NSS Annual Report 2015-16

Annual Report

2015 / 16

Contents

Chairperson’s Report ..............................................................................................................7
Chief Executive Officer’s Report ...........................................................................................8
Settlement Support & Communities Team Manager .......................................................11
Hunter Outreach Settlement Services Program ................................................................14
New England Settlement Services Program - Armidale...................................................17
New England Settlement Services Program - Tamworth .................................................22
Settlement Services Program - Newcastle.........................................................................25
Settlement Services Program Multicultural Youth Project................................................29
Settlement Services Program Volunteer Coordination ....................................................31
Settlement Services Program - Central Coast...................................................................35
Home Care Packages (HCP)...............................................................................................38
Sector Support & Development – Multicultural Access Project Hunter (MAP) .............41
Hunter Multicultural Respite Service....................................................................................44
Hunter Multicultural Social Support Service .......................................................................46
Central Coast Multicultural Social Support Service ..........................................................49
Chinese Social Support Project ...........................................................................................51
Community Visitors Scheme - Hunter..................................................................................53
Community Visitors Scheme - Central Coast.....................................................................55
Multicultural Family Support & Welfare ..............................................................................58
Multicultural Family Support Project-Families First .............................................................62
Community Builders Program including Playing around the World ...............................65
Brighter Futures Program.......................................................................................................68
Parenting & Life Skills / WH&S ...............................................................................................70
Complex Case Support Program ........................................................................................71
Natural Disasters Resilience Strategy, Community Resilience Innovation Program.....73
Immigration Advice & Assistance .......................................................................................80
Financial Statements.............................................................................................................81

1

Our Mission Statement

To facilitate the successful integration of individuals
& communities of non-English speaking

background, into Australian life, in an environment
sensitive & responsive to their needs

2

OFFICE LOCATIONS

LOCATION POSTAL PHONE FAX EMAIL
ADDRESS

HAMILTON As location 4969 3399 4961 4997 [email protected]
(Head Office)
8 Chaucer Street
Hamilton
NSW 2303

CENTRAL COAST PO Box 4167 4334 3877 4334 3044 [email protected]
Tuggerah Lakes Bay Village
Community NSW 2261
Centre
1 Bay Village
Road Bateau Bay
NSW 2261

ARMIDALE PO Box 1781 6771 3975 6771 3691 [email protected]
Hughes House Armidale
141 Faulkner NSW 2350
Street Armidale
NSW 2350

TAMWORTH As location 6766 5070 Not avail. [email protected]
Suite 10
56-58 Dowe
Street Tamworth
NSW 2340

SERVICE REGIONS

 Hunter – Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Maitland,
Cessnock, Singleton, Muswellbrook, Dungog, Scone, Merriwa &
Murrurundi.

 Central Coast – Gosford & Wyong
 Northern Tablelands – Tamworth & Armidale
 Other Regions Supported – North West & Central West NSW

3

Board of Management - 30 June 2016

Ms Trudy Mills-Evers AM Chair
Mr Jon Chin Deputy Chair
Ms Denise Hodgson Secretary
Ms Christine Jordan Treasurer, Public Officer
Ms Ewa Korczynski Assistant Treasurer
Ms Anna Marendy Director
Mr Zoran Vasiljevic Director
Ms Sania Young Director
Father Nicholas Zervas OAM Director
Ms Georgina Ramsay Director
Mr Zachary Ekandi Director
Mr James Garvey Director
Co-opted Member, Lake Macquarie
Cr. Barney Langford City Council
Co-opted Member, Newcastle City
Cr. Therese Doyle Council

NSS Audit Committee - 30 June 2016

Ms Christine Jordan - Chair
Ms Trudy Mills-Evers AM
Ms Ewa Korczynski
Mr Bruce Arnott – Independent member

4

NSS Staff - 30 June 2016

Chief Executive Officer Lulu Tantos
Operations Manager Enza Di Stefano
Migration Agents Lulu Tantos & Henriette de Jong
Finance Manager
Finance Officer Kerry Blades
Administration Kathy Rowarth
John Pattey, Natasha Holliday &
WH&S Officer Violeta Klements
Office Manager – Central Coast Helen Buchanan
Administration – Central Coast Keiko Clements
Settlement Support & Communities Team Sharlene Huber
Manager
Hunter Outreach SSP Worker Alex Burns
New England SSP Worker - Tamworth
New England SSP Worker - Armidale Rose Oku
Central Coast SSP Worker Amalin Sundaravej

Judith Roberts
Nellie Srisurapon

Newcastle / Lake Macquarie SSP Workers Lydia Manusiu & Hayley Bateman
CALD Youth Worker - SSP Tonkoh Kamara
Life Skills & Parenting Groups/ Refugee Programs Helen Buchanan
Worker
Congolese SSP Worker Marie Zawadi
Volunteers Coordinator (Educational Programs) Michael Freund
Volunteers Coordinator (Welfare Programs) Cassie Galliott & Abby Tinlin
Multicultural Community Development Workers – Pari Batha & Natalia Meliendrez
Central Coast
Aged Services Team Manager Rasa Bajalis
Sector Support & Development Coordinator - John Biswas
Hunter
Home Care Packages Coordinators Tima ‘Oto, Lupe Fonua
Hunter Multicultural Respite Service Coordinator Dominique Nyilas
Community Visitors Scheme Coordinator - Hunter Irene Lupish
Hunter Multicultural Social Support Project Worker Tima ‘Oto
Chinese Social Support Project Worker Dongmei Zhang
Multicultural Social Support Service Coordinator –
Central Coast Marilyn Perez Cabrera &
Community Visitors Scheme Coordinator – Natalia Meliendrez
Central Coast Nicky Wright

Welfare Team Manager Petrona Kelly
Multicultural Family Worker Miza Torlakovic
Multicultural Welfare Workers Juanita Loli, Elena Ferguson, Hayley
Bateman & Lydia Manusiu
Brighter Futures Workers Zenaida Edmunds & Desie Erhart
Natural Disasters Resilience Strategy &
Community Resilience Engagement Project Katie Sewell
Coordinator

Tax Help / EAPA Juanita Loli
Coordinator

5

Funding Partnerships

Department of Social Services
Department of Health
NSW Department of Family & Community Services, Community Services
NSW Department of Family & Community Services, Ageing Disability & HomeCare
Samaritans
ClubsNSW
The Benevolent Society
Gosford City Council
Armidale Council
Lake Macquarie City Council
Port Stephens Council
Multicultural NSW
NSW Department of Justice
Transport NSW

Our Supporters

We wish to acknowledge and thank all our stakeholders for their continued support
of the many and diverse programs delivered throughout the past year.

Networks & Interagencies

Northern Settlement Services supports a range of
networks including the Mid North Coast, North Coast &
Hunter Rural Multicultural Networks; the Central West,
Central Coast, Newcastle & New England Multicultural
Interagencies; the Hunter Refugee Network, the Hunter
CALD Aged & Disability Services Network, Settlement

Council of Australia and HSS LAC.

6

Chairperson’s Report

Trudy Mills-Evers AM

The past year has been both challenging and full of opportunities for Northern Settlement
Services. Over recent years the environment in which community service organisations
operate has been in constant state of change. Community service organisations like NSS
have had to adapt and develop in response to their changing circumstances while
continually aiming to produce better results for our clients and the communities we serve. A
range of recent developments, are shaping services to place a greater focus on individual
choice and control. Consumer Directed Care (CDC) and the National Disability Insurance
Scheme (NDIS) are two examples of client choice that have impacted on the organisation.

To stay relevant and competitive in this environment, NSS like many organisations has seized
on this opportunity to explore partnerships and service funding opportunities and improve
quality of governance.

I am pleased to report that during the year NSS successfully collaborated with Settlement
Services International (SSI) and other partners to confirm ongoing funding for our important
settlement programs. In addition our Aged Care and Disability Services have passed a
number of important reviews. The first being a successful quality review of our Home Care
and Commonwealth Home Support programmes by the Australian Aged Care Quality
Agency; and secondly meeting the requirements of the NSW Disability Service Standards,
thus certifying NSS as an approved disability service provider under the National Disability
Insurance Scheme.

NSS has continually responded to meet the growing needs of the community. We can
proudly stamp our reputation as a go to organisation for individuals, communities and a key
player within the community sector. Our services and programs are centred on empowering
individuals and helping newly arrived people, become independent and valued citizens.

There are a number of staff whom I would like to single out for special mention; our CEO, Lulu
Tantos, who has been elected as one of 2 NSW representatives to the Settlement Council of
Australia National Executive, a strong advocate for regional communities in NSW. Also, Rasa
Bajalis, Manager Aged Care Team, who in conjunction with management has steered and
implemented changes in the aged care area in line with recent reforms, as well as our
participation in the National Disability Scheme (NDIS). Another is Enza Di Stefano, Operations
Manager, who during the year was instrumental in updating the constitution in consultation
with other Board Members, reviewing and updating various internal policies as well as
supervising the renovation of the NSS building.

