Royal Far West

Annual Report 2011

19-21 South Steyne Manly NSW 2095 Australia PO Box 52 Manly NSW 1655 Australia t: 61 2 8966 8500 f: 61 2 9976 5361 e: admin@royalfarwest.org.au www.royalfarwest.org.au

Our Vision

Healthy country children.

Our Mission

To facilitate access to services that will enhance the health and wellbeing of country children.

Our Values

Integrity. We undertake everything we do with honesty and integrity.

Excellence. We strive for excellence in our services and relationships.

Accountability. We are accountable to the people we serve.

Care. We approach all our work with care and empathy.

Impact. Our services support children’s health, resilience and family empowerment.

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Every year Royal Far West provides multidisciplinary, specialist healthcare services to children living in rural and remote NSW. This service is vital to the ongoing growth and vitality of our country communities.

A Message from our Patron The health needs of our population are constantly evolving and early intervention for physical, emotional and mental health problems is paramount. I am indeed proud to see Royal Far West continue its focus on delivering the most effective healthcare services to meet these needs.

I am also encouraged to see the many organisations, institutions and individuals that share Royal Far West’s vision for healthy country children. These partnerships play an integral role in our understanding of child developmental disorders and the promotion of health services to rural and remote families who do not have access to comprehensive primary healthcare.

Every child deserves the opportunity to develop into positive, contributing members of their community. As Patron of this extremely worthwhile organisation I applaud Royal Far West in their commitment to the health and wellbeing of country children and I encourage the community to support Royal Far West as they continue their valuable work.

Professor Marie Bashir AC, CVO, DstJ, Governor of NSW

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Contents Our Vision

1

Working in Partnership

14

A message from our Patron

2

Corporate Governance

16

Chairman’s Executive Report 4

Financial Performance

18

Directors

Donations

19

Acknowledgements

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Our Services

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Chairman’s Executive Report On behalf of the Board of Directors of Royal Far West, I have pleasure in presenting the Annual Report for the year ending 30 June 2011.

Last year the Board endorsed a new strategy that focused our clinical services on what is termed ‘the new morbidity’ – that is, children suffering from developmental, behavioural, learning, emotional and mental health issues. This past year the organisation implemented an integrated, multi-disciplinary model of care to reflect this strategy. While there have been significant challenges in this process, particularly in view of the high demand for this kind of service, the Board is putting measures in place to address these issues. We remain committed to exploring and delivering the most effective healthcare services that meet the evolving needs of our children.

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® was launched in April this year. Managed in partnership by Royal Far West and the Board of the soon-to-be-built Ronald McDonald House® in Orange, it includes two fully equipped clinics. Royal Far West staff will use the Care Mobile to provide outreach services that will complement both local health providers and our existing services in Manly. Plans for Royal Far West staffing and service provisions for the Care Mobile are currently being formulated.

In 2010 the Board’s Asset Committee commissioned planners, architects and other consultants to make a submission to the Department of Planning for a proposed redevelopment of the Manly site. The redevelopment is necessary to accommodate the needs and requirements of Royal Far West in the future. Fortunately, despite recent changes to the planning laws under the new government, we have been advised that our development will be assessed under the old planning laws. This is of great benefit to us. As a result, the concept stage of the application will be submitted shortly and once we achieve approval we will have certainty around what we are able to develop. The initial phase of development will be the replacement medical centre. Once concepts

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We remain committed to exploring and delivering the most effective healthcare services that meet the evolving needs of our children.

Richard Barron, Chairman

are approved, our next step will be to seek funding in order to commence this phase. We anticipate it will take five to ten years to complete the development.

and devotion and they cannot be thanked enough for their promotion of the organisation and fundraising for our country kids.

The state election in March saw many National Party members being elected in the areas from which our children come. The Hon. Kevin Humphries, Member for Barwon, now holds the portfolios of Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Healthy Lifestyles and Minister for Western NSW. These portfolios have a strong affinity to the services we provide and the children who need them most and we look forward to strengthening ties with these departments.

We welcome Mr Tim Howard as a director of Royal Far West. Tim is currently the Chief Financial Officer of vividwireless and a Director of engin Limited. He brings great experience in telecommunications, digital media and industrial equipment and we look forward to his contribution as a member of the Board.

The Hon. Adrian Piccoli, Minister for Education, has delivered on an election promise to re-establish the NSW Centre for Effective Reading. This program provides direct support for teachers and primary school aged students with complex reading difficulties in rural and remote areas. The Royal Far West School will provide assessment and intervention services while Drummond House will offer accommodation and outside-schoolhours care and supervision for children and their families attending the program.

The financial results for the continuing operations show a surplus of $910,805. This surplus is largely due to an increase in the market value of our investments, which can fluctuate. Our income and expenditure for the year was balanced.

The Royal Far West country branches and their members this year raised $322,804. This is a courageous effort, particularly as the number of branches continues to decline. Our branch members provide wonderful energy

After seven years as CEO Jann Kingston has moved on.

