000.

To all the volunteers that give so freely of their time we thank you for everything you do, your contribution to focus and people with a disability is commendable.

To the members of the Board, thank you for your commitment through a difficult year, we could not have achieved what we have this year without the support of a highly engaged Board. The Directors willingly give of their time and their skills to steer the organisation into an exciting future ahead. The founding board of directors were unwavering in their desire to provide accommodation for the families who required it; more than 40-years later that legacy continues to remain the primary motivation for the current Board.

David Crawford stepped down from the Board during the year. David was instrumental in developing the strategy to set the objectives of the organisation. We thank him most sincerely for all that he offered the organisation over many years, but particularly over the last 2-years while on the Board. When accepting the chairmanship of the Board, David’s goal was to corporatise the board and set a realistic strategy for the organisation to work towards. He successfully achieved this. Anthea Green has also stepped down from the Board. Anthea made a considerable contribution during her time as a Director. We wish David and Anthea all the very best for the future.

We also acknowledge the Executive team for their commitment to the organisation. It has been an honour and a privilege to work alongside you. You continue to show your resilience and deliver exceptional support within this ever changing environment.

"So glad, so lucky to have such a good service available. It's a first class residential accommodation. I am comforted to know my family member is in good hands for life."

ANONYMOUS QUOTE PROVIDED VIA STAKEHOLDER 2019 SURVEY

To the leadership team and our highly valued support staff, it is the staff who are the greatest asset the organisation, without them nothing would occur. Your work makes a difference in people’s lives on a daily basis and allows our clients to be able to say they are ‘Living the life they want”.

To the staff who have left us through the year we thank you for the contribution you have made and to those who have joined us, welcome to the team.

Sadly, we have seen several clients and family members pass away. We offer our condolences to all their families and friends.

As the disability sector begins to prepare for the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with a Disability, we know that we are in for another extremely busy year ahead that will present many challenges for us. We will work together to meet what is demanded of us and forge a solid future for all at focus.

As this year comes to an end, we are confident that focus is in a good place and ready to take on the many opportunities that will come our way in the years ahead.

At the same time, we always seek to remain true to the focus values and continue to be driven by our vision for the future.

PAUL THOMSON GAIL FOSTER Chairman Chief Executive Officer

PEOPLE & CULTURE It has been a pleasure to be part of such a motivated Executive Team at focus, since my commencement in November 2018!

A lot has been happening in response to the changing environment. We are working to ensure that our workforce has the resources and capability to continue to meet the needs of our clients and families.

Recruitment and selection has been a significant emphasis for People and Culture in partnership with our Client Services Team. A 2019-2023 Recruitment Strategy has been developed and is being implemented. This strategy entails a number of initiatives including a review of our employee value proposition, values based recruitment approach, advertising platforms and talent pipelines.

Partnerships have been developed with Chisholm and other Registered Training Organisations on the Peninsula to ensure that these organisations understand what focus requires. These relationships have borne fruit already with potential joint opportunities and attraction of students directly into our workforce. Linkages with the Building Local Care Workforce and other Government agencies have been established with positive results.

Values based recruitment practices are very important to us, to ensure that candidates align with our values and mission, with a view to providing quality supports for our clients. Utilisation of the NDIS Workforce Planning Map is proving to be a helpful tool in establishing workforce projections, given the high demand for candidates in the sector. Attrition rates are low, and competition in the talent market is high. Meeting demand is a significant challenge across the sector. We continue to review research and results to refine our initiatives in this area.

"I think focus is pretty terrific. They are good at communication, provide the care my family member needs."

ANONYMOUS QUOTE PROVIDED VIA STAKEHOLDER 2019 SURVEY

On the industrial front, Multi Enterprise Agreement negotiations have progressed well. The fruition of these negotiations will mean a positive change to employment provisions in the sector and at focus. Employment relations legislative and policy changes continue to impact the sector, requiring a positive and proactive approach to industrial and workforce planning. This will ensure focus is well placed for the future, remaining competitive for the attraction and retention of quality staff.

