President s Report. Alex Newton President

Transcription

1 Tasmanian Deaf Society Annual Report 2010/2011

2 President s Report It has been an exciting year for Tasdeaf which has had a focus on the stabilisation and capacity building of the organisation to support a strong future for the deaf and hard of hearing community in Tasmania. The year started with a new CEO and several new board members who have all brought a high level of professionalism and innovation into the organisation. To support the Board s professional development and performance under the Corporations Act training has been provided for directors on corporate governance including planning sessions on how to implement this learning to ensure the continual improvement of the Board s performance in steering Tasdeaf forward towards a successful and sustainable future. Leading from this strategic planning focused on building core services in a sustainable and financially responsible way has been a major focus of the Board s activity. In order to achieve our commitment to Tasdeaf s Vision and Mission the following have been identified by the board as being the most important overarching goals into the future. Including; Organisational capability and financial stability; A strong and unified voice for Deaf and hard of hearing in Tasmania; Providing relevant and highly professional services to the Tasmanian community and particularly to the Deaf and hard of hearing. Technology is changing the way Deaf & hard of hearing people communicate and access the world presenting us with some exciting and innovative ways in which barriers can be overcome and services can be improved. Tasdeaf strives to keep current with new technologies and innovations in visual communication in order to examine how these can be implemented to address the geographical difficulties people face in Tasmania. One key area in which the application of technology is being investigated is in improving access and the efficiency of our interpreter services. The Board has a continued focus on reviewing how interpreter services are operating and assessing opportunities for sustainable improvement in both financial performance and quality service provision. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the major contribution this year from our professional and committed staff as well as the unwavering support we receive from many others in the community. The professionalism and community minded commitment of the Board, combined with the effective management provided by the CEO and the commitment of staff, places Tasdeaf in a strong position to further increase its capacity to provide relevant and professional services to the Deaf and hard of hearing community. My sincere appreciation is extended to the other Board Directors and the staff who have made this year successful. Alex Newton President

3 2010/11 Tasdeaf board of directors President Alex Newton Vice-President Steven Hodgetts Treasurer Mark Donnelly David Anning Tricia Sharples Ella Haddad Brendon Cornelius Naomi Rogers absent: Maria Rushton

4 Staff at TasDeaf Gordon Melsom - Chief Executive Officer Vicki Choraziak - Administration Manager Jeanette Symonds - Community Liaison Officer Rachel Barwick - Receptionist Rachel Kelly - Special Projects Joyce Clifford - Interpreter Priscilla Young - Interpreter John Bartley - Interpreter David Closs - Screening Audiometrist Catherine Goodluck - Screening Audiometrist Violetta Bontes-Forward - Communications Officer Elle Robinson - Accounts Officer Dana Pitt - Auslan Teacher Peta Jones- Auslan Teacher Sky James - Auslan Teacher

5 CEO s Report to the Tasdeaf Annual General Meeting, October 2011 In the 12 months covering this report, there have been some significant changes and developments at Tasdeaf, all with the objective of improving our capacity to provide better, more professional services to the Deaf and hard of hearing in Tasmania. The activities include: Internal renovations to the Hobart office to make it more efficient and useable; A move to a more central location in Launceston to attract more walk-by traffic; A new logo and colour scheme and a revamp of our brochures and newsletters to make them more attractive and readable; The community liaison officer, Jeanette Symonds based in Launceston is now working full-time to increase her availability to Deaf clients; A new website is currently being developed and will be more Deaf friendly with signed information. It will be completed in November; Tasdeaf Membership is now free of charge but must be renewed each year (except for life members); Newsletters now available on a monthly basis, instead of quarterly; Auslan classes expanded to include Hobart, Launceston, Burnie, St Helens. Jeanette Symonds is state coordinator forauslan; In conjunction with Playgroup Tasmania, a bilingual playgroup for babies and young children is held every week at Tasdeaf Hobart. John Bartley and Dana Pitt provide the Auslan content; A play Louisa s Walk which tells the story of a woman convict and takes place at the old Women s Prison site was signed for a Deaf audience in May; Thanks to a grant from Arts Tasmania s Arts and Disability Program, Tasdeaf held a workshop for arts organisations and theatres from around Tasmania to learn about how to be inclusive of deaf audience members. As part of this Arts Tasmania funded project, Ali Dowl and Priscilla Young will sign a performance of the Terrapin Puppets Theatre to an audience of Deaf and hearing in September. Another production of an adult play will also be signed in November; A grant from the Tasmanian Early Years Foundation enabled Rachel Barwick to contact and meet with a number of community health and child centres to talk about the benefits of teaching Auslan to babies as sign language has been shown to be more quickly understood by babies than spoken English; Tasdeaf received a Community Support Levy Charitable Organisations Grant from the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services which funded a series of seminars on tinnitus around Tasmania that were held in conjunction with Tinnitus Victoria. Over 250 people attended the workshops; We have presented to Lions and Rotary Clubs throughout the state and also to community groups with a new powerpoint presentation on Tasdeaf and some facts about deafness and hard of hearing as a way of reducing the barriers to good communication; As a result of contact through the Early Years grant we have been requested to provide private Auslan lessons both Auslan Level 1 and Baby Auslan to child care staff with Discovery Early Learning Centres statewide. In conjunction, John, Jeanette Vita and Rachel B are collaborating ideas on producing a Deaf Friendly or Deaf savvy sticker or similar, for organisations when staff have completed Auslan courses or Deaf Culture and Awareness Training (DCAT). Jeanette is providing DCAT training statewide;