During her time with us Royal Far West engaged in new branding, launched Australia’s first Care Mobile and refocused our services away from aged-care and back onto children’s services exclusively. This has been a busy and defining time in the history of our organisation.

On behalf of the Board I would like to thank the staff for their efforts during the past year. We look forward to increased harmony within the team as we continue our efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of NSW country kids.

Finally, I thank the members of the Board for their support during the year. I am confident we will continue to grow Royal Far West to meet the needs of more country kids.

Richard Barron, Chairman

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Shannon Lends a Hand Australian music legend Shannon Noll grew up in Condobolin, in Central West NSW. As a born-and-bred country boy now raising his own young family, he understands only too well the challenges faced by many country families.

This year, he was proud to lend his support and record a community service announcement to raise awareness of Royal Far West and the specialist healthcare services we deliver to help country kids.

“Every day I’m back home I’m reminded about the challenges of country life. It’s easy to take our health and wellbeing for granted but as a dad of three kids, I know how important it is to be able to access specialist healthcare when it’s needed,” Shannon said.

Featuring his acclaimed hit What About Me?, the announcement aired across NSW on the Southern Cross network for much of the year, including the Illawarra region, Central West NSW, Wagga Wagga, Newcastle, Tamworth, Taree, Coffs Harbour, Lismore and Albury.

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With ten consecutive top ten singles on the ARIA charts, Shannon has secured his place in the hearts of many Australians – but it’s his passion for the country that still provides much of his inspiration and he is keen to see the continued growth of our country communities.

“Kids from the country have so much potential and so much to contribute,” he said. “Royal Far West is vital for their future and ours.”

Professor Mark Dadds Royal Far West is proud to be working with Professor Mark Dadds from the University of New South Wales on two cutting-edge research projects targeting autism and mental health.

Mark is passionate about both his work and his relationship with Royal Far West. While he treats many city children at his Child Behaviour Research Clinic at UNSW in Randwick, his research with Royal Far West’s country children provides inspiration and insight to behavioural and developmental issues that he would not usually come across every day.

“Working with Royal Far West is one of my great passions,” Mark said.

“These kids inspire my work because they just don’t have the same access and opportunities for intervention that city kids do – which is why Royal Far West’s services are so important.

“For me, it also adds incredible depth to our research as we can work with a much more realistic sample of children with complex problems.”

Mark is quick to point out however, that this worldleading research would not be possible without Royal Far West. The combination of medical studies with state-ofthe-art psychological intervention and training makes all the difference – and Royal Far West’s clinical input is key.

It’s his hope that together, our collaborative research on the SURF and Oxytocin projects will make a difference in building resilient, healthy children and strengthen our country communities for generations to come.

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Directors MR G RICHARD BARRON CHAIRMAN Dip. Technology (Building) Board member since 2001, elected Chairman in 2005. Richard Barron’s family life as a child and youth revolved around Royal Far West. His father was the medical superintendent and a Board member and his grandfather the Chairman. He has had a successful career in construction and project management, being involved in some major projects around Sydney. He has held directorships in various proprietary companies for more than 30 years.

MR MARK S DRUMMOND VICE CHAIRMAN Board member since 2004, Mark Drummond has over 25 years management experience in such companies as NRMA, Computer Sciences Corporation and AAPT as well as many years experience as a company director. A great-nephew of Royal Far West founder, Reverend Stanley Drummond, and grandson of past Chairman Norman W. Drummond, Mark enjoyed a long association with Royal Far West before becoming a member in 1991. Mark was elected Vice Chairman in 2005. He chairs the Community Liaison Committee and is a member of the Executive and Finance Committee.

MS JEANETTE DONALDSON TREASURER MBA (MGSM), BA (Swinburne), FCPA Board member since 2008, Jeanette Donaldson is a management consultant with extensive experience within the banking industry, both locally and overseas. During her career she has held positions of Consulting Director and Executive Director with local and global consulting firms (Deloitte) and line management with the Commonwealth Bank. Her areas of expertise include change management, business process improvement and risk management initiatives. Jeanette is a member of the Remuneration Committee and the Executive and Finance Committee and became Treasurer in July 2009.

Mr James E M Lloyd BA (Macquarie), FCPA, ACIS, FFIN Board member since 2005, James Lloyd is a retired stockbroker and was involved in the securities industry for more than 30 years. He is a former Member of the Australian Stock Exchange Ltd and until recently was a Representative of Chancellor Hattersley Lloyd Pty Ltd, Private Investment Advisors.

James is currently chair of the Investment Committee, a member of the Executive & Finance Committee and past Treasurer of Royal Far West.

MR STEPHEN SANLORENZO BLArch (UNSW), Dip. Business Management Board member since 2008, Stephen Sanlorenzo is a Project Manager with 25 years experience in the building and construction industry. He is also the Head Manager Operations of the private firm for which he is employed. Stephen is currently the chair of the Assets Management Committee, a member of the Remunerations Committee and is responsible for the preparation of the site masterplan for the Royal Far West property holdings at Manly.

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MR JOHN B PACK Board member since 1992, John Pack, now retired, held several senior technical and commercial positions during 57 years in the telecommunications industry. He retired in 2007.

