Family Responsibilities Commission

Report to the Family Responsibilities Board and
The Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships

Quarterly Report
No. 35

January 2017 to March 2017 

Report prepared by the Family Responsibilities Commission under the leadership of Commissioner David Glasgow

Executive Summary
Quantified in the table below are the activities undertaken by the Commission during quarter 35 with comparisons shown to the previous quarter.

Activity	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Movement	
Within jurisdiction agency notices received	1127	3693	Increased	
Conferences held	630	604	Decreased	
Family Responsibility Agreements entered into	12	6	Decreased	
Orders made to attend community support services	63	33	Decreased	
Conditional Income Management Orders made	59	79	Increased	
Voluntary Income Management Agreements entered into	5	5	No Change	
Clients case managed	188	187	Decreased	
Referrals made	82	44	Decreased	
Applications to Amend or End received	13	16	Increased	
Show Cause conferences held	0	0	No Change	
Table 1: Activity from 1 October 2016 to 31 March 2017

One of the significant events this quarter was the appointment of the Honourable Mark Furner as Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships in February, 2017. Subsequently, on 14 February the Legislative Assembly resolved to amend schedule 6 of the Standing Orders which reflect recent Ministerial appointments and associated administrative arrangements. As a result the Commission’s oversight Committee transitioned from the Finance and Administration Committee to the Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources Committee.

The Commission held its annual Local Coordinator Conference commencing on 17 January. Each year Local Coordinators travel to Cairns prior to the new school year for training and workshop purposes. For the first time the conference was expanded by the attendance of one Local Commissioner from each community. The theme for this year’s conference was ‘increasing school attendance’. Two reports were delivered from each community, one reflecting identified local issues along with recommended solutions, and one from the school Principal detailing issues affecting their school, priorities set for the 2017 school year, and how they wished the FRC to interact with them to increase the educational experience for their children. Common issues affecting school attendance were discussed as well as building relationships with strategic partners, parents, school staff and the community generally. The support and transition to boarding schools was a common subject of concern across all communities. Reflection was had on the 2016 goals and what was achieved/not achieved during the past year and why.

Guest presenters to the conference included officers from the Housing and Homelessness Service who detailed the key areas of focus to address significant overcrowding, homelessness, poor housing conditions and severe housing shortages in remote Indigenous communities. Officers from Act for Kids, Family and Child Connect addressed the delegates on their framework for connecting families to the right supports at the right time, and explained the Child Protection Guide, an online tool to support community members in deciding which pathway to take when referring or reporting child safety concerns. Further presentations were made by: Apunipima Cape York Health Council on the transition of wellbeing services from the Royal Flying Doctor Service; the Cape York Girl Academy; and CYP Parenting. Training was provided on managing aggressive behaviours and personal safety; preventing or defusing volatile situations and reducing the risks in harmful environments.

Internal human resource and operational policies reviewed this quarter included the Open Data Strategy, the Employee Assistance Policy, the Right to Information Guidelines and the Commission’s Induction Manual.

Table of contents

1.  Activities and Trends		4
2.  Future Direction and Challenges	11
3.  Financial Operations		11

Abbreviations
CIM		Conditional Income Management
DATSIP		Department of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
DET		Department of Education and Training
DJAG		Department of Justice and Attorney-General
DV		Domestic Violence
FRA		Family Responsibilities Agreement
FRC		Family Responsibilities Commission
GYFS		Griffith Youth Forensic Service
QPS		Queensland Police Service
VIM		Voluntary Income Management
Also:		
Family Responsibilities Commission (the Commission)
Family Responsibilities Commission Act 2008 (the Act)
Family Responsibilities Commission Registry (the Registry)
Family Responsibilities Board (the Board)

Family Responsibilities Commission
Welfare Reforms

Report to 31 March 2017.
1.  Activities and Trends

Notices
In quarter 35 the Commission received 4,792 agency notices. Some individuals may have been the subject of more than one agency notice. Of that figure 3,693 notices (77 percent) were within the Commission’s jurisdiction and 1,099 notices (23 percent) were outside the Commission’s jurisdiction.

Within jurisdiction notices comprised of:

	8	District Court notices
	0	Childrens Court notices
	269	Magistrates Court notices
	9	Domestic Violence Breach notices
	42	Domestic Violence Order notices
	3,319	School Attendance notices
	0	School Enrolment notices
	33	Child Safety and Welfare notices
	13	Housing Tenancy notices

Of the 1,099 notices not within the Commission’s jurisdiction, there were 12 District Court notices, 378 Magistrates Court notices, 9 Domestic Violence Breach notices, 52 Domestic Violence Order notices, 645 School Attendance notices, 0 School Enrolment notices, 3 Child Safety and Welfare notices and 0 Housing Tenancy notices.

