Chairman’s Report to the Annual General Meeting
It is my pleasure to deliver the Chairman’s report to this Annual General Meeting of Action Australia.
The 2012/2013 financial year has seen some significant changes for our non for profit organisation. We have taken a pragmatic approach to developing new services and opportunities for those we work with, helping individuals and families to have access to housing and education, as well as providing the skills, training and confidence needed for them to gain employment. Working with a variety of different people from all walks of life demands open-mindedness and compassion, which we were able to demonstrate through a variety of innovative initiatives undertaken throughout this year.
A notable example of this was our work with Long Bay Correctional Centre, supporting its occupants as they finish their sentences and helping their transition back into to community life. We assisted with networking with potential employers for the men and women as well as ensuring they had found secure and adequate housing. We submitted the results of this initiative to the Australian government, and as part of their long term crime reduction strategy, we received funding to continue our efforts in this particular area.
Another significant event of this year was when ownership of a new supply of community housing in Sydney, funded through the National Building Economic Stimulus Plan, was transferred to our organisation. Action Australia now owns this particular group of community housing, on behalf of the government, and are in charge of managing the houses and supporting their occupants. This is an exciting new prospect as it also allows us to work collaboratively with other similar organisations who manage community housing in surrounding areas.
However, this year has had its challenges as well. Because of the recent substantial growth of Action Australia, this year we faced a major organisational reshuffle. In order to most efficiently follow through with the services we aim to provide, it was agreed that the organisation needed to break into smaller subsections. This meant that our existing staff had to split into different roles and various positions had to be negotiated. The substantial growth of