2013 Workforce Innovation Award Finalists Announced

The Health and Community Services Workforce Council has announced its annual shortlist of Queenslanders who are taking innovative approaches to dealing with workforce issues.

A total of 24 organisations and individuals, from the Gold Coast to Cape York, and spanning services including childcare, disability, youth services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health have been recognised as finalists for the 4th annual Health and Community Services Workforce Innovation Awards.

This year’s finalists have been selected from over 120 nominations across a total of eight categories.

Workforce Council Executive Director Laura Barnes said she is honoured to have the privilege of recognising this year’s best and brightest.

‘Every day millions of Queensland families rely on the care and support offered by the health and community services industry, so it’s incredibly important that we celebrate the efforts of those working hard to improve outcomes for our communities,’ Ms Barnes said.

‘Health and community services employs some 290,000 Queenslanders, which is more than any other industry, and in addition to this is expected to contribute one in every four new jobs created within the state over the next five years. However, it is an industry in which services are often challenged to meet the needs of communities with limited resources which means strategic and creative approaches to workforce planning and development are crucial.

Workforce planning and development typically involves understanding the workforce that is needed to support services into the future - creating effective attraction and retention strategies for organisations, clear training and career progression for employees and developing sustainable partnerships to improve service delivery.

‘The efforts of this year’s finalists serve as excellent examples of innovative workforce practices for all industries.  They demonstrate how combining passion and dedication with a strategic approach to workforce and resourcing challenges can enable services to achieve great outcomes for employees, their organisations and communities.’

Approaches taken by 2013 Award finalists include using advances in technology to overcome issues unique to regional areas, creating successful partnerships with expert groups and facilities, and by building worker capacity through tailored educational programs.

Winners of the 2013 Health and Community Services Workforce Innovation Awards will be announced at a Gala Dinner on Thursday 12 September at Brisbane City Hall.

2013 HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES WORKFORCE INNOVATION AWARD FINALISTS

Category:            ABORIGINAL AND/OR TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ORGANISATION

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Organisation category recognises innovative efforts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to improve their workforce’s capacity to deliver services to their community.

Finalists:              • Apunipima Cape York Health Council
• Institute for Urban Indigenous Health

Category:            COLLABORATIVE PRACTICES

The Collaborative Practices category recognises collaborations between organisations or individuals which lead to more efficient or effective workforce practices. In most cases these improved practices will impact on more than one organisation.

Finalists:              • gr8 START Early Year Partnership - Embedding PEDS in Gold Coast Childcare Centres: A common tool for early identification of developmental delays and parental engagement
• Centacare- Community Services - Brisbane Hoarding and Squalor Working Group
• Lives Lived Well Amalgamation
• Youth Affairs Network of Queensland - Communities of Practice Leaders Action Networks   (CPLAN)

Category:            EDUCATION OR TRAINING PROVIDER 

The Education or Training Provider category recognises innovative approaches to building workforce capacity undertaken by a university, registered training provider or other professional development agent who is working in direct partnership with industry organisations.

Finalists:              • Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland
• Family Planning Queensland and Sunshine Coast TAFE
• Griffith University School of Nursing and Midwifery

Category:            HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Human Resource Management category recognises organisations who have adopted effective human resource practices to attract, retain and skill their staff to achieve positive outcomes in service delivery.

Finalists:              • Department of Justice & Attorney General, Youth Justice Services
• Flexi Queensland
• The Townsville Hospital

Category:            LEARNING CULTURE

The Learning Culture category recognises organisations that promote a culture of learning in the workplace and generate ongoing enthusiasm for discovering and sharing knowledge and practice.

Finalists:              • Charters Towers Neighbourhood Centre Inc.
• Community Solutions Group Ltd
• Department of Justice and Attorney General, Youth Justice Services

Category:            MICHAEL KIRBY AWARD FOR INCLUSIVENESS

The Michael Kirby Award for Inclusiveness category recognises workforce strategies that actively promote principles of equal opportunity and reject discrimination on the grounds of age, race, culture, gender, sexuality, disability or any other basis immaterial to the work in question. This award is named after the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, former Justice of the High Court of Australia, in thanks for his support of the Awards and his role in promoting diversity and advancing social justice.

Finalists:              • Flexi Queensland
• Lives Lived Well (QLD Drug and Alcohol Council Inc.)
• Tropical North Queensland TAFE

Category:            RURAL AND REMOTE SETTING

The Rural and Remote Setting category recognises organisations which are operating in a rural or remote setting and are taking innovative approaches to workforce planning, workforce development and/or workforce management.

Finalists:              • Apunipima Cape York Health Council
• Flexi Queensland
• The Townsville Hospital

Category:            WORKFORCE CHAMPION

The Workforce Champion category recognises an individual for their outstanding contribution to the development and/or implementation of strategies which have improved the skill, quality and/or capacity of their organisation’s workforce.

Finalists:              • Bernadette Lee (Blue Care)
• Brenda-Anne Parfitt (Flexi Queensland)
• Tony Jamison (Department of Justice and Attorney General, Youth Justice Services)

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

For more information on the 2013 Health and Community Services Workforce Innovation Awards including details of the organisations and practices being nominated, please contact the Workforce Council Marketing and Communications Team:  07 3405 6771.

<<Updated 1/7/13>>

During the first round of forums, held from November 2012 to February 2013, participants provided a rich source of information and advice about the needs of young people and how services and investment can be provided to best respond to these needs.  The upcoming forums will provide participants with a  summary of the initial forums as well as an overview of progress to date and the opportunity to test the thinking for future directions.

We encourage you to attend these forums and use the report from YANQ's consultations Listening to the Youth Sector in your forum.

