Social Capital Accounting

The Commonwealth Department of Social Services has now released its Discussion Paper on the Key Directions for the Commonwealth Home Support Programme. From 1 July 2015 the National Respite for Carers Program, Day Therapy Centres Program and the Commonwealth HACC Program will be combined under the recently established Home Support Program. Service providers are urged to familiarise themselves with the proposed changes articulated in the Discussion Paper (which can be accessed through the Department’s website www.dss.gov.au), and provide feedback on the questions raised.

Of particular interest to providers, the Discussion Paper proposes that in the future selection of service providers, the government supports the use of contestable processes to maximise client outcomes and achieve value for money (page 36). In a competitive tendering environment, small providers may disadvantage themselves if they fail to put a dollar value on voluntary contributions. The adoption of a Social Capital Accounting strategy will enable them to better demonstrate the “value for money” imperative, and is consistent with the findings of the Productivity Report on the Non-Profit Sector (2013) which allocated a $ value for all social capital contributions.

Service providers need to recognise all volunteer contributions to their organisation as a net social investment, by placing a monetary value on all hours worked. Use of a standard measure of $25 per hour would simplify the calculation process, rather than attempting to cost each contribution individually. Calculate and cost the hours contributed over a standard month (including Management Committee Meetings), and then multiply by 12 to calculate the total annual social capital contribution.  It is recommended that providers quote this social capital contribution figure in all submissions and tenders, as part of their organisation’s total investment in its programs and services.

The Financial Management Manual of the BRandA Resource Package is currently being updated to include a Policy on Social Capital Accounting. This new edition will be released in June 2014, and will be available through Community Resourcing Worldwide (www.communityresourcingworldwide.com.au) 

Regulatory Uncertainty

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) commenced operation in December 2012 as the national regulatory body for charitable entities. Its purpose was to reduce red tape for charities, improve transparency and accountability, and promote a robust and vibrant not-for-profit sector. Prior to registration with the ACNC, charities were required to demonstrate compliance with the ACNC Governance Standards which were released on 1 July 2013. These Standards were designed to promote public trust and confidence in Australian charities.

One of the major achievements of the ACNC has been the establishment of a searchable electronic Charity Register which is freely available to the public. It is a reflection of the sector’s support and their commitment to transparency and public accountability that the governing documents and operational information of more than 20,000 charities have now been published on the ACNC’s Charity Register. 

On 19 March 2014, Minister Andrews presented to the House of Representatives a Bill to repeal the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth). Should this Bill be passed, it will not take effect until the enactment of a second Bill which would detail the regulatory arrangements for replacement of the ACNC. The future status of the ACNC is therefore uncertain, despite its achievements and the support it has garnered from the sector.

Charitable entities across the nation are therefore left wondering what regulatory burdens and red tape they may have to face should the repeal of the ACNC come into effect. The public, upon whose financial support so many charities depend, is also left wondering what will replace the ACNC Charity Register, which provides them with assurance of the quality and transparency of registered charities.

All stakeholders are advised to maintain contact with the ACNC, which is providing regular legislative updates through their website: www.acnc.gov.au

The Winds of Change

This New Year brings with it the Winds of Change. Many community aged care providers say that over the past 15 years or so, the only constant for the sector has been change. Fortunately, this means service providers are now experienced in change management, and in responding to new demands within their operating environment. In 2014, providers will need to call on those skills once again.

The Australian Government has decided to change the name of the Community Care Common Standards (2010) to the Home Care Standards (2013), and has made a number of changes to the Quality Reporting Program, about which service providers have been notified. These include the development and maintenance of a Plan for Continuous Improvement, which may be requested by the Department of Social Services at any time. The newly created Australian Aged Care Quality Agency will be the sole body responsible for the quality monitoring of all aged care services, whether they be delivered in an aged care home or in the person’s own residence. The Quality Agency commenced this function relating to residential aged care services on 1 January 2014, and from 1 July 2014 will also be responsible for all home care services funded by the Commonwealth.