The induction program has been reviewed to ensure that our new staff are supported and understand the ‘focus way’. We have received positive feedback regarding this program from incoming employees, some of whom are just starting in the sector. The value of the leadership and support of our Area Managers and Service Leaders with this initiative cannot be understated.

A number of stakeholders now participate in the induction program – it is very much a team effort, which demonstrates the values of focus in action.

Strategic workforce planning and creation of quality talent pipelines will remain a priority for the immediate future to ensure that we continue to adapt in the NDIS environment.

More importantly, development of workforce capability and measurable outcomes will ensure that we work together to realise tangible results for our clients, families and stakeholders. Implementation of person centred management practices aligned with focus values and strategy will provide a firm foundation for our employees to provide person centred support, with a view to every person we support saying “I am living the life I want”.

Thank you to our staff for their dedication and contribution. Without your efforts, the focus vision is not realised.

CLIENT SERVICES As our Vision states, we want the people we support to ‘Live the life they want’.

In the past, this has been incredibly difficult to achieve because funding was attached to a service, not a person, so people really didn’t have much choice at all and were living the life we could support them with.

Now that the NDIS is providing funding based on how a person wants to live their life, each person can be in control and in a position to live the life they want. But is that it? Can we expect to see a person’s life change and see them be in control of their life simply by changing the funding?

This question as well as the mantra of “Nothing about Me, Without Me” is now at the forefront of everything that we do. To see people living the life they want, we recognise that we need to tip everything we do on its head and think differently. This isn’t to say that everything we’ve done to date is wrong, its simply saying that now before we do anything, we will put the person at the centre of the decision making and ensure the purpose fits with our Mission.

The team behind the people we support are reviewing everything and are developing some great initiatives to change how we provide supports.

We expect the following will ensure that our business is listening, is responsive, transparent and is adapting to the changing expectations of our customers. We are achieving this by: • Rolling out Home to Community, which is changing how in-home supports, community and centre based supports are provided, • Introducing the Family Advisory Network Committee, where a group of families meet on a quarterly basis with us to discuss how we can improve, ensuring we remain a service provider of choice, • Renovating or building new housing in the community to support those on our waiting list.

• Updating the Peoples Committee bringing the voice of the people we support to the table.

FINANCE focus had a fantastic financial performance for the year ended 30 June 2019 (2018/19). I thank the finance team most sincerely for their efforts this year.

• The result for 2018/19 was a surplus of $2.7 Million representing 13% of revenue compared to the previous year of $1.8 Million or 10% of revenue.

• Total revenue for 2018/19 was $20.8 Million, an increase of $3 Million or 17% compared to 2017/18.

• Total expenses for 2018 19 were $18 Million, an increase of $2 Million or 12.5% compared to 2017/18.

• The Net equity of the company was $30 Million, an increase of $3.5 Million or 13% compared to 2017/18.

• Continuing to support people and their families as they navigate through their first or second NDIS plan,

The Kindilan Opportunity Shop supported the Operations with $269K in sales revenue. We thank all staff and volunteers at the Op Shop for their continued support of the work we do.

• Navigating our way through the introduction of the Quality and Safeguarding Commission and new standards that we will be assessed against.

The income from investments of $674K and a contribution from Kindilan Foundation of $370K provided a further boost to our cash flow and surplus.

So change is inevitable. We know that people can resist change and ‘people’ includes any of us. We are confident that the changes that have taken place this year and for those yet to come across the organisation will ensure that people receive the supports they want and focus remains a provider of choice across the Mornington Peninsula.

focus received generous donations from families, which helped in many ways to provide the funds for additional programs and equipment required to enhance the experiences of focus clients.

Behind every person we support is a team of committed and passionate staff, leaders and managers. Along with the dedicated team at The Coolstores, I can’t thank the entire team enough for their commitment to the ever-changing landscape that they work within. There’s been some rough days/months this year as we’ve dealt with multiple challenges but we have faced every hurdle with confidence and succeeded in moving onwards and upwards. It’s a privilege to work with you all.

I also take this opportunity to pass on my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one this year. Losing a loved one is never easy and my thoughts and wishes are with you all.

