Governance and Continuous Quality

improvement

Key points

• Standard 1. Effective Management

• 1.1 Corporate Governance

• 1.2 Regulatory Compliance

• 1.4 Community Engagement and Understanding

• 1.5 Continuous Improvement

• 1.6 Risk Management

‘A bit of history’

The situation before the CQI Innovation

• Sunassist had a Committee of Management of up to 10 people

• The committee met monthly

• Basically were a ‘rubber stamp’

• Most months did not have a Quorum, therefore no item of business could be voted on – most meetings were only attended by 3-4 people

• The Sunassist Constitution was outdated and ineffectual

• Policies & Procedures were not relevant and/or not being followed

In short

• Sunassist was in a bad way and in grave danger of being taken over by another organisation as they really were struggling to meet the Quality standards.

1.1: Corporate GovernanceThe service provider has implemented corporate

governance processes that are accountable to stakeholders.

• Sought funding to contract a external facilitator for a thorough review of the Sunassist Business Planning processes

• The external facilitator and the EO reviewed all Sunassist business operations including Corporate Governance

• A number of recommendations were implemented along with the recommendations from the last AHA audit

1.2: Regulatory ComplianceThe service provider has systems in place to identify and ensure compliance

with funded program guidelines, relevant legislation, regulatory requirements and professional standards.

• The Sunassist Policies and Procedures were identified as being outdated and ineffectual.

• Staff and volunteers were involved in a thorough review process to update the Policies and Procedures in accordance with the Community Care Common Standards and HACC guidelines.

• Split into 2 groups and reviewed P&P’s then passed these on to the other group for review before going to the Governance Committee and the BOM for final approval

1.4: Community Understanding and EngagementThe service provider understands and engages with the community

in which it operates and reflects this in service planning and development.

• Service User surveys were used to develop new services according to the need

• Staff, service users and volunteers were invited onto the Committees and as a representative on the Board of Management

• Partnerships were developed with other Community organisations to enhance the services provided.

• Streamlined the Assessment process for accessing services to eliminate ‘double up’ which was confusing and frustrating for many service users

1.5: Continuous ImprovementThe service provider actively pursues and demonstrates

continuous improvement in all aspects of service management and delivery.

• Staff, volunteer, service users and wider community surveys are used for feedback and ongoing consultation

• Surveys are conducted 6 weeks after commencing services and annually (usually annually but with 5000+ registered service users this is difficult)

• Annual Service plans and Organisational Strategic Plans were developed with regular meetings involving staff, BOM and volunteers to review these

1.6: Risk ManagementThe service provider is actively working to identify and address

potential risk, to ensure the safety of service users, staff and the organisation.

• OH&S Committee was implemented involving staff, BOM and volunteers with various community members and local business partners also invited to attend and to review particular risks.

• The Governance Committee developed a Risk Management Plan with templates and procedures to assess various risks to review and make recommendations to the BOM

• Continuous feedback is sought from service users, volunteers, staff and the wider community to monitor and action possible risks (eg. heat policy)

Sunassist Governance Structure

Board of Management

Fundraising & Marketing

Finance & Audit

GovernanceService

Development

Structure of the Board of Management

• 10 Community Minded People

• Chairperson

• Vice Chairperson

• Treasurer

• Secretary

• 6 x General or Ordinary Members

• Board of Management meet bi-monthly.

• Presentations from staff and/or volunteers

• Committees meet on alternate months or more frequently if required.

• Includes community members, staff volunteers, invited guests

Some questions you may have

• The changes that have taken place didn’t happen overnight and it has taken considerable work and 4 years to get to where we are now

• These changes didn’t come without some issues but required a major change in thinking (most of our volunteers do not like change so it took some time, meetings with morning teas & lunches to get them there)

Any questions