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2Noah’s Ark Annual Report 2018 |

Contents

About Noah’s Ark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

President’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Board of Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

CEO Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Senior Manager of Services Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Manager of Corporate Services Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Manager Communications Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Manager of Training report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Manager of HR & Finance Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Noah’s Ark at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Treasurer’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Financial Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 - 16

Our Donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Noah’s Ark Annual Report 2018 |

OUR VISION

Every child develops meaningful relationships, participates and learns with the encouragement and understanding of their families, carers, educators and communities.

OUR PURPOSE

To build better futures for children with disabilities and other additional needs.

OPTIMISM

RESPECT

KINDNESS

QUALITY

Noah’s Ark — Who we are, what we do

At Noah’s Ark we’re all about working with families to help build better futures for children with disabilities. In fact, it’s something we’ve been doing for more than 25 years. A not-for-profit community organisation based in Victoria and the ACT, and a Registered NDIS Provider, our range of services and programs – what we call Everyday Learning and Therapy™ – have been developed by industry professionals and specialists to support families who have a child (aged 0 – 12) with a disability or additional needs.

We work closely with these children and their families to focus on the services they use and the activities they participate in, with the goal to provide them with the very best information and support, enabling them to make informed decisions .

We have grown to now employ more than 300 staff, delivering services to more than 2,200 families across Victoria and the ACT . In addition to providing training for early childhood professionals, we participate in sector events and lead policy and research nationally and internationally .

The results of this work speak for themselves . The Canadian Occupation Performance Measure indicated that almost all families reported an improvement in their child’s performance against the goals identified in their Family Service Support Plan. Almost all families also reported an improvement in satisfaction with their child’s performance . This is a significant improvement from previous years. We will continue to work hard to improve outcomes for children and families .

OUR VALUES

3


Noah’s Ark has completed a strong year as it continues its transition from block funding into the National Disability Insurance Scheme. There is no question that the organisation is being challenged. The new system is demanding changes in the way in which staff provide services, if not the nature of the services themselves. Staff are to be congratulated for remaining focused on achieving the best outcomes for children and families. There is every indication that the quality of our services continues to improve.

The NDIS remains a work in progress . Having been introduced with perhaps unrealistically high expectations, it has led to great uncertainty for both families and services . It is not yet clear that the major disruption it is causing will result in sustainable, high quality services and outcomes for children and families in the future .

One of the consequences of this disruption has been that some longstanding Early Childhood Intervention services have decided to close or merge . During this year we welcomed the services of the Educational Program for Infants and Children (EPIC) after that organisation decided that it was too small to continue under the NDIS . Established in 1976, EPIC has been operating with a Key Worker model similar to Noah’s Ark . Located on the RMIT Bundoora Campus it has undertaken significant research with the University into early intervention in Victoria . We are excited that this important heritage has become part of the Noah’s Ark story and look forward to developing a long-term relationship with the RMIT School of Education .

The strength of Noah’s Ark services continues to be evident through the ongoing positive results of the various measure we use . These include a Families Outcome Survey, the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and Family Exit Interviews . These measures not only provide valuable feedback, but contribute greatly to our continuing

improvement . The strength of our services is also evident in the high percentage of families choosing to stay with the organisation during transition to the NDIS and the growing number of new families seeking service .

In addition, the organisation continues to undergo various forms of accreditation with positive outcomes . Our growing involvement with school aged children has meant additional requirements, as has our involvement across Victoria, ACT and NSW . This year we completed requirements for the Victorian Early Childhood Intervention Services Standards and the ACT National Disability Services Standards. Accreditation has required a significant investment from the organisation and has enhanced our professional reputation .

As well as acknowledging the commitment of staff across the organisation, I would like to thank my colleagues on the Noah’s Ark Board . They generously share their expertise at a critical time for the organisation . We are fortunate to have a combination of members who bring both family insights into the challenges of raising a child with a disability and diverse business and professional skills which assist the Board to navigate a complex environment .

Fintan Magee

President’s Report


BOAR D OF MANAG E M E NT

VIKKI MORRIS VICE PRESIDENT

Vikki is a partner development manager with Amazon Web Services and is responsible for driving strategic initiatives together with business partners to deliver business outcomes for large enterprise customers . She has over 30 years’ experience in the technology industry and skills that span account, project, sales and change management disciplines . She has worked for corporations in both Australia and the U.S. Vikki has two young children, her youngest, up until recently and prior to him starting school received services from Noah’s Ark . She is passionate about ensuring that children with disabilities receive the highest quality and contemporary care while maintaining the joy and happiness of childhood .