6 Tasdeaf now has a Facebook page Tasmanian Deaf Society for younger deaf to network with Tasdeaf and each other. There is also a twitter site TasDeaf@TasDeafSociety Rachel Barwick administers both sites; Development of a fundraising division and partnership proposals to attract corporate partners to provide a further income stream; Providing Auslan interpreting services statewide is very expensive and incurs a substantial loss each year. Grant funding was received from the Launceston City Council and Burnie City Council to subsidise the travel costs for interpreters providing services in the north and northwest of the state. We are currently trialling different technology for remote access to interpreters by using ipads to reduce costs and provide a more effective and efficient service; Hearing Link Tasmania, a division of Tasdeaf, has been increasingly active in providing hearing testing services to noise affected industries that by law, have to be carried out every two years. This is a valuable source of income for Tasdeaf; There have been a number of weddings in the Deaf community, as well, sadly as funerals and Tasdeaf have provided interpreters free of charge for these occasions; Tasdeaf financially supported several members of the Deaf community as well as staff members to attend the Deaf Australia conference in May at which Tasdeaf had a display table; Two scholarships for $2,500 each were awarded to two deaf students Jae Denney and Emma Webb to assist with their university studies; Community meetings were held with deaf members in Burnie, Launceston and Hobart during the year and a presentation was made to regional service providers at Zeehan. I also wish to express my appreciation to the Tasdeaf board of directors and particularly president Alex Newton for the support provided to me during my first 12 months. Tasdeaf is fortunate in having a talented, hardworking and enthusiastic staff and I am appreciative of their efforts and the advances we have made during the year. Last but certainly not least, the level of support and encouragement I have received from the Deaf community has been most welcome, thank you. Gordon Melsom Chief Executive Officer

7 Treasurers Report This year has proved another difficult year financially for TasDeaf. While over the last few years we have been reducing our annual deficit, although not as fast as we would have all liked, it had been moving in the right direction. This year, however, sees an increase in our operating deficit. Of this year s deficit just over $68,000 can be attributed to one off expenditures which will not be repeated in future years. The amount includes items that were paid in 2010/2011 year but were incurred in the 2009/2010 year, a major training and development event to build our capacity to raise funds in the future, the rebranding of TasDeaf and Hearing link. When these amounts are taken into account our normal operating activities resulted in a deficit of just over $79,000. A big reduction from the 2009/2010 outcome of $120,176. As an organisation we have made these major investments in order to position us for the challenges we will face in the years to come. We are highly reliant on government funding and in particular the grant from DHHS. Without this grant we would not be able to operate in the way we do. This year has seen the Government start the introduction of its unit pricing framework in the Disability sector. At this point of time we are still unclear as to what the financial impact of this will be on TasDeaf. However, it has highlighted to the Board the need to broaden our funding base in order to reduce the risk on TasDeaf should any of our funding avenues change dramatically. We believe the investments we have made this year, which have contributed to the large deficit, will allow us to broaden our funding base and provide the best opportunity for TasDeaf to continue to provide the services and support our members and the community at large expect and need from us. We are already seeing the outcome of this investment in the increasing activity in Hearing Link, improved public awareness of TasDeaf and an increase in our membership and community activity. All of which pint to a bright future for the Society. Mark Donnelly Treasurer

8 Play Group NRS Training Industrial Hearing Screening

9 Tasmanian Deaf Society Inc Financial Statements For the Year Ended 30 June 2011

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