I would like to acknowledgement our CEO and all our dedicated staff and volunteers in the
Hunter, Central Coast and New England areas who worked tirelessly to contribute to the
success of the organisation

I thank my fellow Board Members who give up their time to contribute to the success of the
organisation.

I would also like to sincerely thank our partners and funding bodies who continue to
recognise and support the important work we do.

7

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

Lulu Tantos

Looking back on the year that was, NSS and everyone in the organisation can be
proud of what we have achieved for our clients and the broader community. This
year NSS helped to empower thousands of individuals across our regions , including
refugees and humanitarian entrants settling into the community, families with young
children, youth, the aged and people with disabilities.

Not without its challenges the year saw continued growth in all program areas and
the development of new initiatives that complement NSS’s existing suite of support
services.

One of these new initiatives was the development of the Natural Disasters Resilience
Strategy (NDRS) for the CALD community in the Hunter Region and the Central
Coast in partnership with NSW State Emergency Service (SES) and NSW Rural Fire
Service. The Project not only helped build resilience in CALD communities across
those regions but brought together agencies and key stakeholders to work in
collaboration to develop a best practice CALD engagement strategy for building
resilience to natural disasters.

During this reporting period the NSW Settlement Partnership (NSP) Consortium also
celebrated its “first birthday”! A great deal of planning and relationship building
went into establishing the NSP, led by SSI and comprising 22 organisations based
around the State.

The partnership is working well, delivering the new Settlement Services Program to
new migrants and refugee/humanitarian entrants, providing greater access and
support to those who are experiencing the daunting and challenging experience of
settling in a new country.

We can all be proud of the positive feedback from the Department of Social
Services (DSS) concerning the quality of work being delivered across the consortium
and I refer you to our SSP reports as evidence of this.

Partners across the State Consortium have focused this year on various initiatives,
including addressing emerging settlement issues and opportunities, applying for
funding through SSI Innovation Fund, DEX reporting, SSP qualitative reporting, various
communication protocols, training etc. as a means of strengthening our service
delivery model and relationships, allowing us to advocate more effectively at both
the State and Federal government level for change for the benefit of our clients.

The announcement of an additional 12,000 places for Syrian and Iraqi refugees
displaced by conflict was also welcome news during this funding period with the
appointment in NSW of Peter Shergold as Coordinator General for Refugee
Settlement. Newcastle, a designated settlement destination, is well positioned given
the strength of our local partnerships, to deal with additional numbers to the region.

8

As an Executive Committee member on the Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA)
the team has worked hard this year to highlight the positive influences that people
from refugee backgrounds and migrants make to Australian society and how
settlement agencies like ours assist to nurture their positive social, civic, political and
economic contributions.

After four years in development, SCoA officially launched the National Settlement
Services Outcomes Standards (NSSOS) in May 2016 at its Triennial International
Settlement Conference. The standards provide the first comprehensive National
guideline to what best practice settlement sector in Australia looks like, with a clear
focus on quality service provision, continuous improvement and successful
settlement outcomes.

This year has also seen major reforms implemented in the aged care system
including the introduction of Consumer Directed Care (CDC) to all home care
packages from 1st July 2015.

For NSS this has meant a huge shift in philosophy and orientation to service delivery,
giving our elderly CALD client’s greater choice over their own lives by allowing them
to decide what types of care and services they access and how these services are
delivered.

NSS has worked collaboratively across the organisation to implement CDC
empowering our CALD clients to make decisions about their care, identifying their
needs and goals and determining the amount of control they want over the
management of the package. Further changes are expected from 27 February 2017
when funding for a home care package will follow clients.

This year has also seen an outstanding quality review of our Home Care and
Commonwealth Home Support Programmes by the Australian Aged Care Quality
Agency (AACQA), resulting in total compliance with the Home Care Standards.

Following on from this successful outcome was ‘Third Party Verification’ (TPV), which
entailed a business review of our organisation’s management system to assess level
of compliance to the NSW Disability Service Standards, and the ability of the
management system to effectively control processes. All in all a busy but successful
year in the aged care/disability area with the achievement of many milestones and
recognition of the work we do by Quality Agencies. The staff led by Rasa Bajalis
should be proud of their achievements!

A year of success requires leadership through time of change, and for that I
acknowledge and thank the Chair and all members of the Board for their continued
support and guidance.

To our loyal and dedicated staff, the team work, effort and passion of everyone is
the key to the results achieved this year and I thank each and every one of them for
maintaining their high standards and understanding the need for change in order to
remain relevant.

Lulu Tantos
CEO

9

Settlement
Services Program

Funded by
Department of Social Services

10

Settlement Support & Communities Team
Manager

Alex Burns

Funded by
Department of Social Services

This position provides leadership, assistance, mentoring and resourcing to NSS and
other regionally based Settlement Services that are part of the NSW Settlement
Partnership(NSP), to highly vulnerable new arrival refugees, family and other
permanent visa holders in the Hunter, Central Coast, Northern and Western NSW. It
also provided management and support to the Community Builders Project, Playing
around the World, the Inverell Community project and the Natural Disaster
Community Resilience Innovation Program.

As the team manager responsible to ensure that NSS is meeting its commitments to
achieving the settlement outcomes set for us as a member of the NSP it was really
pleasing to see some of our results for our first full 12 months. These are shown below
and are drawn from our DEX reporting.

Recorded July- January-June Totals
December 2016
Individual Clients 895
Client Attendance at Sessions 2015 488 5959
Main four issue areas for clients 407 3295
Education/Skills 2664
Information – referral
Advocacy 1043 1868 2911
Child/Youth support 408 648 1056
Origins of main client group 204 297 501
Afghanistan 462 230 702
Congo
Iraq 122 126 248
Sudan 22 30 52
Ethiopia 21 26 47
China 20 26 46
14 14+

20+

Much of the above table reflects on the settlement work undertaken in the
Newcastle patch of the NSS region as our rural work, and that of the Central Coast,
generally have had a different client base as the numbers of Refugees settling in the
rural areas are much lower than in Newcastle. While the issues experienced in the
rural areas are dominated by isolation and lack of social support, Domestic and
Family Violence as well as problems with access to services due to poor transport.
Further the groups settling tend to be different as well and again the above table
generally reflects group settlement in Newcastle.

11

NSS continues to support Face to Face work with the various regional and rural
settlement projects found in the Central West, Northern and Mid North Coast areas
of NSW and especially those that are part of the NSP. This work also includes
advocacy and promotion of regional areas as places of Refugee and Migrant
Settlement and included a preliminary visit in June to Mingoola, an area west of
Tenterfield that is establishing as a farming settlement for people from the Great
Lakes area of Africa very much based on the local school.

The table below indicates the level of visitation to various rural partners as well as
one other Settlement project.

Location Visits Location Visits
Manning Valley 4 Dubbo 3
2 Armidale 7
Orange 7 Bathurst 5
Tamworth 1
Mingoola

The higher number of visits to Tamworth and Armidale is better understood as these
are offices of NSS and these visits include management support, attendance at
various meetings as well as the convening and chairing of NSS forums. However, for
all regional settlement case work, group work and capacity building varied
particularly as settlement was considerably different to the metropolitan setting.
Issues also included matters relating to non-settlement work and promotion of
settlement work where the impact of various programs on local services and
community groups confused settlement work with people holding the temporary
skilled employment visas and asylum seekers on bridging visas were confused with

12

the settlement target group but it also included employment generally, the
continued lack of use of Interpreters by services in their dealings with settlement
clients and a lack of understanding that the settlement target group could become
citizens and could remain for as long as they wished. The groups settling in rural
areas were often small in number and quite diverse and included Congolese, Iraqi,
Burmese, Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Thai and Rohingyan.
The introduction of Australia’s support for Syrian refugee settlement has in many
ways increased the potential for rural settlement with many new support groups
being established and becoming more involved and interested in the regional
settlement work. Some of this can also be seen with the push by communities like
Glen Innes, Liverpool Plains and Gunnedah for their Councils to become Welcome
towns for refugees and the reiteration of the same by Newcastle and Lake
Macquarie of the same matter together with the development of Multicultural plans
for better engagement of migrants and refugees.