ROBYN BRIGGS VICE PRESIDENT

Robyn has three children, her youngest receives services from Noah’s Ark . She joins Noah’s Ark with more than 9 years’ experience in marketing and product management roles in Australia and in the UK across a range of industries. Robyn has a Bachelor of Business (Communications) with QUT.

JAMES GARDE TREASURER

James Garde is a corporate adviser and non-executive director . His previous roles have been Executive Director of Spotlight Group Holdings, a major, privately owned retail, property and investment group and as a Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Finance partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers . James is married with three children .

NANCY BLACK, BOARD MEMBER

Nancy first joined Noah’s Ark with her daughter in the 1970s and has served on the Board over many years. She works in theatre, film and television as a writer, director and teacher . She was a founding member of West Residential Association for the Intellectually Disabled (WestRaid) .

TIM MOORE, BOARD MEMBER

Tim has been an educational and developmental psychologist for more 30 years and has had a long involvement in the provision of early childhood intervention services . Currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital, he is a former Board President .

CAMPBELL THOMSON, BOARD MEMBER

Campbell is a barrister practising in the areas of native title, crime and environmental law for 26 years .

GEOFF WEBSTER SECRETARY

Geoff is a chartered accountant and a Director of Webster Corporate Finance, he is a former Board President . He is married to a social researcher and has two children .

GIULIANA ANTOLOVICH BOARD MEMBER

Giuliana is a paediatrician working at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne . Her clinical practice is focused on the management and care of children and young adults with developmental disability .

FINTAN MAGEE PRESIDENT

Fintan is a qualified practising insurance broker and was a co-founder of Gallivan, Magee & Associates Pty . Ltd . The business was acquired by Steadfast Group Ltd . (ASX:SDF) in 2013 and Fintan is now a General Manager within the public company . He is married with three older children .


It has been another exciting and rewarding year as staff support the development of young children with a disability and delays, as well as their families. First and foremost we should celebrate these achievements. Our work involves teams, including staff and families, and it can be very demanding. It also can offer up great rewards.

Noah’s Ark remains committed to best practice and continuous improvement . Our focus over the past year reflects a growing involvement with school-aged children . We have been exploring new competencies, new relationships in the community, particularly with schools, and developing new resources to better support primary aged children . A particular focus has been on Positive Behaviour Support and the development of a framework for continuing professional development in this area . More broadly, we remain focused on strengthening our understanding of and practice in evidence-based approaches through the work of our Practice Leader .

The opportunity to work with school aged children is the result of the new NDIS . We have been negotiating families transitioning into the NDIS, our services entering the NDIS and our organisational systems continuing to change as requirements change . We have been excited by the new level

of community engagement under the NDIS . The scheme has created significant anxiety for families, some children have left to start school without NDIS plans, families have received low levels of funding and families have had to wait for extended periods before they have a plan and service .

Noah’s Ark has continued to contribute to making the NDIS as good as possible through submissions to both the Productivity Commission and the Federal Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS . Our training team was commissioned by Early Childhood Intervention Australia to develop a five-module online training course on best practice in early childhood intervention for use nationally .

We will continue to put families at the centre of what we do . I thank the staff, Board, volunteers and families for their ongoing commitment to giving children the best opportunities in life .

John Forster

CEO Report


This year, Noah’s Ark completed further accreditation requirements and received positive feedback from the Third-Party Verifiers on all of these components of our service. In their final report, the assessment team also highlighted Noah’s Arks key strengths:

A further two ‘Excellence in Practice Study’ tours have been awarded to a Noah’s Ark project worker who travelled to the USA to better understand structures, strategies and infrastructure that enabled staff to deliver efficient and effective direct service visits in comparable services. A Key Worker went to a conference on improving outcomes in the USA and visited programs in Canada to investigate how Noah’s Ark can continue to improve how we measure child and family outcomes .

I would like to congratulate Noah’s Ark staff in how they are continuing to focus on providing quality services, particularly during this period of rapid change as we transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the inevitable challenges this creates .

Kerry Bull

Effective services for children with developmental disabilities are responsive to individual children, their families and the services they participate in. Effective services have highly skilled staff who are committed to improving child and family outcomes and a positive culture that supports the organisations values and mission.