John has had extensive involvement in the community and was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to the community. He served as Chairman of the Board from 1998 to 2005. John is a member of the Executive and Finance Committee, the Asset Management Committee and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. He is the honorary curator of the Royal Far West historical collection.

MR PAUL B BAKER Board member since 2005, Paul Baker has been associated with Royal Far West as a branch member for over 25 years and a scheme member for 13 years. He lives in country NSW and is currently the Finance Manager at Warrumbungle Shire Council. Paul is a member of the Community Liaison Committee, the Children’s Services Advisory Committee and the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.

Mr C William (Bill) Supple Board member since 1988, Bill Supple, now retired, graduated from Armidale Teachers’ College and had a teaching career spanning 40 years, during which time he was principal of several large schools. He was the inaugural secretary of the NSW Primary Principals’ Association. He has also held the position of general secretary of the Australian Primary Principals’ Association and has been President of Manly Rotary Club. Bill was Chairman of the Board from 1993 to 1998. He was previously the chair of the Asset Management Committee and is still a member of this committee.

Ms Louise Thomson BEc (Macquarie) CPA Board member since June 2008, Louise Thomson is a Trustee in Bankruptcy. Her professional qualifications include Bachelor of Economics majoring in Accounting and Business Law, post-graduate legal studies at the Solicitors and Barristers Admission Board NSW Supreme Court and Corporate Investigations Certificate UWS. Since August 2008 Louise has chaired the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee and in December 2008 became a member of the Community Liaison Committee.

Mr Tim C W Howard

BComm (UNSW), LLB (UNSW), MBA Our newest member of the Board, Tim Howard, has an important family connection to the country through his wife who was raised in a small regional town. This connection has provided him with a first-hand understanding of how much kids and their families can be impacted by limited access to health services. It was this insight that first drew his interest to Royal Far West and our core promise to provide essential health services to regional and remote areas.

Tim brings with him a fresh perspective on many aspects of Royal Far West - in particular, a passion for the application of technology to improve the current level of community engagement and quality of care. This is an area that he believes presents enormous opportunities to extend Royal Far West’s reach and further narrow the divide with regional and remote NSW. His broad strategy and finance skills are based on many years’ executive experience working across telecommunications, digital media and industrial equipment within the Seven Group of companies, Macquarie Bank and Lehman Brothers. Currently the Chief Financial Officer of vividwireless and a Director of engin Limited, Tim holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and a Bachelor of Law from the University of NSW and an MBA from the Australian School of Business.

We welcome Tim warmly to Royal Far West and look forward to his contributions as a Director on the Board.

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Our Services Clinical Services Developmental Services This past year has been a challenging one for Royal Far West’s clinical service, as we strive to meet the organisation’s vision of healthy country kids.

The developmental service continues to undertake the assessment and management of children presenting with ‘the new morbidity’, which involves difficulties in the areas of development, behaviour, learning and mental health. These complex conditions can have a substantial impact on the prospects of a happy, healthy, functional and successful adult-life for the children affected.

Royal Far West’s goal in service provision is therefore to achieve a double impact: to alleviate the current struggle and distress for the children, while providing support for a sustained improvement in their life course or ‘developmental trajectory’. We believe this two-pronged approach is critical if we are to achieve real change.

Our aim is to increase the likelihood of a positive future for these children so they not only enjoy their early years but also develop into happy, healthy, contributing adult members of country NSW. The development and implementation of an integrated clinical and educational model of care, with a focus on long-term outcomes, has presented challenges at all levels of the organisation. This has been amplified by the very high referral load that the organisation receives for children with complex difficulties. An added difficulty relates to the fact that the neurobiological problems underlying the new morbidity are often long-standing and persist into adult life. In many cases our treatment interventions are not directed at achieving a ‘cure’ in the usual sense. We aim to support our patients and their families in a multifaceted manner and this often requires multiple interventions and highly coordinated service delivery.

Royal Far West remains committed to meeting these evolving needs and demands and to the implementation and evaluation of service improvements for our rural and remote patients. We are very grateful for

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the continually developing and positive partnership with the wonderful staff at the Royal Far West School and for all our generous partners, stakeholders, volunteers, donors and friends who share the responsibility of providing our unique service for children in country NSW. We aim to provide services as close to home as possible for our country patients through both direct and virtual methods. To assist with this an outreach speech pathology service is provided at Casino from the Casino Community Health Centre. Services are provided to Casino, Kyogle, Urberville and Bonalbo districts.

Another very positive step toward achieving this was made possible recently with the launch of the eagerly awaited Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® in April. Until this point most Royal Far West services have required that children and their families travel to Manly. The arrival of this state-of-the-art mobile health clinic will ensure that we can deliver a far more comprehensive outreach service closer to where our patients live and to the areas that need it most. Importantly, it means our services will be more accessible, which will allow us to treat more young children at earlier stages, when research into the developing brain tells us that opportunity for change is maximal.