Fiesta La Peel - Tamworth

13

Hunter Outreach Settlement Services Program

Rose Oku

Funded by
Department of Social Services

The Hunter Outreach SSP project provides support services to newly arrived,
vulnerable and disadvantaged refugees and migrants, especially women who are
experiencing hardship through isolation, unemployment, domestic violence,
homelessness and other accidents encountered in their settlement. The SSP
outreach work covered 3 service areas in the Hunter over 2015-2016:

 Upper Hunter: Maitland, Cessnock, Rutherford, Singleton, Aberglasslyn and
Muswellbrook

 Port Stephens: Raymond Terrace, Karuah, Williamtown, Nelson Bay, Shoal Bay
and Lemon Tree Passage

 Lake Macquarie: Charlestown, Belmont, Redhead, Speers Point, Toronto
Windale Valentine and Edgeworth

The Hunter Outreach
Casework Clients 2015-2016

500 400 180 99
400 Upper Hunter Port Stephens
300 Lake
200 Macquarie
100

0

Casework

From 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016, the Settlement Outreach Worker provided 897 face
to face, casework to the target group in the service area. The client group is from
diverse cultural backgrounds –Filipino, Indonesian, Chinese, African, Indian,
Bangladeshi, Nepalese, Peruvian, Thai, Sri Lankan, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani and
Fijian. The Settlement worker engages with these clients to ensure that their needs
are met through referral to a wide range of community resources and services.
Linking families to Playgroups, Childcare facilities, Centrelink, TIS, Education and
Training services, Employment, Family Mediation, Tenancy Tribunal and
Accommodation support are examples of addressing client needs.

Some of this work was in partnership with other services such as the Singleton
Multicultural Parenting Program with Hunter Prelude. Other providers ran information
sessions for the Multicultural friendship groups at Cessnock, Singleton and Raymond
Terrace that covered a range of topics to support clients’ needs including
understanding benefit payments for families, dealing with Depression, Suicide
Prevention, Sleeping Problems Surviving multiple trauma, Sexually Transmitted
Diseases and Business practice. Partners for these sessions were: Thou-Walla Family

14

Centre, Samaritans, Tenancy Advice Service, Singleton Council, Maitland Council
and TAFE.
Event Participation
The Hunter Outreach project continued to be involved in the Annual Riverlights
Festival held in Maitland in October 2015. This was a very successful event with the
community coming together to celebrate Multicultural Diversity. Similarly, on
Saturday 17th October the annual Raymond Terrace Multicultural fiesta event was
held at the Riverside Park. The Port Stephens’ communities celebrated indigenous
performances, African drumming, markets stalls, traditional crafts, multicultural food,
free workshops, and live music. NSS participated with an information stall. Other
events covered the Community Connect day at Cessnock TAFE and Harmony Day
celebrations in Singleton and Cessnock.

Multicultural Parenting Programs
The Raymond Terrace Multicultural Parenting Program is a partnership between
Thou-Walla and NSS with an artist to mentor local community members and provide
support. Outcomes were the celebration of Harmony day with around 200 people
and children attending and the Riverside Multicultural Festival. Music was used by
artists to work alongside our group and to bring people together.
The Singleton Multicultural Parenting Program has continued in partnership with
Hunter Prelude and is a parenting program for children with special needs in the
community. The group continues to link CALD families to their local community and
promote child development. The combined playgroup is held at Singleton Hunter
Prelude and meets, every 2nd week on Tuesdays. Resources were purchased to
support the partnership through Singleton Council.

15

NSS, Hunter Prelude, and
Singleton Council are
working in partnership with
CALD families to promote
the growing of vegetables
and herbs as a sustainable
environment using waste
management practises
developed to educate all
children and families in the
wider Singleton community.

Promotional Activities and
Networking

Throughout 2015-16 there were over 38 promotional activities and networking events
in which the Hunter Outreach Settlement service participated. 6 planning meetings
for Harmony Day took place in 3 locations Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, and
Singleton. The services also continue as convener of the 3 quarterly meetings of the
Hunter Rural Multicultural Network, as well as participating in Singleton, Lake
Macquarie and Port Stephens Interagency Meetings.

Performers at the 2015 Riverlights Festival

16

New England Settlement Services Program - Armidale

Judith Roberts

Funded by
Department of Social Services

The Armidale Settlement Service provides information, referral, case work, capacity
building, service planning and community development to new arrivals, including
family stream migrants, humanitarian entrants, and eligible dependents of skilled
migrants. In addition the settlement program also supports onshore Humanitarian
Protection Visa holders as clients who have previously held temporary visas such as
student visas at the University of New England. The majority of these visa holders are
from Middle Eastern countries and have high levels of stress and trauma related to
their loss and grief around what is happening in their home countries. This is
exacerbated by their concerns about the safety of their families remaining in their
countries of origin, or living as refugees in other countries. Consequently, the
community has a high level of sensitivity which has been important to take into
consideration with this client group. The Armidale settlement service also makes
regular referrals to NSS Newcastle for migration advice about a range of visa types:
Protection Visas, Spouse Visas, Humanitarian Visas, Citizenship and Permanent
Residency.

Client Statistics 2015-16

Type Number
New Clients 61
Client contacts 757
Short contact
Group Sessions 9,112
145

Client Services

The most common client issues identified are: family relationships/family violence,
migration support, and access to mental health support, Centrelink access
particularly for 866 Visas, employment, housing, transport, debt issues, health access,
and homework support, access to affordable childcare and English classes. The
most represented client group of this service are Humanitarian 866 visa holders with
the next group being migrants on spouse visas or the dependents of Skilled Migrants.
Employment opportunities continue to be in industries such as the Guyra Tomato
Farm, retail, aged care, hospitality security work and taxi driving, IT and Disability
services.

The Armidale service supports clients’ access to Centrelink and works with the
Multicultural Service Officers in other regions where necessary. Another area of
employment has been childcare which has proven to be a good starting point for
employment. NSS supports the attendance of our target group at AMEP classes at
the Armidale campus of the New England Institute of TAFE and maintains regular
contact with the AMEP teacher. Many clients who are students at the University of
New England and TAFE are achieving well. There continues to be a relatively high
birth rate among some clients. Many of the young families are sharing care with
grandmothers who are the main care givers of their grandchildren. Referral to family
support services has been an important resource to support families’ needs. Working

17

with these families has created an opportunity for NSS to continue its collaboration
with HNEH to support clients’ health needs. Child care and access to specialised
and general health has been an ongoing need. Oral health in young children and
access to dental services has been identified as an issue requiring support. Clients
travelling to Sydney for specialist medical treatment have been supported by NSP in
collaboration with HNEH. Clients who have moved onto the Citizenship stage of
settlement have been disappointed by the length of time their applications are
taking.

Referrals to our migration services have supported these clients. STARTTS has
maintained regular contact with the Armidale Refugee community and the
Armidale Settlement project has extended their support to the multicultural
community through meeting with mainstream services to inform and support these
services’ work with CALD community. We have also continued to collaborate with
Hunter New England Health to facilitate a CALD Women’s Support Group. The group
has had members from Africa, the Middle East, Poland and Asia. The collaboration
among services to support this group has meant information has been provided on
a range of topics across a wide range of settlement and health topics. We ran a
very successful music program with STARTTS providing the major funding for mothers
and pre-schoolers. The program was a huge success. Outreach client work has been
made to Inverell and Tenterfield and other areas via telephone or email.

Tuesday and Wednesday ESL Homework Centre

The Homework Centre is performing well and is held on
Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Fay Paris is the coordinator
and produces an end of Term Report throughout the year.
NSS auspices the Home work support with the assistance of
the Department of Education and Communities, Armidale
Sanctuary, Armidale Dumaresq Council, the University of
New England and other benevolent organisations.

This program relies on NSS’ provision of volunteers and
collaboration with the Armidale Referral Volunteer Service
has provided a great source of volunteers. The program
could not run without the dedication of these volunteers
and the leadership of Fay. The Homework Centre brings
many sections of the community together in a very positive
way and has performed so well that it has won the
Australian College of Educators Harris Award in 2015 for a
‘Significant Educational Program’.

Many of our NSS volunteers are tertiary students, retirees
and job seekers. Students who have attended the program
have improved in their school work and many have gone
on to win scholarships at prestigious schools through academic and sporting talent.

18

Meetings and Committee representation
The Armidale settlement project is involved in a broad range of networks some of
these include the NE Multicultural Interagency, Armidale Interagency, Domestic
Violence Steering Committee and Sanctuary Armidale, Inverell Domestic Violence
Forum. NSS Armidale also works closely with the region’s Multicultural Health Nurse to
ensure that the health needs of our target group are supported.
Events
The Armidale Reclaim the Night, Harmony Day and the Mayor’s Refugee Week, the
Youth Forum and Youth Opportunities Expo are some of those local events that the
NSS Armidale settlement service both participates and encourages involvement of
our client group. In Inverell events participated in include the Sapphire Festival, the
White Ribbon March, International Women’s Day and the Harmony Day event.