• Governance and leadership: leaders in the field and generous in sharing their expertise

• Change and growth management

• Service delivery:

- planning with families is exceptional

- exemplary process to support consent and decision making

- exceptional delivery of service model

• Best practice model of Early Childhood Intervention and Inclusion well embedded

• Staff using practice principles as a framework for practice was evident throughout the organisation

• Professional development and supervision and excellent induction program

• Partnerships and collaboration – work well within the community

• Robust systems that are well embedded

Senior Manager of Services Report


With the National Disability Insurance Scheme becoming pivotal to Noah’s Ark sustainability, the focus for Corporate Services has been on supporting the improvement of productivity and gaining efficiencies for the organisation.

Our information systems such as the Echidna Client Data Base are providing important data for all teams and are allowing us to identify trends with our customer base . This gives us the opportunity to identify opportunities or issues quickly and respond . Key information such as forward bookings, travel times and length of visits are now easily accessible for managers and team leaders .

We are further supporting the Key Worker role by encouraging mobility and flexibility within the workforce . The majority of our IT programmes are “cloud based” meaning staff can access them anywhere they can access an internet browser . Programmes such as the Practice Manual, Business Operations Manual and The Dock have been introduced online so Key Workers have access to all their materials . This reduces the need for Key Workers to be “office based”.

The shift towards mobility has also made us re-consider how we set up and manage office space.

There has been a shift towards smaller, more flexible work spaces in different regions as well as shorter lease tenures . Our cloud-based technology enables us to scale up and scale down quickly and has reduced our reliance on servers, phone systems and other large infrastructure . We have successfully set up “hot desks” in Melton, Maryborough, and Knox regions paying minimal rent with minimal set up costs over the past 12 months . In addition to this we have been able to reduce the size and infrastructure requirements at offices in Horsham and Canberra leading to greater efficiencies for the organisation .

The next twelve months will see some exciting challenges as the remaining teams move over to the NDIS model . Corporate Services are well positioned to assist Noah’s Ark to meet these challenges .

Robert Petherick

Manager of Corporate Services Report


Increasing our engagement with families, community groups and other stakeholders was one of our main priorities within the 2017 – 2018 Stakeholder and Community Engagement Strategy, governed by the Noah’s Ark Stakeholder and Community Engagement Committee. The committee was formed in 2016 - 2017 and consists of a cross section of the organisation (including the CEO, board member, executive member and two parent representatives).

One of the initiatives set out within the strategy was to launch Noah’s Arks social media presence . Facebook was used to showcase engaging video content such as parent stories, Team Leader videos of up and coming events and workshops for families at their local branches; and celebrating key annual events such as NAIDOC week . Facebook has been an extremely successful way to engage our families and community, so much so there has been a shift in word of mouth significantly towards this channel. Social media is now having the strongest impact .

Further work was done with the non-English communication materials to ensure we are communicating with families that have diverse backgrounds in Vietnamese, Arabic, Chinese, South Sudan and Greece . There is still plenty of work to do within these cohorts which includes a more grass-roots approach to local engagement activities .

Kate Parsisson

Manager of Communications Report


The training team were commissioned by Early Childhood Intervention Australia (ECIA) National with funds from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to write a five-module course in Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention. The team worked alongside our e-learning consultant and delivered the full course in a built form ready to be uploaded in under six months.

The training team were commissioned by the ECIA National Best Practice project to deliver face to face training in Tasmania and Darwin .

This project was funded by the NDIA

The training team was invited to be participants in a pilot project in the Northern Peninsula Network in Melbourne to enhance the early oral literacy of the children in this area .

The majority of children have been entering school two years behind the average oral literacy score for the country and most of those who are entering schools two years behind, are also leaving grade six around 18 months to two years behind in this domain .

A pilot program was created that involved the Noah’s Ark training team delivering training to teachers in the region, to enhance their ability to run groups for parents . This program has reached over 300 parents in this region and has very promising initial results from the parent engagement .

The Let’s Chat program team has co-presented at three conferences in the last six months to talk about the design and success of the program .

The Let’s Chat program has been shortlisted for an Early Years Award by the State Government . The award ceremony is in October 2018 .

Singapore Training

As well as the continued patronage of many organisations in Singapore in the Key Worker online course, the team has travelled to Singapore three times in the last 12 months to deliver six face to face courses . The training team have been working with a number of organisations throughout Singapore to facilitate practice change in their programs .