Service providers who have chosen to adopt the world’s most widely used Quality Management Standard, ISO 9001will be aware that the 2008 version of this international Standard is currently under revision. To enable people to keep up to date with the proposed changes and their implications for your quality management system, SAI Global has made the Committee Draft (ISO/CD 9001) available to the public. Go to sales@saiglobal.com to order a copy. The full Draft International Standard is likely to be produced during the first half of 2014, and will then be open to public comment prior to its finalisation and publication.

The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, and the Privacy Regulation 2013 made under the Privacy Act come into force on 12 March 2014. The changes to the Act include 13 new Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) that will regulate the handling of personal information by government agencies and businesses. The changes also introduce new laws on codes of practice about information privacy. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has resources available to assist organisations to prepare for these privacy reforms. Providers can keep in touch with the OAIC by subscribing to their update mailing list (OAICnet), or go to the website www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-act/privacy-law-reform

ACNC Governance Standards

In October 2010 the Australian federal government established the Office for the Not-for-profit Sector to coordinate the National Compact “Working Together”. This new Office founded an independent charities regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), which commenced operation in December 2012.

The ACNC is now the national body charged with determining eligibility for charitable entity status. This determination will be based on the national definitions for “charity” and “charitable purpose”, as defined in the Charities Bill 2013, which was enacted by the Commonwealth parliament on 27 June 2013. Once approved as a “charitable entity”, the charity is required to register with the ACNC, and may then apply to the ATO for Commonwealth charity tax concessions. Prior to registration with the ACNC, the charity must comply with the ACNC Governance Standards, which were released on 1 July 2013.

These Standards are intended to promote public trust and confidence in charities. As the new regulatory body, the role of ACNC will be to monitor the initial and ongoing compliance of registered charities with the Standards requirements. Charitable entities also have an obligation to demonstrate their status by lodging their “governing documents” (i.e. rules, constitution or trust deed) with the ACNC, to enable their charitable purpose to be made publicly available through the ACNC’s free, searchable electronic Register. For more information about the obligations of charitable entities, and timelines for compliance, visit the ACNC website: www.acnc.gov.au 

B. Richardson and Associates js pleased to announce the release of a new Governance Manual (2^nd edn). This edition contains a new policy, “Promoting Public Trust and Confidence” and procedural guidelines for compliance against the ACNC Governance Standards. In addition, the BRandA Standards Correlation Guide (3^rd edition) has been updated to include the ACNC Governance Standards, to assist providers in demonstrating evidence of practice.

Information on the BRandA Governance Manual or on the complete BRandA Resource Package can be accessed by contacting quality@communityresourcingworldwide.com.au

Quality of Life Indicators

The quality of life we enjoy in Australia is ranked highly. There are a variety of international measures that have been used in an attempt to quantify this concept, including the Human Development Index, the Physical Quality of Life Index, and most recently, the Happy Planet Index. What they have in common is an agreement that perceptions about our quality of life are a reflection of the general wellbeing of individuals and communities, rather than mere standard of living indices based simply on financial status and income. Social factors underpinning wellbeing include physical and mental health, education, job security, recreation and leisure, family and community life and sustainable environments.

When governments give primacy to economic indicators alone as a measure of success, with public policy prioritising the need to reduce debt and produce a budget surplus, the indicators that determine our quality of life are placed at risk.  Every citizen, every family, every pensioner knows we have to live within our means. We all understand the need to balance income and expenditure. Whether at the level of the household or the state, we know there are times we must cut out the fat.

What brings disquiet is the proposition of cutting to the bone. Recent massive expenditure reductions in health and education in Queensland have reduced capacity within these essential services and left thousands of people unemployed. Cutting to the bone requires cutting through muscle. Muscle tissue is the power that holds the whole together. Politicians need to be mindful that the destruction of the muscle of our society, in necessary services and social supports, is a perilous path. When you cut to the bone, society haemorrhages. The prognosis is not good. Consider the situation in remote Aboriginal communities. Historically poor access to education, employment, health services and social supports has had a negative impact on all quality of life indices and we are still trying to redress the balance.