19

20 Refugee Week 2015 – Jesmond Park

21

New England Settlement Services Program -
Tamworth

Amalin Sundaravej

Funded by
Department of Social Services

The Tamworth base of the NSS Settlement Service Program provides support services
to highly disadvantage new arrival refugees, family and other eligible permanent
resident visa holders where Clients have experienced hardship through isolation,
domestic violence, homelessness, mental health and other issues.

The Tamworth work is addressing the lack of supportive networks by linking newly
arrived migrants to support groups as well as to the existing Tamworth International
Support Network (TISN) and the new Reading Club Plus, which comprises a
multicultural group of new migrants that NSS has provided and continues to provide
services. In addition, NSS is assisting the refugee and migrant community’s
development and promoting a sense of self identity, belonging to and participation
with the broader Tamworth community. This also raises awareness with the
mainstream service providers to assist them to become more responsive to the
needs of the settlement target group in this area.

Outreach is continuing to identify client groups and to establish contacts/network in
Werris Creek and Quirindi as well as in Gunnedah. The outreach approach adopted
was to visit the public libraries, the Salvos, the churches, the Police Stations and the
schools in these areas. NSS in Tamworth also organised and promoted a Harmony
Day celebration at the Quirindi Public Library this year with 35 attendees as part of
the outreach work.

Client services included providing assistance with Australian citizenship application,
housing, employment, health matters, pathways to education, family relationship
issues, parenting issues, domestic violence, legal issues, overseas skills recognition,
migration related issues (e.g. referrals to NSS migration agents); referrals to other
mainstream service providers; help with extra English language; access to interpreter
service (TIS); help with tax. In 2016, the Reading Club Plus formed by NSS recognises
that English literacy is an essential skill for coping with the many demands of life in
contemporary Australian society.

An example of this is where an NSS volunteer assisted a client from a refugee
background with literacy problems to pass his citizenship test so he can sponsor his
family to Australia. Assistance with the citizenship test is also done through DIBP
website practice test and more of this paperless exercise has been done this year
with clients as they prepare to sit the test.

22

Referrals were made to: DIBP(website, 131-881), NSS Migration agents, Jobs Australia,
Skilled Employment, Baiada Agro Processing (factory), Thomas Foods International
(lamb abattoir), Teys Australia (beef abattoir); Bindaree Beef (Inverell); Red Lea
Chickens (egg picking/packing ), Chandler and MacLeod Employment, Tamworth
Community Centre (Volunteer Program), Medicare, Law Access, Legal Aid,
Tamworth Regional Council, TAFE, among others.

Clients No. Clients No. Clients No. Clients No.
13 NZ 1
Pakistan 2 Sri Lanka 2 Philippines 3 Thailand 3
2 USA 1
Afghanistan 1 Iran 1 Myanmar 1 Lao 1
38
China 1 Netherlands 1 Russia Total

Singapore 1 Vietnam 2 Italy

Bangladesh 1 Fiji 1

Table 1: New Clients and Countries of Origin-Tamworth

Employment opportunities In Tamworth, employment opportunities for our new
migrants and refugees target group, continue with employment in the abattoirs (i.e.,
lamb and beef) and chicken agro processing plants which are three of the major
sources of employment. Various reasons hinder employment such as overseas skills
not being recognized and that the skills assessment process itself is quite expensive
and lengthy. Other factors include the absence of local work experience, fluency in
English language, understanding Australian work culture. Even so the meatworks
continue to attract male and female workers to Tamworth and includes Burmese
(Karennis and Rohingyas) people from refugee backgrounds. In 2016, more workers
mostly from the Philippines working for Thomas Foods International (lamb abattoir)
were granted Australian permanent residency status and brought their families to
Tamworth increasing the number of new Filipino migrants.

With this employment, more than 10 new arrivals were able to buy their first home
and availed themselves of the first home buyers grant. Other migrant communities,
i.e., Indian, and Vietnamese, have opened up either restaurants or food store
catering mostly to the Asian community. Expanding contacts with local business
sector is also continuing as well as online job search for employment. Some clients
are disadvantaged as they are computer illiterate or are unable to afford internet
connection and fee. However, this is offset by using the free internet at the
Tamworth Public Library.

Family and Relationships Numbers of new migrants and especially women, suffered
isolation as they did not know how to drive a car. For some, this has led to them not
being able to attend AMEP classes or are unable to find vacancies in day-care for
their children when they have to attend AMEP. A few incidences of domestic
violence have been experienced by some women and NSS has referred them to the
Tamworth Family Support Services.

23

Networking The Tamworth Settlement service contacts and networks have helped
with client referrals and or job placements. Informal contacts with former migrants
who are now gainfully employed continue to be a source of information for job
openings. As well, migrants who are operating businesses (e.g., restaurants, petrol
station, motels) ring NSS offering new arrivals employment opportunities with casual
or part-time work as part of this networking.
NSS Tamworth being the only NGO to provide support services for new migrants and
refugees in Tamworth is uniquely positioned and has been actively promoting issues
and awareness on multicultural issues.
Major Highlight of Events -Harmony Day (March) and Refugee Week (June) were
celebrated with aplomb. For the first time, NSS in conjunction with the public library
held Harmony Day 2016 in Quirindi with few members of CALD and the community
members coming together on the day.

Fiesta La Peel held on 17th October (Saturday) highlighted the diversity of the
multicultural communities living in Tamworth. Over 6,000 people attended and took
the opportunity to sample the stalls with food and beverages, arts and craft and the
information provided by service providers and of course the free entertainment. This
was the second year of the grant monies from Multicultural NSW. In 2017, Fiesta La
Peel will be taken over totally by the Tamworth Regional Council. NSS continues to
be an active member of the Fiesta La Peel Committee.

24

Settlement Services Program - Newcastle

Lydia Manusiu, Hayley Bateman and Marie Zawadi

Funded by
Department of Social Services

The Settlement Services Program (SSP) aims to increase independence, knowledge,
and ability for humanitarian entrants and new arrivals, to navigate and access
mainstream services and promote self-reliance in the Newcastle SSD. Eligible clients
who have resided in Australia for less than 5 years are supported in their settlement
by casework and coordination, information and referrals, advocacy, information
sessions, support groups, networking and mentoring.

Service users come from Afghanistan, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq and Tibet. Afghan clients make up most of the current SSP users.

SSP casework- July 2015 – June 2016 GROUP CLIENT
ACTIVE CASES INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS No of GROUP SESSIONS ATTENDANCE

1,200 268 39 298

Main areas of casework have been family violence, isolation, financial, housing,
employment, volunteer support, business setup, childcare, mental health, NDIS
access, identification changes, documentation support and citizenship.

Group Work:
NSS MULTICULTURAL FEMALE YOUTH GROUP (ages 12 to 25) – Fortnightly on Tuesdays
at Jesmond Neighbourhood Centre
The NSS Multicultural Female Youth Group started in February 2016. This group was
formed to support young females identified as being isolated and to give them a
safe place to socialise. Since its commencement the group has had a Zumba
session, several art and craft sessions, dancing, self-defence classes and an
excursion to Scone for horse riding. Information sessions have also been provided by
the Department of Human Services – Centrelink, NSW Police and Multicultural Health.
Approximately 10 young people from Afghanistan, Iran, Democratic Republic of
Congo and Sudan attended each session.

25

NSS AFGHAN WOMEN’S SOCIAL GROUP – Last Wednesday of the month at Jesmond
Neighbourhood Centre (NSS & Connect ability partnership)
This group commenced in late 2015 as a result of growing family and isolation issues
within the community. There are approximately 8 to 15 mothers and up to 12 to 20
children attending at a time. The group also connects mothers to information so to
increase their awareness of local support services and programs. There have been
presentations from “Mainly Music” and yoga for mothers and children, Department
of Human Services – Centrelink on income reporting and parenting payments, NSW
Police on domestic violence, Multicultural Health Unit on healthy relationships,
Multicultural Disability Advocacy Agency and Abilitylinks Disability Engagement
Project on accessing the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

AFGHAN WOMEN STITCH ‘N CHAT GROUP – Fortnightly on Tuesdays at Jesmond
Neighbourhood Centre (NSS & STARTTS partnership)
This group commenced in July 2015 and concluded in December 2015. The group
enabled Afghan women to participate in sewing and crochet with the aim to
discuss issues regarding mental health. The group had up to 6 women attending.
Since the completion some of the women have been involved in forming other
sewing groups in the local area.

SWIMMING PROGRAMS: NEW ARRIVAL BEACH SAFETY PROGRAM
In the end of 2015 NSS and Cooks Hill Life Saving Club conducted a 4 week New
Arrival Beach Safety Program. It was held at Bar Beach, Cook Hill. There were 15
participants. SSP workers provided coordination, transport and support to these
families.