Wyndham project

We commenced a third round of a consultancy project with the City of Wyndham’s kindergarten staff . The project includes consultation, coaching and training to enhance the ability of the educators to include children with a disability

Lou Ambrosy

Manager of Training Report


This past year Finance and Human Resources continued to focus on developing and improving our business systems to provide integrated and timely information to support managers and staff as their roles adapt to the changing demands of providing services under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The main focus for Finance was the development and implementation of a business system which will enable Finance to provide:

• Improved and more flexible budgeting tools for managers

• Access to data

• Integrated reports that will inform decision making

Human Resources has developed great resources during the accreditation processes started in 2016/17 and which continued in 2017/18 . We have increased the capacity in the Human Resources team to enable us to further support managers to utilise those resources .

The current Noah’s Ark Enterprise Agreement expired on 30 June 2018 and negotiations have commenced to make a new Agreement .

Finance and Human Resources will continue to focus on supporting and building the capacity and capabilities of our managers in Human Resources and financial management to enable them to make informed business decisions .

Gayle Twomey

Manager of HR & Finance Report


Noah’s Ark at a Glance

266

1230

615

Families supported by Strengthening Parent Support

Number of children supported in Early Childhood Education and Care supported by Noah’s Ark

Number of children supported in schools

2017 2018

2,050

1,783

Families supported by

ECIS and NDIS


Treasurer’s Report – 30 June 2018

As stated in the notes to the Financial Statements for 30 June 2018, Jenola Willows Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Noah’s Ark, was wound up with all the assets distributed to Noah’s Ark. This means that we now prepare financial statements on a single entity basis and the 2017 comparison figures are those of the Parent.

Noah’s Ark had a surplus for the year of $988,880 (2017: surplus $770,736) . This includes $652,762 (2017 $615,984) of interest and dividend revenues . In addition, Noah’s Ark had unrealised gains from its investments of $463,745 (2017: $678,497) .

Noah’s Ark revenue from the State Government remained stable even though families have commenced transitioning to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (“NDIS”) . In August 2017, Noah’s Ark acquired Education Program for Infants and Children (“EPIC”) a provider of early childhood services in the North Eastern Melbourne metropolitan area . EPIC had already transitioned all their families to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) from Victorian block funding .

The total revenue of Noah’s Ark for 2017-18 was $18,171,169, an increase of $1,932,349 (2017: $16,238,820), an 11 .9% increase compared with the 2016-17 financial year. The main reason for the increase in revenue was due to the addition to client base from the EPIC acquisition .

Noah’s Ark now has over one third of our families transitioned from being funded by the Victorian Department of Education block funding to the NDIS . Noah’s Ark will see the transitioning of further Early Childhood Intervention places from State Government funding to the NDIS in the coming financial year.

Other impacts on the increase in revenue included the indexation increase on the State Government funding and the NDIS price guide and increases in the State Government inclusion programs .

Total expenses were $17,182,289, an increase of $1,714,205 (2017: $15,468,084), an 11.08% increase compared with the 2016-17 financial year. The increase in expenses was primarily due to an increase in Employee Benefits of $1,686,194 to $14,627,766 (2017: $12,941,572), a 13.03% increase.

This growth was essentially attributable to the increase in total employee numbers to 154 Full Time Equivalent (“FTE”) staff at 30 June 2018 (2017: 139 FTE), inclusive of the addition of 10 FTE staff from EPIC, and wage and salary indexation. Employee Benefits expenses represent 85.13% of total expenses in 2017-18 (2017: 83.66%).

In 2017-18 Noah’s Ark’s investments increased due to a combination of asset revaluation to market value and reinvesting dividends as part of its investment strategy to maximise investment income to enable Noah’s Ark to meet the short and long term corporate objectives articulated in our Strategic Plan 2017-2020 .

The realised and unrealised returns on investments for 2017-18 were 9 .33% with gains from increased market value of investments of $463,745 (2017: an increase of $678,497) . The Board continues to monitor investment asset allocation through the Finance Sub-Committee on a regular basis .

There were no other significant changes in the state of affairs of Noah’s Ark Inc. during the financial year.