Thank you to the Board and the Executive Team for their ongoing support. focus is a wonderful organisation and it is a privilege to be part of.

TONI STEWART Chief Operating Officer

With no debt and a growing equity, focus is well positioned to implement our strategy of re-investing the surplus to construct new accommodation services. A major step to achieving the strategy was to sell the administrative buildings in Dromana for $1.9 Million and move to leased premises at Moorooduc. This allowed for more funds to be allocated to the construction project.

I would like to thank all the staff in the Finance Team and the Client Services Team for their dedication and support to achieving a smooth transition from DHHS block funding to the payment in arrears system of the NDIS. Information Systems - During 2018/19 focus invested in the development of a Transport App and provided mobile devices to all vehicles. This accurately tracks the client mileage. This has significantly improved the quality of information available for monthly invoicing.

Transport - During the year a net investment of $180K was made in the purchase of new vehicles for focus services. The fleet has clocked a total of 703,000 kms during the year which is a reduction of 40,000 kms over 2017/18 despite adding three new vehicles to the fleet. This demonstrates efficiencies gained by way of implementing better transport logistics and processes.

Maintenance and Gardening - It has been a really busy year for our Maintenance department with the Head Office move from Dromana to Moorooduc. Our Maintenance staff worked hard to support the construction of the new premises thus making a substantial saving in construction costs. The strategy of the Maintenance Department is to undertake all planned maintenance in a timely manner; reducing unforeseen costs and improving overall performance.

SUGHESH MADATHIL Chief Finance Officer

FINANCIALS

2019 BALANCE SHEET

The following represents a summary of the financial position of Kindilan Society ABN 21 004 947 782 (T/A focus Individualised Support Services) as at 30th June 2019. A copy of the complete audited accounts may be obtained if required by contacting the Chief Executive Officer at The Coolstores 4/475 Moorooduc Hwy, Moorooduc (Ph: 03 59 815100)

Cash Assets

$5,924,728

Receivables

$3,100,425

Other

$2,020,005

CURRENT ASSETS

Total Current Assets

$11,045,158

NON-CURRENT ASSETS Other Financial Assets

$8,015,727

Property, Equipment and Vehicles

$15,909,468

2019 PROFIT & LOSS REPORT

Total Non-Current Assets

$23,925,195

INCOME

TOTAL ASSETS

Fees

$34,970,353

$2,001,367

OHS & NDIS Grants

$17,015,142

CURRENT LIABILITIES

Other Grants

$272,502

Payables

Fund Raising & Donations

$748,432

GST Liabilities

Investment Income

$674,054

Provisions

Consultancy Income

$12,000

Other

Other Income

$78,486

Total Current Liabilities

$1,078,855 $63,575 $885,301 $463,427 $2,491,158

$20,801,983

TOTAL INCOME

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES EXPENSES Salaries and Staff Related Costs

$14,725,973

Borrowings

$1,226,957

Provisions

$1,296,825 $2,523,782

Client Services/ Activities

$829,532

Total Non-Current Liabilities

Occupancy Costs

$794,985

TOTAL LIABILITIES

Depreciation

$285,695

Provisions

$721,110

Other Expenses

$680,229 $18,037,524

TOTAL EXPENSES NET CURRENT YEAR SURPLUS

$2,764,459

Other Changes in Equity TOTAL CHANGES IN EQUITY

NET ASSETS

$5,014,940 $29,955,413

EQUITY Balance Brought Forward

$26,418,645

Total Changes in Equity

$3,536,768

$772,309 $3,536,768

TOTAL EQUITY

$29,955,413

BOARD MEMBERS Chairperson | Paul Thomson Paul Hardy-Smith Sally Harrop Sara Jholl

Michael Negri Wendy Waddell David Wansbrough

Founder & Patron | Emil .A. Negri

Head Office | ABN: 21 004 947 782 The Coolstores, 4/475 Moorooduc Highway, Moorooduc VIC 3933 | T. 03 5981 5100 info@focuslife.com.au www.focuslife.com.au Kindilan Society acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government