NEWLY ARRIVED LEARN TO SWIM PROGRAM

In February 2016 SSP workers and NSW Sport & Rec conducted an 8 week program
for 25 female youths to participate in a ‘Learn to Swim’ program. This was
conducted on Tuesday afternoons and was held at Wallsend Swimming Centre.
Lessons were provided by Lane 4 Aquatics. On the final week NSS provided a
presentation and BBQ lunch for all the participants and their families.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAMS: EXCURSION FOR AFGHAN GIRLS (ages 5 to 10)
On the 19th July 2015 SSP workers organised an excursion for 6 Afghan girls to view
the movie “Inside Out” at Charlestown Reading Cinemas. The excursion came out
as a result of the girls being identified as being too young to access the NSS
Multicultural Female Youth Group in Jesmond and having limited access to school
holiday programs.

MULTICULTURAL YOUTH INDOOR SPORTS DAY
On the 29th September 2015 NSS, MNC and the Samaritans organised a Multicultural
Youth Indoor Sports Day at Howzat Genesis Cooks Hill for the school holidays. There
were 30 students in attendance. Transport was provided by NSS, ECC and MNC.
Sports played on the day were netball, volleyball, soccer and basketball. Students
came from Callaghan Campus Waratah, Wallsend and Jesmond, St Clemente
Mayfield, and Newcastle High School.

26

OTHER EVENTS AND TRAINING:
Refugee Week, Harmony Day in Hamilton and Lake Macquarie, Afghan Families
Harmony Day, Multicultural Expo, Reclaim the Night, DSS Rural Conference,
Beaumont Street Carnivale, Gender Non-conformity training, Newcastle Multicultural
Interagency, Hunter Refugee Network, Professional Development for DV in
multicultural communities, presentations at TAFE NSW, Save the Date: Anti-Poverty
week, Refugee Council of Australia consultations, PAS forum at Hunter Water, Health
& Respectful Relationships Sessions with Multicultural Health.

L to R: Defence session at NSS Multicultural Female Youth Group with NSW Police
Youth Liasion Officer and Newly Arrived Learn to Swim Program with 6 to 12 class.

L to R: New Arrival Beach Safety Program and Afghan Girls using their henna skills at
Riverside Multicultural Festival.
Congolese Casework -Through this year 66 Clients accessed the program .There
have been also 109 instances of Casework and 201 referrals internally and externally.
The main areas of casework have been Housing, financial, family violence,
Citizenship support Education, Employment, Accommodation, and Isolation.

 Several Congolese and Burundi clients were linked to NSS’ migration
assistance while 18 were supported to gain Australian Citizenship.

 Home visitation has been increased to assist clients with accommodation and
several Congolese, Burundi and South Sudan Families were linked to Real
Estate Agents with 6 families gaining housing in the Newcastle area. 3 other
families were able to obtain home loans following an information session on
mortgages presented by Westpac.

27

 Several clients were linked to Food safety training with 13 completing the
Food Safety Supervisor Certificate. Clients now have the opportunity to
market and sell Food at different local Markets.

 Several clients linked with NSS Volunteer Coordinator for Driving lessons and 7
now have a NSW licence.

Information Sessions
Information sessions and consultations were held for the Congolese, Burundi and
Rwandan Communities. These covered a range of areas such as Community
Capacity building for women, Home loans and mortgages by the Westpac Bank,
House maintenance, The Smith Family Saver plus Program, simple school health
lunches for Children. Natural disaster resilience, Domestic Violence, National
Disability Insurance Scheme Awareness and Food Safety Supervisor and Child Care
training certificate 3.
Events /Networking / Meetings EXPO

 Participated in the Cultural Exchange road
trip that took place in August 2015 to Taree
and Port Macquarie in which 20 young
people attended.

 Attended Harmony Day and Refugee
Week in Hamilton,

 Riverlights Multicultural Festival in Maitland,
Africa Day in Newcastle and assisted the
Congolese Community to attend Australia
Asian Cup matches held locally.

 Also assisted School holidays sports
activities,

 White Ribbon International Day for
elimination of violence against Women,

 Hunter Simba Football Club
 Organised the Congolese and Burundi

communities to perform at the Lord Mayor
Breakfasts.

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Settlement Services Program
Multicultural Youth Project

Tonkoh Kamara

Funded by
Department of Social Services

The youth project is staffed by a settlement service youth worker. The purpose of the
project is to identify issues affecting young people from refugee and migrant
background, design and deliver programs and projects that can address these
issues in partnership or collaboratively with other settlement service providers.

The project aims to increase young peoples’ engagement and participation in
programs which will lead to an increase in their accessing services, fostering social
and civic participation and integration to become active citizens in the wider
Australian community. To help achieve these outcomes the youth project worker
participated in local, regional and state youth meetings, forums, conferences,
community network events and activities.

The youth project managed 95 Casework services for clients and conducted 325
Information dissemination and referrals. It dealt with crisis accommodation and
homelessness for young people, Education and training pathways, employment,
sporting and social participation events and additional support in partnership with
other specialist service providers such as counselling services and charity
organisations.

The youth worker also advocated for young people with realtors and department of
housing with accommodation issues, with Corrective Services as required, in Schools
regarding attendance, discipline and participation in out of school programs, with
sporting organizations, clubs (Hunter Simba FC) and agencies regarding funding of
specific grants and material support. The project has outreached to schools around
Newcastle and the Hunter, at sporting and at other community activities providing
One-on-one and group mentoring to young CALD background people.

Promoted the youth project in the different homework centres, during several
multicultural youth forum planning meetings, the NSS Settlement team meetings,
Promoted the NSS and the youth project during the Newcastle youth interagency
and combined youth interagency meetings during the past year. Participated in the
Hunter refugee network meetings, the regional youth development officer’s network
(RYDON) conference, the NSW youth collective meetings and the Multicultural youth
affairs network (MYAN) NSW meetings. Organised the Newcastle Multicultural Youth
camp cultural exchange to Taree high school and St. Columban school - Port
Macquarie on the 6th and 7th of August 2015.

This year, the project has contributed towards the development of strategies to
support CALD youth engagement and participation in Newcastle LGA, the Hunter
region and across NSW. This was done in partnership and collectively with other
youth services such as; Multicultural neighbourhood centre, Samaritan, Manning
Valley Neighbourhood services, NSW Youth collective, Settlement Services
international, Youth Action NSW, the Multicultural Youth Network (MYAN).

29

Sudanese 35%
Congolese 30%
25%
Syrians20%
Liberians15%
Afghanis10%
Mauritanians
Burundi & Rwanda5%
Ethiopians0%

Others The graphs represent the
Sierra Leoneans percentage and number
of CALD young people
per country of origin in
Newcastle and Hunter
Region. Sudanese young
people were the most
seen with 32% of the total
250 of 698 CALD young
people seen during this
year. Others in the graph
200 referred to young people
from CALD background
150 countries such as: Iraq,
Iran, Kenya, Tanzania,
100 Nigeria, other pacific
Islands, Thailand, Ghana
50 etc.

0

The project has encouraged CALD youth to build self-esteem and confidence in
accessing services for their benefit. It has supported young people from CALD
background in a range of socio-cultural activities, fostering social and civic
participation and sociocultural integration to become active citizens in the wider
Australian communities.

30

Settlement Services Program
Volunteer Coordination

Michael Freund - Educational Programs
Cassitie Galliott - Welfare Programs

Funded by
Department of Social Services and ClubsNSW

Volunteer Co-ordination Overview

These two positions co-ordinate settlement assistance for NSS refugee and migrant
settlement clients, through a range of Educational and Welfare volunteering
programs. Our work is generated by individual requests for volunteer assistance
received from clients or staff, and by the requirements of our managed programs.
This focus drives the process of promotion, recruitment, and registration of suitable
volunteers to fill identified roles.

During 2015-2016 volunteering vacancies were promoted on the NSS Volunteers
webpage and email list, and in partnership with University of Newcastle programs
iLEAD and Teach Outreach. Training workshops and ongoing support were provided
for all volunteers. Assistance and guidance was given to other NSS offices in their
coordination of volunteers. Various forums and events were attended, including:
Hunter Refugee Network Meetings; Newcastle Multicultural Interagency Meetings;
Harmony Day and Refugee Week events; RYDON Youth Conference; presentations
to TAFE classes; Multicultural Expo at MNC; White Ribbon breakfast; and various
training courses.

Table 1: Volunteer Activity Statistics for 2015-2016

Volunteer Category Educational Welfare Table 1 shows volunteer
Volunteers Volunteers activity within the
Enquiries Received* approx. 140 approx. 100 reporting period. As at 30
Newly Registered June 2016, approximately
Re-started or Extended 81 32 110 volunteers were
Placed in Program 12 3 actively working in our
Inactive or Withdrew 93 32 volunteering programs
approx. 70 6 (see next few pages).