In addition, the Care Mobile offers our dedicated clinicians the chance to enrich their practice by gaining a better understanding of the world within which their patients live and to form direct relationships with the rural health and education providers who partner us in our services.

The needs of our children are complex and a full multidisciplinary team approach is generally required to best understand and assist them. While the Care Mobile will complement rather than substitute for the full range of services at Manly, it creates a much-needed portal to our services and opens unprecedented opportunities for both our patients and our clinical team.

This year we welcomed our new Clinical Services

Manager, Petra Milnes, who brings with her a wealth of management and healthcare experience. Previously with Breast Screen Sydney South West Area Health Service where she was Operations Manager and acting Service Director, she has an Honours degree in Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) and a Masters in Health Services Management.

Key to Petra’s role in this new position will be the development of systems and processes to better support the clinical staff so they can focus on providing valuable healthcare services. In particular, she will manage the logistics and operations for the new Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®. Her appointment will allow Clinical Director Dr Jane Lesslie to focus on further development of clinical excellence and the clinical model.

In May this year, Jane was invited to present at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Annual Scientific meeting, Satellite day for Community Child Health. Held in Darwin, her paper, Old world meets new morbidity in the NSW bush, focussed on the ongoing challenge to identify, implement and evaluate efficient interventions which effectively improve the life course trajectory for country children with developmental disorders and avoid the increased risk of poor adult outcomes. The contents of the presentation and Royal Far West’s leadership role in moving towards an integrated clinical and educational model of care were well received.

Looking forward, the year ahead will be one of consolidation and will target improvements in service quality. We will be concentrating our efforts on making our services more accessible, more effective and more efficient, while maintaining alignment with our core philosophy of caring for country kids. We recognise the key role that our rural metropolitan partners play in this as we work toward our shared goal of healthy country children who grow into happy and successful adult members of country NSW.

Research Partnerships Research partnerships with the University of New South Wales and Macquarie University are continuing and progressing well. These partnerships are particularly important as they ensure Royal Far West is both contributing to, and kept abreast of, the latest research on best-practice for children with developmental disorders.

The SURF Project (Skills for Understanding Relationships and Feelings) A collaborative research program between the University of New South Wales and Royal Far West, the SURF Project aims to improve the effectiveness of prevention, early intervention and treatment of child and adolescent developmental and mental health problems.

The Oxytocin Project (The impact of Oxytocin on social cognition and behaviour in youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders) This project investigates the effects of Oxytocin, a hormone specific to mammals, on the ability to understand social cues and interact appropriately in social situations. A joint project with the University of New South Wales, there has been a positive response from both families and clinicians and a number of children have now completed their treatments.

Non-word Repetition Difficulties in Specific Language Impairment and Autism Royal Far West is pleased to contribute to this Macquarie University study, which forms part of a five-year project funded by the Australian Research Council, entitled Cognitive and Neural Causes of Language Impairment in Autism. This study aims to help us better understand the speech-processing difficulties of children with specific language impairment and autism.

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Gunnedah Early Intervention Program This program enables a registered child and family health nurse (CFHN) to visit new mothers in their homes within two weeks of their child’s birth to facilitate improved parenting skills and bonding. A Royal Far West funded initiative, it complements services already provided by Gunnedah Health Service, in the Hunter New England Local Health District.

Oral Health The Oral Health department provides both orthodontic and dental services to country children. There continues to be a growing demand for both of these services. Specialist orthodontic treatment is available to children with severe malocclusions, which may affect their speech or facial development. Some children also receive corrective orthognathic surgery in conjunction with Westmead Hospital.

Preventative and therapeutic treatments are part of the dental service available to children who attend Royal Far West for assistance with their developmental issues. Time is also spent helping children with their dental fears, education and with establishing home routines to support their ongoing oral health.

The past 12 months have been a very busy and challenging time for the clinical service staff. Royal Far West is most fortunate to have such a skilled and passionate clinical team supported by dedicated and hardworking administrative staff. Their contributions to achieving the organisation’s vision and their ability to overcome hurdles throughout this change process are an inspiration.

Accommodation Services

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The welcoming atmosphere of Drummond House creates a home away from home for our young patients and their families. Its on-site location means our services are more accessible to the people who need them most with easy access to the medical centre and Royal Far West School.

healthcare services. The newly established NSW Centre for Effective Reading Program at Royal Far West School has had a flow-on effect to Drummond House as it provides accommodation and outside-school-hours care and supervision for the children and families attending the program.

Drummond House is frequently used for additional specialist programs and

Drummond House also continues to accommodate families participating in the respite program held every January. This annual program allows families to enjoy some much-needed downtime in a supported beachside environment.

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Dr Jane Lesslie Jane is a Community Paediatrician with more than ten years experience and a special interest in child development and behaviour. A mother of two adolescent girls, she has spent a significant part of her childhood and medical training in the country. She understands the impact that medical problems can have on the lives of children and their families and how challenging this can be for people who live in the country away from major centres.

