BUSHkids Annual Report 2011-2012

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Through this role her awareness of the challenges faced by many families and the value of a multi- disciplinary approach to the assessment and care of children developed. Her career has taken her across eastern Australia, gaining experience in a range of roles in government and non-government health and education organisations and private practice. Gail introduced early intervention expert Dr Doug Shelton to BUSHkids. Thank you to all the members of the BUSHkids Council. It is refreshing to work in an organisation where people involved in the governance and strategic direction of the organisation are also so willing to respond to requests for practical support for the day-to-day needs of the organisation, while leaving the overall operations of the organisation to the General Manager. I do value the support and feedback I receive from you all. ADMINISTRATION MATTERS Policies and Procedures Too often policy and procedure documents are looked upon as being ‘just a lot of words’ or ‘boring stuff’ that may be kept in the bottom drawer of the desk, but not read. This, of course, is far from the case. Policies provide an organisation with a meas- ure of consistency, a safety net when staff are unsure how to progress an issue, and a protection against accusations of wrongdoing or a lack of fairness. In 2012, BUSHkids began the daunting task of reviewing and updating all policies and procedures. A consultant, Dr Phil Costigan from Wildwood Consulting, completed the initial job of writing draft policies and procedures to cover hundreds of issues in four key areas – Governance, Human Resources, Client Services and Health and Safety, Assets and Finance.

A comprehensive consultation process followed, in which Councillors and all staff members were invited to comment, resulting in all the appropriate alterations being made. The final drafts of all but the Client Service Section are now ready for ‘ publication’. The Client Service policies and procedures are currently being reviewed by an expert committee before they, too, are made available for consultation. Our sincere thanks to Dr Philip Costigan for his In January, 2012, Queensland joined other States in passing new Work Health and Safety Laws, in accordance with the Commonwealth Government’s desire for ‘harmonisation’ of these laws across the country. The 2012 laws spell out expectations of workers caring for the health and safety of them- selves and others in the organisation and provide for visits by government auditors to ensure compliance with the legal requirements. In accord with the requirements of the Act, which call for Consultation Sessions to be held with staff on a regular basis, the first information session was held as a part of the BUSHkids Conference in October. The accountable officer is myself, the General Manager – the “Person Conducting the Business or Undertaking”. In the case of BUSHkids, I am assisted by the Coordinator of Work, Health and Safety, Brett Wall. Brett has visited or communicated with each regional Centre to ensure that we are complying with all the requirements of the Act. Work Health and Safety will continue to play a prominent role in the operations of BUSHkids. Thank-you to Brett. expertise and involvement. Work Health and Safety

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