*Note that many more volunteering enquiries were received than were actually
needed by clients/programs.

Recognition of NSS Volunteers

NSS sincerely thanks all of our wonderful
volunteers for 2015-2016. They are the life-
blood of our Educational and Welfare
programs which provide much needed
support for many recently-arrived client
families. Their contributions were recognised
this year by: a morning tea & certificate
presentation held at NSS during National
Volunteer Week (photo left), and end-of-
year dinner at Viet King Restaurant.

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Long-term NSS volunteers Anne Wilson and Jennifer Cook were nominated for the
Volunteering NSW Regional Volunteer Awards, which will be held later in 2016.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Homework Centres (HWC): Around 110 volunteers participated

This program was managed by Michael Freund, and staffed by a hard-working team
of Co-ordinators: Cassitie Galliott, Margaret Trethowan, Josephine O’Hara, David
Conway, Jordan McDougall, and Stephanie Couch. 2016 marked the program’s 11th
continuous year of providing high quality volunteer tutoring for refugee and migrant
children and youth.

Throughout the reporting period, the HWCs
operated extremely successfully at our
usual four partner schools:

 Islington Primary School
 Jesmond Primary School (photo left)
 San Clemente High School
 Waratah Technology Campus (photo

below)

In 2016, the program also expanded into
two senior high schools, with volunteer
tutoring in smaller ‘Study Groups’:

 Jesmond Senior Campus
 St. Francis Xavier’s College

The HWC program received 63 student referrals from school ESL teachers in 2015
(Terms 3 & 4), and 76 referrals in 2016 (Terms 1 & 2). Average weekly attendances
were: 50 students and 44 volunteers. The majority of participating students were
refugees from Afghanistan, with smaller numbers from Democratic Republic of
Congo and Ethiopia, and migrants from
various backgrounds.

All students received weekly one-to-one or
small group support with English literacy,
reading and writing practice, homework,
assignments, organisational skills, etc. In
addition to the educational benefits, our
weekly HWCs promoted the students’
social confidence by providing a friendly
space to interact positively with volunteers
from the Newcastle community. Parental
participation was actively encouraged
through the HWC registration days and by
invitations to half-yearly interviews and end-of-term events.

32

Home/Library/Class Tutoring: 7 volunteers participated

NSS volunteers provided weekly support for students, with English literacy, reading
practice, homework, etc. in the client’s home, at a public library, or in the school
classroom.

WELFARE PROGRAMS

During 2015-2016, over 50 volunteers participated in the Welfare programs,
supporting over 50 clients. The clients seeking assistance were mainly refugees from
Afghanistan (over 50%), and the remainder were refugees and migrants from various
African and Asian countries. A large majority of clients requesting volunteer
assistance were women (over 80%). The main areas of volunteer assistance were in
Driving Supervision, helping clients prepare for their Citizenship Test, and developing
clients’ English language skills. In 2016 the requests for Driving Supervision and
Citizenship support increased.

Adult Literacy

18 volunteers assisted clients to improve
their English language skills. (photo right)

Citizenship Assistance

11 volunteers assisted clients to practice
and prepare for the citizenship test. 1
client has passed the citizenship test so
far.

Driving Supervision

22 volunteers supervised clients on their Learner’s licence. 10 clients were successful
in getting their ‘P’ licence.

Companionship/Social Support

2 volunteers supported 2 clients with social support.

Other events, programs and donation drives

6 volunteers assisted with other activities,
including school and university tutoring. 5
volunteers assisted with various NSS playgroups,
and 5 volunteers assisted with events, such as
Riverlights Multicultural Festival, Harmony Day in
Cessnock, Afghan Family Harmony Day and
Refugee Week Mid-Winter Fiesta. Volunteers also
donated items for NSS clients, including prams
and baby items for a mother’s group.

33

Volunteer Training

In September 2015 a Volunteers Training Workshop on Volunteer Personal
Development and Client Cultural Awareness was held at NSS, organised by Cassie.
This workshop covered information about NSS, refugee country-of-origin profiles,
statistical data on refugee settlement in Australia and in Newcastle, common client
issues and how to respond as a volunteer. 15 volunteers attended. In April 2016, a
Volunteers Training Workshop on ESL and Client Background & Cultural Awareness
was held at NSS, organised by Abby. 19 volunteers attended. (Photo below)
Volunteers who completed surveys provided very positive feedback on our training
sessions.

Harmony Day Celebrations at Waratah Technology Campus

34

Settlement Services Program -
Central Coast

Nellie Srisurapon

Funded by
Department of Social Services

The Settlement Service Program (SSP) on the Central Coast covers all regions of the
Coast and assists eligible migrant and humanitarian visa holders during their first 5
years of settlement. The SSP provides support to the community through casework,
advocacy, group information sessions as well informing of local activities and events.
The program also provides information around best practice and cultural awareness
to service providers and through the Central Coast Multicultural Interagency that
NSS convenes. Through partnerships the program also provides conversational
English support through a Gosford Council community grant applied for by the SSP
worker in early 2016, to start the Talking Around the World English conversation
classes.

During this past reporting period, the service has mainly been accessed by new
arrivals from China, Thailand, Philippines, India, Vietnam, Russia and Indonesia
settling on the Central Coast. The main issue requiring assistance was related to
Domestic and Family Violence, requiring referrals to Crisis, Legal, Income, Housing,
and Counselling support services, as well as referrals to CALD community
representatives.

Casework and Advocacy:

 228 instance of service to target group ( 23 Cultural backgrounds )
 139 outreach appointments.
 Referrals made to 39 various local and regional services.
 Referrals received from 16 various local services plus community/self.
 Travel assistance tickets provided to 11 clients.
 38 instance of service to TIS
 Casework advocacy provided at Family/Criminal Court, FACS Housing,

Centrelink, Police, Charity, Counselling, Health, Lawyer.
 4 instance of Child Protection

Promotion to Community

 AMEP classes at Gosford and Wyong. 8 sessions
 Coastwide Playgroup. 9 people
 Gosford East Public Morning Tea. 2 sessions. 19 people.
 Events: Day of Action, Harmony Day, Chinese New Year, White Ribbon Walk,

International Women’s Day.
 Regular electronic mailout to the community on local events, activities,

courses, language resources, life skills, workshops and local services.
 Uniting Church English Classes. 22 people.
 Interpreter workshops for new arrivals. 3 workshops – 44 people
 Talking Around the World.

35

Promotion to Services/Agency Visits

 ESLIN local teachers. Primary level. 14 teachers
 Social Workers in CC Local Health District. 26 attendees.
 Kariong Community Centre, Ability Links, TAFE Community Service Students.

Snt Edwards High School
 Attended approx. 38 service provider meetings incl: Child Protection First Aid,

MCNSW, FACS stakeholder, Expo, CCMI, DVCALD.

Central Coast Multicultural Interagency
Bi- monthly meetings Convened by the Central Coast Settlement service with 24
services attending on a regular basis. This has included:

 Distribution of Agenda/Meeting Minutes and relevant settlement information
to members, including CALD community events.

 Leading the Multicultural Expo 2015/2016.
 Partnership organisation of 3 Interpreter Workshops to Community
 Sourcing guest speakers for CCMI meetings.

Talking Around the World - TATW
Through funding from Gosford City Council Community Grants program, this project
provides English conversation to the CALD community at Erina Fair once a week. The
project aims to exchange cultural experience and information between participants
whilst practicing their speaking and listening skills at their appropriate level.
Registered Volunteers assist with conversation. 19 classes. 14 participants registered.

DV CALD project “Out of the Shadow”

In partnership with the Central Coast DV CALD committee and the Women’s Health
Centre, the SSP has provided input into the making of a DVD resource to raise
awareness of the forms of Domestic and Family Violence to the CALD community
called, Out of the Shadow. This is a visual resource, not reliant on language alone,
with 25 vignettes showing forms of Domestic and Family Violence. 2 community pilot
workshops were held to 24 participants.

With student volunteers MC Expo 15

16 Days of Action community promo

36

Aged Care
Services

Funded

by

Department of Health and

NSW Family & Community Services, Ageing Disability &
Home Care

37

Home Care Packages (HCP)

Rasa Bajalis (Team Manager), Lupe Fonua & Tima ‘Oto

Funded by
Department of Health

It is with a great sense of pride and pleasure that I present the annual report for the
Home Care Package program now in its 16th year of successful operation at
Northern Settlement Services Ltd. The program continues to provide support to older
people to remain living in their own home as independently as possible for as long as
possible. Our target group are older people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
(CALD) backgrounds in Newcastle and the Hunter region. We are currently funded
to provide Level 2 assistance to 42 consumers across the Hunter region.