Even now she says, she can recall how isolated it can be in the country and how wonderful it is to be able to rely on professional support. As a child, she remembers fortnightly eight-hour round trips for violin lessons. As a doctor, she remembers flying with seriously ill children from the Kimberley in WA to the children’s hospital in Perth - a flight of many hours, including a refuelling stop, with its associated risks.

Jane is passionate in her belief that all country Australians deserve the best healthcare available.

She believes they should not need to move away from their homes and communities to access the services that many people in the city take for granted – and most importantly, that the providers of health services continually evolve and innovate to help with this process.

She joined Royal Far West because of its enormous potential and opportunity to make a difference in the lives of country people. An important aspect of this is Royal Far West’s philosophy to integrate health and education services and other wider working partnerships. During her many years working in child development, Jane has seen first-hand how effective it is when health services work closely together with patients and their families.

“By working in partnership with families, team members and our rural colleagues we can be more effective than by working in isolation,” Jane said. “Children with developmental problems deserve the greater understanding and compassion that are made possible by this collaborative approach. Royal Far West is truly helping families realise the best for their country kids.”

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Royal Far West is fortunate to be supported by a large number of dedicated individuals, organisations and working partnerships – all of who share our passion and vision for health country children.

This support and assistance is critical. Without it, Royal Far West would not be able to reach the growing number of country children and families who depend on our help every year.

Working in Partnership Royal Far West Branches

Volunteers

Maintaining our presence and continuing to raise awareness of Royal Far West and the services we provide is essential as we strive to meet growing demands. Royal Far West is assisted in this process by our branches that exist throughout country NSW. Staffed entirely by volunteer members, these branches play an important role in connecting rural and remote New South Wales with our base in Manly.

Many individual and corporate volunteers donate their time to help raise funds and promote Royal Far West’s services. All of these volunteers enhance our ability to increase our care and services for country kids.

Every year our branches and their members engage their local communities with a range of different fundraising events and activities. The success of these events is a direct result of the time and energy of our volunteers, the generosity of local communities and the support of many corporate organisations that donate merchandise for our fundraising efforts. This year some of the branches were also supported by visits from our CEO who was able to take part in local branch activities.

For the financial year 2010-2011 our 33 branches raised a remarkable $322,804.

Unfortunately the Condobolin branch has now closed.

We acknowledge the long-standing dedication from the members of this branch and would like to express our thanks and gratitude for their contribution and service.

Regrettably we report the loss of a number of longstanding and much-loved branch members during the year. Our sincere condolences go to their fellow branch members, their families and their communities.

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Some of the activities our volunteers are involved in include sibling care programs, parent support sessions, assistance with mailouts and archiving, or work around the grounds such as gardening, general maintenance and painting tasks. Others assist with professional advice, business direction and networking.

We continue to be inspired by our many corporate partner organisations such as Starbucks Coffee, Laing O’Rourke, McAfee Australia and SAP – all of whom have undertaken volunteer work this year to improve the services and environment at Royal Far West.

Partnerships Ronald Mcdonald Care Mobile® A visionary new partnership between Royal Far West and Ronald McDonald House Charities® has resulted in the eagerly awaited Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®.

The first of its kind in Australia, the Care Mobile was officially launched in Manly this year by Her Excellency, the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce.

The purpose-built vehicle has two clinical consulting rooms, a waiting room and a nurses’ station. It will travel regularly throughout country NSW with a team of clinicians from Royal Far West on board. Designed to complement local country services and the existing services offered through our Manly base, this new mobile service enables the delivery of an outreach service to rural and remote areas. Video and web conferencing may also be used to consolidate treatments and home programs and allow clinicians and patients to have more regular contact.

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile® will be managed co-operatively by Royal Far West and the board of the soon-to-be-built Ronald McDonald House® in Orange.

This new partnership marks an exciting new chapter in the history of Royal Far West. The result of a closely aligned vision and a commitment to help children in need, it embraces shared learning and resource efficiencies but most importantly, it benefits the children in country NSW who will be able to access our services closer to where they live. Royal Far West’s involvement in developing this partnership and bringing the Care Mobile to fruition demonstrates true leadership in our pursuit of our vision for healthy country children.

Royal Far West’s Archives Brought to Life In September 2010, the Manly Art Gallery and Museum featured Royal Far West in a major exhibition, which acknowledged our role in the history of child health and social welfare in NSW. The culmination of 86 years of archival material, it demonstrated the relationships Royal Far West has built over the years with country communities across NSW and the local Manly area.

It also served to enhance the significance of our archive collection.

A dedicated team of volunteers from Royal Far West worked together with exhibition Curator, Margo Bavinton to capture the archive collection. The exhibition remained on display at the Manly Art Gallery and Museum throughout the year.

Blackmores Running Festival

The Eagles’ Nest This year Royal Far West developed an innovative new partnership with local rugby league team, Manly Sea Eagles, as part of their Sea Eagles Foundation Community Program. This resulted in the creation of the Eagles’ Nest – a comfortable recreational and open-learning area within the Manly facility where our young patients and their families can interact with each other and members of the Manly Sea Eagles team. These inspirational, elite sportsmen will act as positive role models for our kids, passing on their stories and skills to build resilience and courage. The interaction provides an opportunity for the players to develop their own personal skills in community engagement and mentoring.