Creating an environment that supports the wellbeing of individuals and communities is a government responsibility. Harsh cuts to essential services increases unemployment and erodes confidence and community capacity. There needs to be a balance between the self-imposed economic imperatives of governments and their obligations to support community wellbeing. There is no critical differentiation between returning to budget surplus next year, or the year after, or the year after that. What is a critical consideration is that our quality of life is worth protecting along that journey.

The Quality Imperative

Community agencies are increasingly embracing a quality management approach in the design and delivery of their services. They are finding that one of the most beneficial characteristics of a quality management system is that it provides a structured approach to data analysis and continuous improvement. Managing for quality focuses attention on critical analysis and systems thinking to identify process weaknesses and failures in order to improve and strengthen the system. The principle governing this activity is gaining an understanding of cause and effect. By focusing on process, not people, it negates the “blame game”. When applying a quality management approach, managers learn to investigate the reason for process failures, and respond by taking corrective and preventive actions to ensure the same problem does not recur in the future.

Over recent years the mandated standards requirements for funded agencies in the non-profit sector have included the need to have an effective quality management system in place, as part of their customer assurance of quality and accountability for expenditure of public funds. It is ironic that government departments demanding this commitment by the agencies they fund have no such requirements in place for themselves. 

They too expend funds from the public purse and therefore could be expected to be subject to the same moral imperatives for public accountability. Instead, most recently we have seen from politicians and public servants a focus on allocating blame for their own system failures – finding a scapegoat - rather than a public assurance of system improvements that will prevent the same problems recurring in the future. How is it possible for critical system failures like fraudulent activity by employees and poor performance by contracted suppliers to recur, if appropriate corrective and preventive strategies have been applied? Perhaps it is time government departments and agencies demanded of themselves the obligations they impose on the agencies they fund – a quality management system that is regularly audited by independent third parties for its effectiveness!

Using Excel Spreadsheets to Support Evidence-based Practice

A quality management system (QMS) is concerned with the structures and processes needed to ensure uniformity and standardisation to maximise efficiency; minimise exposure to risk; monitor client requirements and satisfaction levels; ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements; and provide a structural framework from which performance can be evaluated and continuously improved. In its application, a QMS needs to facilitate evidence-based practice. One format to achieve this is through use of Excel spread sheets. For service providers who are unfamiliar with the Excel program, the BRandA Resource Package includes a detailed, illustrated Instruction Guide, together with 20 Excel Registers that have already been formatted for ease of use.

A quality management system does not operate in isolation. It provides the structural framework for achieving stated quality objectives through integrated systems for quality planning, quality control and quality improvement that operate in a continuing cycle. There is an essential synergy in these three core principles, which has been designed into the structure and purpose of BRandA’s Excel Registers.

As planning tools, they record what the organisation plans to do, and through the Document Control and Records Control Registers, how that information is shared across the organisation. As tools for quality monitoring and control, they provide evidence of ongoing systems review in implementing policy directives. The Registers offer a record system for performance monitoring and reporting of compliance with regulations, staff licensing obligations, mandatory staff training, complaints trend analysis, preventive maintenance, contracts for control of outsourced products, preferred suppliers, clients’ care plan reviews, and document and records control. The Registers have been configured to automatically flag any due dates for compliance monitoring, the month prior to the required activity. These controls also enable providers to identify non-conforming processes promptly, so that corrective action can be planned and implemented to minimise risk. Where monitoring and control processes identify non-conformance issues, the Continuous Improvement Register demonstrates the improvement actions taken.

Service providers who feel they already have well-developed policies and procedures in place, have still benefited from purchasing the complete BRandA Resource Package and using it as a reference tool when reviewing their QMS system against the Community Care Common Standards . If you are simply seeking to strengthen your records for evidence-based practice consider purchasing the QMS Registers Instruction Guide separately. Included in the purchase will be 20 Excel Registers, formatted for immediate use.

Follow the links to the complete BRandA Resource Package and QMS Registers Instruction Guide
to order your copies.