Care Recipient Profile

Home Care Package Recipients by Cultural Backgrounds at 30th June 2016

1 11 2 Italian
2 Chinese
17 Vietnamese
5 German
Greek
2 2 21 4 Ukranian
Macedonian
2 Australian
Latvian
Hungarian
Polish

In July 2015 all Home Care Packages were converted to deliver care on a Consumer
Directed Care (CDC) basis, which gives people greater flexibility in determining
what level of involvement they would like to have in managing their home care
package. Coordinators work with the consumer to identify goals and needs, which
form the basis of a care plan.

The consumer under CDC has a budget depending on their level of care. This
budget is made up of the government subsidy and the client contribution fee.
Monthly invoices and statements are issued to the consumers which reflect the
subsidy, client contribution fee, cost of services and supplies, administration and
case management fees. Unspent funds and contingency are also shown, hence
total transparency.

Northern Settlement Services implemented a new client management system. The
electronic Home Care Package (eHCP) is a fully-integrated web-based application
that facilitates the creation of consumer directed care plans, service plans,
consumer budgets, service delivery schedules, consumer statements and a client
record system. The team were up skilled in its use and this continues to be a work in

38

progress as the system is routinely updated in accordance with departmental
requirements.
The introduction of the income tested fee in 2014 continues to have an impact on
the occupancy rate and contributes to the lower number of people willing to take
up a package. The occupancy rate at the end of June 2016 was 92%, with 39 out of
42 packages full.

My Aged Care (MAC) was established by the Australian Government in 2014 with
the web based portal launched in July 2015. My Aged Care is the main entry point
to the aged care system for consumers and for providers to access referrals. The aim
of the of My Aged Care is to establish a single care and support system that is
market based and consumer driven with the access based on access need.
However in reality it has proven to be a complex and lengthy system which inhibits
easy effective service provision by service providers, and difficult for CALD
consumers and their carers to navigate and understand.
Aged Care Quality Review
The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency reviewed four (4) of the Aged Care
programs including the Home Care Packages. The Agency visited the Newcastle
and the Central Coast offices on 28th and 29th April 2016. The final quality review
report outlining NSS’s performance outlined that our service met 18 out of the 18
expected outcomes of the Home Care Standards! It was very much a team effort
by the aged care team, management, finance and admin. In particular I would like
to thank the clients for their participation and contribution to the focus meeting with
the Agency. The many hours of hard work paid off and the outcome was not only
successful, but also provided pathways for continual improvement.

39

Future Challenges
 February 2017 is the next stage in Aged Care reforms. There will be no more
allocated Home Care Packages through the ACAR. It will be an open market
and providers can service as many or as few packages as their skills and
capability allows. Even though the number of HCP will increase with the
demand annually there will be a cap.
 An effective marketing strategy needs to be developed in order for NSS to
remain competitive in attracting new care recipients in an increasingly
market driven environment.
 Through My Aged Care a consistent national approach to prioritising access
to home care packages is to be introduced. This means the packages will be
allocated through 2 My Aged Care call centres in Australia with little or no
knowledge of regional demographics.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Lulu, the “A” team and everyone at NSS for
their support during my transition to my current role. In spite of its many challenges
receiving positive feedback from care recipients and their families and seeing the
meaningful difference the program makes to their wellbeing and their lives provides
a great deal of job satisfaction.

40

Sector Support & Development – Multicultural
Access Project Hunter (MAP)

John Biswas

Funded by the Department of Social Services and NSW Department of Family
and Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care

The role of the regional MAP is to facilitate equitable access to Commonwealth
Home Support Programme (CHSP) for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)
people who are frail aged, younger people with disability and their carers by;

 The provision of the strategic advice, information, referral and assistance to
ethno specific, multicultural and mainstream services to improve outcomes
for frail aged, younger people with disability and carers from CALD
background.

 Undertake research to identify and report on the needs of frail aged, younger
people with a disability and carers from CALD background in the Hunter.

 To participate in CHSP planning processes to ensure services are responsive to
specific needs and reflect local demographics

 Providing information and advice to the CALD communities to increase their
awareness and access to appropriate CHSP support services.

The project spent significant amount of time this year consulting, collaborating, and
assisting in identifying and addressing challenges involved in the roll out of the NDIS
and the reforms in the Aged Care sector.

Key activities undertaken and outcomes achieved during 2015-2016

Consultation and collaboration

Implementation of CHSP programme and introduction of My Aged Care were the
key changes in the age care sector. The changes in the sector also saw aged care
services transfer to Department of Health.

During 2015-2016 the MAP worker actively raised CALD issues and unmet needs in
the following consultations and forums in relation to the Aged Care issues

 Regional mainstream CHSP sector support and development officers forums
 Aged and Community Services Forums Hunter Valley Community Care

Access Forum
 Hunter Dementia Alliance, Upper Hunter Dementia Alliance, and Hunter

Valley Community Care Access Forum on Dementia Support Groups ,
activities and resources in the Hunter.
 Multicultural Access Project Network consultation with other regional MAP
workers and the Department.
 PICAC consultation.
 Newcastle Lake Macquarie Community Care Network Forum and Elder
Abuse Prevention collaborative Forum.

With the NDIS implementation, the project also focussed on facilitating capacity
building of communities, providing strategic advice and information to service
providers and concerned stakeholders.

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 NSW Council of Social Services Think-tank held “Plan First; Don’t retrofit”,
delivering on the promise of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
for Aboriginal and CALD people in NSW.

 The NSW ILC consultation of National Disability Insurance Agency
 National Settlement Policy Consultation Webinar on Disability and NDIS.
 MAP project continues to lead and convene the Hunter CALD Disability

Engagement Reference Group that oversees the CALD Community Advisory
Project.

Service support, training and development

The Sector Support and Development – MAP worker represented Northern
Settlement Services at the following networks and agencies

Fair Trade NSW- multicultural communities consultation, Newcastle Multicultural
Interagency and Refugee Network meeting, Harmony Day organising committee
and celebration Cessnock, Lake Macquarie Harmony Day celebration at Speer’s
Point, Rural Multicultural Network, Hunter Disability Network, Community Care Issues
Forum, International Day for People with Disabilities in Newcastle, SSI- FutureAbility
trainings and Hunter Multicultural Expo.

Services updates, CALD communities access and barriers issues, professional
development opportunities for both age care and disability support and information
on interpreters were distributed and accessed through these network meetings
including Newcastle and Port Stephen’s council Interagency.

The MAP worker delivered information sessions on My Age Care and aged care
support system including use of interpreters, advocacy and complaints in
collaboration with Commonwealth Carer’s Respite Centre and financial advisor
from Multicultural Services of Centrelink. During the last year, information sessions
were also delivered to Cantonese, Mandarin, and Spanish speaking community
groups. The project worker provided both direct support and strategic advice to
CALD Community Advisor Project through Hunter CALD Disability Engagement
Reference sub-group and participation in the community advisor’s workshops. MAP
project also provided support in facilitation of NSS Enabling and Inclusion Project
2016-2017 (training) and undergoing of the Third Party Verification Process.

Challenges SSD worker John co-presented with Aged Care
Team Manager Rasa at the Diversewerks Cultural
With the introduction of CHSP and My Aged
Care in the Aged Care and implementation of Competency in Disability
the NDIS it is a time of enormous changes in
service delivery to our elderly members of the
communities and persons with disabilities from
the CALD communities. Some of the key
challenges are

 Although changes are being introduced
for the support systems to be more user
friendly; both Aged and Disability
systems remain complex for the CALD
communities particularly in the context of

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the changes and newly introduced pathways to final delivery of support.
 With the changes there is a need for clear and accessible information;

required by the CALD community members and at times appropriate support
to navigate the system as multiple agencies are involved in the process at
various levels of service access and delivery.
 My Aged Care website and call centre: while a move towards more
technology based system is going to better facilitate easier access
particularly for people in the rural and remote regions and for some segments
of the CALD communities who are more tech savvy. Most of the CALD
community senior citizens requiring aged care support are increasingly
demanding more support from bi-lingual workers to support their interaction
with the My Aged Care. So community capacity issues around accessing and
engaging with services systems remain a challenge for members of the CALD
communities.
 Access to interpreter still remains another key issue.
 Issues of elder abuse and how to empower communities to prevent it.
I am thankful to Northern Settlement Services for giving me this wonderful
opportunity to work in this role and I look forward to work collaboratively and
creatively to address the challenges our CALD communities face in accessing
Aged Care and Disability support.

Hunter CALD Disability Engagement Reference Group - (back row l-r) Belinda Allen (DHS), Ruqia Chavla
(MDAA), Rasa Bajalis (NSS), John Biswas (NSS), Erin Crockford (Ability Links), Dominque Mylias (HNEH).
(front row l-r Jo MacGregor (STARTTS), Tony Cosentino (ADHC), Leonie Miller (Ability Links), Ingrid Boland
(ECSC), & Mercy Akongo (ECSC).