This year, the annual Royal Far West Christmas party was held in the Eagles’ Nest for the first time. Members of the Sea Eagles were there to help celebrate with our children and stayed on for the BBQ. Plans for more interaction and activities for 2012 are under way.

The annual Blackmores Sydney Running Festival held in September again featured Paralympian, Kurt Fearnley, who was thrilled to lead our team and help raise funds for Royal Far West. Kurt won the Wheelchair Marathon event for the sixth time and was also honoured with his image featured on the medals for 2010. We are proud and privileged to have Kurt as one of our Champions for Country Kids and ambassador for this event.

Manly Fun Run The Manly Scenic Fun Run was held again in May this year attracting over 1500 participants. Hosted by the Rotary Club of Manly Sunrise, all proceeds from funds raised go directly to local charities and Rotary community projects – Royal Far West was fortunate to be one of the lucky recipients.

A number of individuals and teams entered the event on behalf of Royal Far West. Participants included Royal Far West Champion for Country Kids, Olympian Jacqui Lachmann (nee Lawrence) and her husband Olympic Sprint Canoer, Torsten Lachmann. Many of our staff and families were also involved to show their support.

This year’s funds will be used to build on our investment in technology – in particular, through the purchase of laptops for the country web-conferencing program.

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Corporate Governance Royal Far West is an incorporated company limited by guarantee. The Royal Far West Board of Directors has overall responsibility and delegates the management of the organisation to the Chief Executive Officer.

A number of committees have been established to assist the Board in its governance role and to allow detailed consideration of complex issues. In addition to Directors, members of these committees include non-Directors with relevant skills.

These committees include the Executive and Finance Committee, Assets Management Committee, Investment Committee, Community Liaison Committee, Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, Children’s Services Advisory Committee and Remuneration Committee.

The membership of these committees is set out in the table below.

Board Meeting

Executive & Finance Committee

Mr G Richard Barron

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Mr Mark S Drummond

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Ms Jeanette Donaldson

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Mr Paul Baker

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Mr James EM Lloyd

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Mr John Pack

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Mr Stephen Sanlorenzo

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Mr CW ‘Bill’ Supple

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Ms Louise Thomson

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Mr Tim Howard

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Director

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Community Liaison Committee

Asset Management Committee

Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee

Investment Committee

Remunerations Committee

Children’s Services Advisory Committee

● ● ●

●

● ●

●

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● ●

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Starbucks’ Corporate Blitz Our volunteers help with many behind-the-scenes jobs, which means we can focus more on our vision for healthy country children. This year, a team of enthusiastic employees from Starbucks donated their time for a day of cleaning, tidying and gardening at Royal Far West, Manly.

Being involved in the local community is one of three pillars that underpin Starbucks’ corporate philosophy – ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship and community involvement. As many of the Starbucks staff live in and around the Manly area, Royal Far West was chosen as a local charity with which they would like to work. ”Royal Far West is making a real difference in the lives of so many kids,” a spokesperson for Starbucks Australia said. “Donating our time is a great way for us to support their work and give back to the community.”

During their time at Royal Far West, the Starbucks team helped move some heavy furniture before getting involved in some much-needed weeding and planting in our garden and sorting out toys.

They also cleaned-out and washed our two Royal Far West patient transport vans.

The time and energy of the Starbucks team was much appreciated and we are excited about strengthening our ties in the future.

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Financial Performance REVENUES FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS

2011 $

2010 $

3,198,500

3,120,500

250,075

1,679,096

0

100,000

Interest

759,636

769,984

Fair value gain on financial assets held at fair value through profit or loss

274,000

702,860

Contribution from clients

212,689

150,052

2,165,937

650,143

Rental income

548,732

428,823

Contributions received from branches

322,804

321,965

50,091

60,567

100,000

103,792

83,008

78,418

3,363

303,304

158,710

278,622

8,127,545

8,748,126

Grant for Children's Services from New South Wales Department of Health Legacies Legacies - Gunnedah

Dividends

Donations received from public Special purpose legacies Other charitable fundraising activities Gain/(Loss) on disposal property, plant and equipment Sundry income Total revenues from continuing activities RELATIONSHIP OF THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION TO THE FULL FINANCIAL REPORT. The concise financial information is an extract from, and is derived from, the full financial report for the year ended 30 June 2011. The financial information cannot be expected to provide a full understanding of the financial performance, financial position and financing and investing activities of Royal Far West. Further financial information can be obtained from the full financial report.

The full financial report and independent audit report can be obtained by contacting the Chief Executive Officer on (02) 8966-8500.