 Protecting Children is Everybody’s Business – Play your Part 

The annual Queensland Child Protection Awards provide an opportunity to publicly acknowledge the efforts, commitment and unreserved energy of many people who make a significant contribution to our community to prevent child harm and neglect.

It is hoped the awards will inspire others to continue to work towards ensuring
the wellbeing of our children.

Click here for the Awards Fact Sheet
Click here for the 2013 Awards Nomination Form

Nominations close July 5 2013

Draft one of the proposed new Community Development qualifications is open for feedback for four weeks from Monday 20 May to Friday 14 June 2013 There have been some significant changes to the Training Packages and feedback is essential to inform development and ensure industry relevance.

The draft documents are available to download as PDF documents. Please ensure you have the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat to download and view the documents.

Please ensure you have read the 'Consultation Paper' document prior to submitting feedback so that your comments are based on the most recent draft. Follow the links for:

• Detailed information on Community Development Qualifications 
• Detailed information on Community Development Units of Competency

Use the  online feedback form to make your submission or make a detailed submission in writing to:

CS&HISC Training Package Review
PO Box H61
Australia Square
NSW   1215

Or email: [email protected]

Check out the new courses in Youth Work and Community Work, enrolling now for a July start!

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is holding free information and education sessions in Queensland from 13 May to 17 May.

These sessions will provide an overview of why the ACNC was set up, how it affects charities and practical tips, case studies and guidance on what charities need to do to maintain their ACNC registration. These sessions are being held in partnership with the Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS).

QCOSS will also be holding a workshop an hour before these sessions to help charities better understand the move to establish a Community Services Industry Body. 

We are providing this information to you as a Queensland peak body as it may be interesting to your members. The ACNC only regulates charities at this stage. Other not-for-profits may wish to come along to find out about how the ACNC may affect them in the future.

The details for the sessions are as follows:

• 13 May - Brisbane - Monday, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, Owen J Wordsworth Room, S Block, Lvl 12, QUT Gardens Point Campus
• 14 May - Sunshine Coast - Tuesday, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, Lake Kawana Community Centre, 114 Sportsmans Parade, Bokarina
• 15 May - Gold Coast - Wednesday, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, Nerang Bicentennial Community Centre, 833 Southport-Nerang Road, Nerang
• 16 May - Townsville - Thursday, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, Seagulls Resort, 74 The Esplanade, Belgian Gardens
• 17 May - Brisbane - Friday, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm, Owen J Wordsworth Room, S Block, Lvl 12, QUT Gardens Point Campus.

This is our first phase of information sessions and the locations have been chosen in consultation with our sector partners.

Charities can register for these sessions at http://www.qcoss.org.au/acnc-what-does-it-mean-my-charity-registration-form

Information about upcoming sessions in Queensland and throughout Australia is available on our website (http://www.acnc.gov.au/ACNC/Contact_us/Speaker_events/Ed_sessions/ACNC/Edu/InfoEd_sessions.aspx).

TAAS services will not be funded by the Queensland Government when the Federal Government’s emergency funding ends on 30th June 2013.

The Minister for Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services has granted funding for LGAQ to employ a policy officer to provide ongoing support for Social Inclusion policy and strategies. The primary focus of this role will be to work with councils and broker information on behalf of local government to assist in the development of policies and responses to emerging social inclusion priorities.

Social Inclusion services target a range of disadvantaged, at risk and vulnerable Queenslanders, including individuals and families impacted by domestic violence and/or homelessness, young people, seniors and women.

The position will have a broad remit which will include providing advice on the recommissioning of social inclusion services – a process to be conducted by the DOCCSDS in the coming months.

Conference registrations are now open for you to take part in AYAC 2013 National Youth Affairs Conference!
Uber-Earlybirds register now via ayac2013.eventbrite.com.au - and save $90 on the conference registration fee*

The AYAC 2013 National Youth Affairs Conference will bring together 400 youth sector representatives, community-minded young people & young changemakers, youth policy makers, and youth researchers & academics to Adelaide, SA over three days that showcase the depth of Australia’s youth affairs sector -- for all the nation to see.

The AYAC 2013 conference will be an opportunity for the four corners of the youth affairs sector to connect, have fun, hear more about what we can learn from the latest research and innovative programs, learn from each other & influence the national debate on young people and youth affairs.

With the federal election to take place on 14th September this year, it will be more important than ever that AYAC 2013 provides a platform for emerging youth issues to find their place on the national agenda. The conference will contribute to AYAC’s key goals of driving research for better practice, advocating for change, supporting the sector & building youth participation.

Read more and register! - http://www.ayac.org.au/ayac2013

***PLEASE QUOTE YANQ AS YOUR REFERENCE IF YOU APPLY FOR THESE CARDS***

Telstra is pleased to introduce a new Everyone Connected program offering a regular supply of $20 Telstra Pre-Paid mobile recharge cards to community agencies that assist victims of domestic violence or homeless young people who depend on a Telstra Pre-Paid mobile for their communications. The program is intended to provide short-term support, not a long term supplement, to enable people to move beyond a current crisis situation. See invitation letter and agency agreement attached. Please note that your organisation must be an incorporated association to apply.

Before 30 June 2013,  we would greatly appreciate member feedback on the program by considering and responding to the following questions;
1.     What proportion of your clients were eligible for assistance as they were Telstra Pre-Paid mobile customers? 
2.     How helpful has the Telstra Pre-Paid Recharge Card  been for your clients welfare?
3.     Client story. A typical situation faced by your client/ agency where access to a Telstra Pre-Paid mobile recharge card assists.

For further information please ask members to direct their inquiries to [email protected].