James Garde


Financial Overview

Summary of Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income for the year ended 30 June 2018

2018 2017

$ $

Income

Government Grants 12,583,972 12,731,944

NDIS Revenue 3,946,394 1,178,702

Donations and Fundraising 3,731 101,087

Membership 309 364

Profit on sale of non current asset 6,903 8,192

Resource Sales 763,396 540,969

Interest and Investments 665,961 561,624

Other Revenue 200,503 1,115,938

18,171,169 16,238,820

Expenses

Employee Entitlements 14,627,766 12,941,572

Depreciation and Amortisation 408,294 442,529

Occupancy 664,063 613,111

Other Expenses 1,482,166 1,470,872

17,182,289 15,468,084

Net current year surplus 988,880 770,736

Net gain/(loss) on remeasurment of investments in listed shares available for sale 463,745 678,497

Total comprehensive income for the year 1,452,625 1,449,233


Financial Overview

Summary of Statement of Financial Position for the year ended 30 June 2018

2018 2017

$ $

Current Assets

Cash at Bank & Deposits 5,400,430 3,844,246

Debtors and Other Receivables 793,434 502,133

Other Current Assets 129,971 129,608

6,323,835 4,475,987

Non Current Assets 12,509,353 11,892,861

Total Assets 18,833,188 16,368,848

Current Liabilities

Payables & Provisions 4,830,800 3,829,513

Non Current Liabilities 473,538 463,110

Total Liabilities 5,304,338 4,292,623

NET ASSETS 13,528,850 12,076,225

EQUITY

Retained Funds 10,616,065 9,627,185

Realisation Reserve 1,006,321 1,006,321

Financial Asset Reserve 1,906,464 144,279

TOTAL EQUITY 13,528,850 10,777,785

A full set of financial reports, prepared by Morrows Audit, is available from Noah’s Ark. Please telephone (03) 8823 8600


Revenue & Expenses

Sources of Income

Victorian Government Grants Australian Government Grants NDIS Donation Interest & Dividends Training & Resource Sales Other Income

Expenditure by Region - 2017/2018

Expenditure by Type - 2017/2018

Employee ExpensesDepreciation and Amortisation

OccupancyConsultancy

Information Technology & CommunicationsOther

69.25%21.72%

1.87

%

2.38

%

2.38%

1.14%

2.63%

2.63%

2.63

%2.63%

2.63%

4.85%

3.87%

3.66%

1.89%1.59%

85.13%

85.13

%

85.13%85.13%

85.13%

85.13

%

3.87%ACTCentral OperationsGippslandLoddon MalleeHumeWest Metro

BallaratBarwonNorthernGrampiansSouthern Metro


$20,000 The Goodridge Foundation in Sydney will help start-up our project to develop an APP so parents can search out a suitable NDIS program to enrol their child.

$10,000To mark the Commonwealth Bank’s Centenary, a grant of $10,000 was awarded to staff at the Pakenham and Wonthaggi CBA branches to support Noah’s Ark services operating in their local areas.

$2,000 William Angliss (Victoria) Charitable Fund

$1,000 Wyndham Community Cultural Foundation was unable to make a grant but decided instead to donate $1000 as a contribution to Hopper’s Crossing Sing and Grow program.

$1,000 Mathew Faiman

$600 Ferguson’s Insurance Brokers

$600 Kiwanis Geelong

$550

“Your support for my daughter in her early years helped her amazing social growth and settle well in school. Your good work needs to continue”. That heart warming message came from Point Cook mother, Maria Ivy Calleja accompanying regular monthly donations of $50.

$500 Swan Hill Community U buy Feeding Resources for local RCIS families.

$500 Grill’s Highpoint

$400 A Night Out by members of the Geelong Central Nights Branch of the CWA resulted in a donation of $400. “to help you with the work you do”’.

$290 Children and their parents from kindergartens in the small rural towns of Inverleigh and Teesdale donated their end of year appeals totalling $290.

$96.65Was raised by YEAR 5/6 students at Footscray West Primary, who chose Noah’s Ark to benefit from a social enterprise program they devised and ran. The school’s “Little Legends” sporting activities day.

$50 Stephanie Day

Thank you to our donors

Some of our supporters shared with us their special reasons for giving a donation.

Noah’s Ark Inc . acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognises their

continuing connection to land, waters and community . We pay our respects to them and their cultures;

and to Elders both past and present .

© Noah’s Ark 2018

1800 819 140

www .noahsarkinc .org .au

hello@noahsarkinc .org .au

@NoahsArkAus

www .noahsarkinc .org .au/contact-us

@NoahsArkAus

annual report - noah's ark australia€¦ · noahs ark annual report 2018 | 6 it has been...

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