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Donations $1000 AND OVER G R Barron Judith Boneham Cobar Mayoral Ball J & R Divall The Fairbridge Foundation Jill Fleming RA Gale Foundation

Glen Rocky Foundation Gillian Hopkins Lions Club of Manly Henri Quin Rotary Club of Carlingford The Rotary Club of Manly Sunrise The Schwartz Foundation

Sutherland Shire Toy Restoration Centre Inc. Urbis Pty Ltd The Wade Family Trust Warringah Mall Community Club Catherine Wheatley

Lachlan Shire Council Lawson Public School P & C Lester Thurston Lions Club of Moree Inc Lions Club of Tamworth Inc Philip Love JoAnne McAlpine Val McCarthy Donna McGee Manning Gardens Public School P&C Marthaguy Matrons & Benedicts Margaret Mashford Middleton Public School P & C Bill Mitchell T & A Moon Mary Morrison Kath Murton Beth Offner Old Bar School P & C O’Neill Partners Will Overvliet Laura Pearce Adrian Piccoli Christopher Pont Valma Rawlings Robyn Richardson Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview Saint John’s Cathedral

St Joseph’s P & F Association St Pauls Ladies Church of England Guild Saturday Craft Group (Cobar) Kylie Sedon Soroptomist Inernational Griffith Inc. South Dubbo Tavern Social Club Craig Stafford Trent Stegwell B & J Stuart The Pilliga Community The Rotary Club of Grenfell The Rotary Club of Manly Sunrise D H Treatt G & A Viale Vincentia High School P & C Wahroonga Wednesday Book Club Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service Co-operative Ltd Bonnie Warburton Wheelers Foodworks Janice White Peter White J & V Wilde Joan Williams Yanco Agricultural Institute Social Club

Mr Flemming Caroline Freney Alan Gallimore Bessie George Ken Gus Marilyn Hamor Ian Harper Susan Hart Miriam Jaffe Marita Keane Alvin Kurniady Sandra Larnach I & T Loughnan Lauren Marchant Anna McPherson Rebecca Mason

Margie Milner-Nelson Keith Mitchell T & L Napier Peter Noble Zorica Novakovic Rita Pincelli Amanda Potter Danielle Rees Elizabeth Ryan Steve Sant Norman Sims Sophie Stringer K & M Tamblyn Kevin Weik

$100 AND OVER Elizabeth Aird D & S Ash Avondale Golf Club R & B Aylett Paul Babet Joan Barber I & J Barrett Sophie Bartho R Barton Struan Bell Bowral Primary School P & C Bulahdelah Central School P & C David Cantwell J & M Clist Stephen Conley Simon Cosburn Country Women’s Association – Somersby Branch Culburra Public School Nicola Dakin I & R D’Arth Denman Public School P & C Eungai Public School P & C M Fragar Glen Innes Severn Council R Grant Cheryl Griffin Morgan Hitchcock Kandos High School P & C

UNDER $100 Theobald Arnold B & J Barrett Betty Benjamin M Bennie Gary Boston G & H Cannon D Carlos J Clist Catherine Cowell Crestwood High School Kylie Davidson G & P Dove G Edwards I Edwards Elands Public School P & C Amanda Fazio

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Acknowledgements COMPANIES 1st Balgowlah Cub Scouts 1st Burwood Scout Group 2DU (Dubbo) Radio ABC Radio 702 Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd Angel Flight Ashcroft’s Supa IGA, Orange Athletes Foot Autograph Shop, Tamworth Avondale Golf Club Baradine Hotel Bear Cottage Belrose Rotary Club Billabong Bottle Shop, Griffith Brandswell Worldwide Bunnings Warehouse, Griffith Business Print Australia Caba’s Drapery, Coffs Harbour Complete Framing Corporate Challenge Country Care Link Country Link Country Women’s Association (NSW) Crutcher’s IGA, Grenfell Cumulus Wines Design by Loren Dog Rose Pty Ltd Domani Digital Doug’s Budget Beads Dubbo Photo News EditWrite Communications Enbee for Hair Ex-Services Club, Orange Fitness First Footy Focus Forbes Lions Club Forbes Rotary Club Forbes Services Memorial Club Foundation Regional Development Limited GB Sports, Griffith Glen Street Theatre Grenfell Bowling Club Grenfell Pharmacy Griffith City Cinema Harbord Diggers - Mounties Group Healthy Balance Chiropractic, Quirindi Hills Transport Pty Ltd Hino Motor Sales Australia Hornsby-Waitara Trefoil Guild Humphries Newsagency, Manly IPTAS

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Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (NSW) Jack Simmons Menswear, Coffs Harbour John Dodd Pharmacy Julie’s Embroidery Keston Rose Garden Café, Wellington Kentucky Fried Chicken, Griffith La Tavola, Griffith Ladies Knitting for Charity Laing O’Rourke Leapfrog Communications Lions Club of Quirindi Little Bottler, Manly Liverpool Range Harness Club Inc Make It Happen Manchester Unity, Grenfell Manning Valley Tackle Manly 16ft Skiff Club Manly Art Gallery Manly Cinemas Manly Community Centre Manly Fast Ferry Pty Ltd Manly Kayaks Manly Life Saving Club Manly Police LAC Manly Surf Club Manly Visitors Guide Manly Warringah Sea Eagles McAfee, Sydney Mercure Sydney Merriwagga Quilting Group Mitre 10 Brennan Store, Dubbo Moonlight, Griffith Nestle Australia NSW Department of Education NSW Health Northern Beaches Rock House Ocean World Manly Old Belahlee, Griffith Orange Council Orange Society of Model Engineers Outback Division of General Practitioners Peninsula Senior Citizens Toy Repair Group Pennant Hills High School Pens Plus Promotional Products Pirates Mini Golf, Narrabeen Play Planet, Brookvale Quilters Guild of NSW Quirindi Quota International