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Hunter Multicultural Respite Service

Lupe Fonua & Dominique Nyilas

Funded by
Department of Social Services

Hunter Multicultural Respite Service (HMRS) provides respite care for frail
older people and people with dementia from culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds. These clients have difficulties accessing or maintaining participation in
Day Care Centre activities and have proven over the years this service is beneficial
to them. The philosophy of the respite service is to provide a caring, high quality
support that recognises and respects the rights, needs and dignity of each
individual. Clients enjoy an atmosphere of acceptance and caring for their safety as
well as their well-being. The family and other primary carers are also supported and
receive respite in their role. The respite service is provided in a way that is
appropriate for the client both culturally as well as linguistically.
Service provided
Between 01 July 2015 and 30 June 2016 a total of 21 clients received weekly services
between 2 and 8 hours per week, with 8 clients attending respite day care centres
twice a week and 1 client also receiving transport. Four new clients started receiving
the service since last reporting period and 8 exited due to entering permanent
residential care facilities or passing. Clients are formally assessed and regularly
reviewed with every client referred to the service being offered support within a
short time or placed on a waiting list. The majority of the clients live in Newcastle and
Lake Macquarie LGA’s, with few from Port Stephens, Upper Hunter and Maitland
areas. The age ranges between 70 and 101 years of age and average age of clients
is 85 years, 16% male and 84% female.

Table 1: Day Care Centres, Health and Wellness Centre and Clients as at
30/06/2016

Allawah Day Centre, Wallsend 1

Cardiff Seniors Multicultural Health and Wellness Centre 2

Greek Seniors Health and Wellness Centre 3

Greek Holy Apostles Health and Wellness Centre 3

Italian Seniors Health and Wellness Centre 3

Maitland Multicultural Friendship Group 1

Polish Seniors Multicultural Health and Wellness Centre 7

Wattlegrove Day Care Centre 1

Total 21 clients

Table 2: Client Characteristics at the Day Centre

Gender Age range Client condition

Male Female 55_65 66-75 76-85 86-90 91+ Dementia Frail

4 17 0 1 5 12 3 4 17

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Client Profile

8
6
4
2
0

Client Geographical Profile

11 9

Lake Newcastle 1
Macquarie
Maitland

Multicultural Dementia and Disability Carer Support Group
The project coordinates the monthly meetings of the support group of 14 members.
The age ranges between 62 and 88 years and the average age of carers is 73 years.
The group is well established and several carers have a long history of friendship and
developed a strong bonding over the years. The members are encouraged to share
their burden with each other in a warm and understanding atmosphere. This group is
invaluable for new carers who are struggling with their caring role physically,
emotionally, psychologically as well as needing relevant education and information
in order to cope. Guest speakers from a wide variety of professions are invited to talk
about topics important to the group, for instance; Memory Loss - Dementia,
Depression and Anxiety, Advance Care Planning, Centrelink Session with their (FIS)
Financial Information Service Officer. This year socially; they were able to attend the
2016 Premier’s Gala Concert in Sydney, Line-dancing/Latin dancing & Tai-chi
dancing for Seniors’ week, a bus trip to Cabramatta and a Mothers’ Day Lunch at a
Club. They had thoroughly enjoyed these outings which gives them a break from
their caring role.

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Hunter Multicultural Social Support Service

Tima ‘Oto

Funded by
Commonwealth Home Support Program
Department of Health and NSW Department of Family and Community
Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC)

The Multicultural Social Support Group aims to provide an appropriate social support
program for frail aged and younger disabled and carers of CALD background who
live in the Hunter Region. The four groups consist of the Filipino, Samoan, Spanish and
Vietnamese Groups.
Each group has a monthly get together kicking off in January with Planning
Meetings – where together a calendar of monthly events for the year is planned.
Depending on the program some activities include going out for lunch, an annual
bus outing, celebrating Mothers’ Day, Independence days, Chinese New Year, as
well as offering participation in Line Dancing, Ballroom and Latin Dancing. This year
for Seniors’ Week a successful event was held with a display of the Line Dancing and
Latin Dancing.
The Groups received information sessions in the program calendar, topics included
Centrelink, Dementia Australia, health issues and information about “My Aged Care”
presented by John Biswas. Sadly accessing free health information from Hunter New
England Health is now restricted due to funding changes.
Volunteers have signed up to each of the 4 groups – I wish to thank them for their
invaluable contribution to the groups – they assist with making cups of tea and
cleaning up after the meetings which is very much appreciated.
Vietnamese Group – consists of usually 6 people –most are of Vietnamese origins –
their monthly get together are always well attended as some of them don’t socialize
with other groups. Their program this year continues with the same theme and also
well attended monthly. Sadly the oldest member of the group passed away during
the year.

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The Spanish Group consists of 11 people attending monthly.
The Spanish group is a very exciting group of people who love to meet and share
their time together. The group celebrated Senior’s week with other groups. A
member of the group and also a retired nurse - gave a talk on “Chronic Disease
Management”. John Biswas the NSS MAP worker was invited to speak about “how to
access age care support, interpreters and advocacy”.

The Samoan Group consists of 12 people, most of them are couples. The group
celebrated the 54th year of the Samoan Independence Day in June which was the
highlight of the Community’s annual activities and was held at Bolton Point Park – it
was an all-day event with live entertainment, islander food, and a traditional kava
ceremony – it was a fun day for the community and many visitors from Sydney were
present as well.

% Sex No. Age Group No. %

under 65 53%
43%
25% male 13 65-70 27 4%
75% female
38 71-85 22

86+ 2

64% are from Lake Macquarie LGA, 30 % from Newcastle LGA,
4 % from Maitland and 2% from Upper Hunter.

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The Filipino Group consisting of 17 members and is very active with a good turn up
every month. Mother’s Day was celebrated with lunching out. The Filipino
Independence Day was celebrated with traditional foods and national costumes.
Line Dancing was enjoyed by the group as an activity.
I wish to thank Rasa for her guidance and support during the year and to all the
MSSS coordinators for sharing their experiences and information. The introduction of
the new reporting system in DEX and My Aged Care was challenging in the
beginning and wish to thank Dong Mei for her assistance. I am humbled to be
associated with all of these valued staff and grateful to be part of the group.

Filipino group celebrating Independence Day

Some of the culinary delights at the
Filipino Independence Day
Celebration

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Central Coast Multicultural Social Support
Service

Natalia Meliendrez and Marilyn Perez Cabrera

Department of Social Services and the NSW Department of Family
and Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care

The Multicultural Social Service (MSSS) supports CALD people in Wyong and Gosford
LGA who are: frail aged, younger people with disability and carers.

There are around 133 clients and 30 volunteers. These volunteers provide support to
clients and carers. These can include: home visits, telephone calls, taking clients to
medical appointments, shopping, banking and so on. They also support them by
taking them to social functions, outings and other events organized by the MSSS
Coordinators. The MSSS Coordinators recruit, train and manage volunteers so that
they can provide a good and reliable service to the MSSS clients from a CALD
background. Adequate and up to date training is offered to volunteers a few times
a year and the Coordinators are available to supervise volunteers and advise them
on issues that concern them. In March, MSSS had a quality review conducted by the
Australian Aged Care Quality Agency, Australian Government. We satisfied the
requirements 100%. It was a great team effort.

2015/2016 Volunteers attended:

 Christmas lunch at Shelly Beach Golf Club
 Appreciation Lunch at Central Coast Leagues Club
 Professional Boundary Training Session – Facilitator: Keiko Clements

A quarterly MSSS newsletter for volunteers and clients which provide them with
information about the service, such as Government changes, upcoming training,
functions in general and so on.

CLIENTS MONTHLY SOCIAL SUPPORT DAYS

 First Wednesday: The Cooking Class has travelled around the world and our
clients have had a taste of Uzbekistan, India, Persia, Philippines, Argentina,
Serbia and Greece cuisine.

 Second Wednesday: the Multicultural Group meet at NSS Bateau Bay Office
or other organized venues, with guest speakers presenting on topics ranging
from health issues to natural disaster awareness.

 Third Wednesday: The Spanish Speaking Group meet at NSS Bateau Bay
office. Everyone brings a plate to share, during the year the group
celebrated Argentina Day, Uruguay, Hispanic Day, Halloween, and Mother’s
Day. Outings: Central Coast Leagues Club, Picnic at Budgewoi Lions Club
Park and Long Jetty Hotel.

 Every Thursday The Woy Woy Group meet at the Peninsula Community
Centre, participating in craft, presentations, board games, outings to
restaurants or parks with the help of volunteers.

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