Quirindi Rotary Club Quirindi RSL Sub-Branch Quirindi Women’s Bowling Club Ritchies Stores Riverina Firearms (Camping) Ronald McDonald House Charities® (Aust) Rotary Club of Dural Rotary Club of Grenfell Rotary Club of Manly Sunrise Rotary Club of Tamworth Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Royal Far West School Royal Hotel, Grenfell Rural Doctors Network Ryan & Rankmore, Wellington Sailors with Disabilities St Paul’s Catholic College, Manly St Paul’s Church of England Ladies Guild Sam’s Warehouse, Orange Sew’n Sews Quilting Group Sisters of Charity Sony Music Entertainment Australia Pty Ltd Strawberries on Ice, Griffith Sutherland Shire Toy Restoration Centre Taronga Zoo Tattersall’s Hotel, Baradine The Christadelphians The Good Guys, Griffith The Promotions Shop The Schwartz Foundation The Senior Citizens Club, Wellington Top Video, Griffith Ulan Hotel University of New South Wales Vision Personal Training, Brookvale Walcha Town & Country Club Inc Warner/Chappell Music Australia Pty Ltd Warringah Aquatic Centre Wellington Soldiers Memorial Club Ltd West Orange Motors Westend Estate Wines, Griffith Westmead Children’s Hospital Westpac, Manly Whitehaven Coal Mining Ltd Wongarbon Tavern, Dubbo Woolworths, Orange

Acknowledgements INDIVIDUALS Marian Allen Shirley Ash Mike Baird, MP Carol Beahan Kelly Beesley Michael Berriman Lilliane Brady Jonathon Browne Audrey Bryant Shirley Buckley Jan Buswell Joseph Carey Judith Chambers Josie Chisholm Jarod & Satchel Churcher Christine Cipolat Jennifer Clarkson Malcolm Coutts Merle Crawford Manuela Crouch Margaret Cruickshank Mark Dadds Aaron Daniel Felicity Davey Carolyn Delezio Denise Donovan Barbara Eather Daryl Efron

Terry Egan Nick England Anne Evans Kurt Fearnley, OAM Justin & Jannine Fleming Helen Flinn Ricky Forbes Garry Frost Dawn Fuller Marian Allen Shirley Ash Mike Baird, MP Carol Beahan Kelly Beesley Michael Berriman Lilliane Brady Jonathon Browne Audrey Bryant Shirley Buckley Jan Buswell Joseph Carey Judith Chambers Josie Chisholm Jarod & Satchel Churcher Christine Cipolat Jennifer Clarkson Malcolm Coutts Merle Crawford

Manuela Crouch Margaret Cruickshank Mark Dadds Aaron Daniel Felicity Davey Carolyn Delezio Denise Donovan Barbara Eather Daryl Efron Terry Egan Nick England Anne Evans Kurt Fearnley, OAM Justin & Jannine Fleming Helen Flinn Ricky Forbes Garry Frost Dawn Fuller Julie Mills Shannon Noll Lisa Norman Michael Olofinsky Ann Parkins Gary Parkinson H Pollock Katie Ravich Jenny Rayner Barbara Ryan

Peta Salton Jacqui Smith Melissa Stankowski Glenn Stewart Andrew Stoner, MP Dianne Sutherland Frances Swan Sean Thomas Daphne Thorpe Joan Tully Carol Turner Charmain Ward Phil Waugh Peter Wedgewood David Williams Tim Wilson

In Appreciation of Sandy Sandy Medak arrived in Australia as a young girl of 20 with a dream to do something that involved helping people. A long way from her farming village home in Croatia and unable to speak a word of English, she was excited about her new job at Royal Far West and turned up on her first day ‘ready to work,’ she says.

Now our longest-serving employee, Sandy has been with Royal Far West for 39 loyal years. Her role as a kitchen hand involves preparing food for the patients and families staying in Drummond House. But part of her job she says, is also about just being there for children who are far away from their homes.

“I treat these kids like my own,” she says. ”If just one child goes to bed at night happier because I’ve fed them or listened to them, then I also go home happy.”

As a country girl, Sandy feels a connection to the children at Royal Far West. She understands the frustrations and struggles of country life and there have been many moments over the years where she has been a shoulder for both children and parents alike. Sandy hopes the work she does helps to create a home away from home for the many families who access our services every year.

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19-21 South Steyne Manly NSW 2095 Australia PO Box 52 Manly NSW 1655 Australia t: 61 2 8966 8500 f: 61 2 9976 5361 e: admin@royalfarwest.org.au www.royalfarwest.org.au