Details of notices within jurisdiction for each community are set out below:

•	Aurukun’s 1,420 notices constitute 38.45 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction across the welfare reform communities:

	1	District Court notice
	0	Childrens Court notices
	132	Magistrates Court notices
	3	Domestic Violence Breach notices
	14	Domestic Violence Order notices
	1,261	School Attendance notices
	0	School Enrolment notices
	9	Child Safety and Welfare notices
	0	Housing Tenancy notices

Eleven District Court notices, 103 Magistrates Court notices, 1 Domestic Violence Breach notice, 3 Domestic Violence Order notices and 71 School Attendance notices were processed as not within jurisdiction.

•	Coen’s 54 notices constitute 1.46 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction:

	0	District Court notices
	0	Childrens Court notices
	16	Magistrates Court notices
	1	Domestic Violence Breach notice
	4	Domestic Violence Order notices
	28	School Attendance notices
	0	School Enrolment notices
	5	Child Safety and Welfare notices
	0	Housing Tenancy notices

Fourteen Magistrates Court notices, 2 Domestic Violence Order notices and 2 School Attendance notices were processed as not within jurisdiction.

•	Doomadgee’s 1,685 notices constitute 45.63 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction:

	1,680	School Attendance notices
	0	School Enrolment notices
	5	Child Safety and Welfare notices

Five hundred and fifty-eight School Attendance notices and 2 Child Safety and Welfare notices were processed as not within jurisdiction.

•	Hope Vale’s 479 notices constitute 12.97 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction:

	4	District Court notices
	0	Childrens Court notices
	94	Magistrates Court notices
	5	Domestic Violence Breach notices
	18	Domestic Violence Order notices
	342	School Attendance notices
	0	School Enrolment notices
	13	Child Safety and Welfare notices
	3	Housing Tenancy notices

One District Court notices, 106 Magistrates Court notices, 18 Domestic Violence Order notices, 14 School Attendance notices and 1 Child Safety and Welfare notice were processed as not within jurisdiction.

•	Mossman Gorge’s 55 notices constitute 1.49 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction:

	3	District Court notices
	0	Childrens Court notices
	27	Magistrates Court notices
	0	Domestic Violence Breach notices
	6	Domestic Violence Order notices
	8	School Attendance notices
	0	School Enrolment notices
	1	Child Safety and Welfare notice
	10	Housing Tenancy notices

One hundred and fifty-five Magistrates Court notices, 8 Domestic Violence Breach notices and 29 Domestic Violence Order notices were processed as not within jurisdiction.

Since its commencement the Commission has received 31,576 agency notices within its jurisdiction. Total notices increased from 1,975 in quarter 34 to 4,792 in quarter 35. Of those notices in jurisdiction, District Court, Domestic Violence Order, School Enrolment and Child Safety and Welfare notices decreased, whilst Magistrates Court, Domestic Violence Breach, School Attendance and Housing Tenancy notices increased.

District Court notices decreased this quarter to 8 from 42 received in the previous quarter. Aurukun decreased by 32 notices and Hope Vale decreased by 5 notices, whilst Mossman Gorge increased by 3 notices for the quarter. Coen remained unchanged, with zero notices received for the quarter. The Commission does not receive District Court notices for Doomadgee.

Effective from 1 July 2016 the Youth Justice Act 1992 was amended by the Youth Justice and Other Legislation Act (No. 1) 2016 and Youth Justice and Other Legislation Act (No. 2) 2016 prohibiting the publication of identifying information about all children dealt with under the Youth Justice Act. The effect of the amendments is that notices are unable to be provided to the Commission, as publication of identifying information is prohibited under s301 of the Youth Justice Act 1992.

Magistrates Court notices increased this quarter to 269 from 224 received in the previous quarter. Three out of the four communities which have the Magistrates Court trigger, experienced an increase in notices this quarter. Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge increased by 7, 44 and 13 notices respectively, whilst Aurukun decreased by 19 notices. The Commission does not receive Magistrates Court notices for Doomadgee.

Domestic Violence Breach notices increased from 7 in quarter 34 to 9 in quarter 35. Aurukun and Hope Vale increased by 1 notice and 4 notices respectively, whilst Coen and Mossman Gorge decreased by 1 notice and 2 notices respectively. The Commission does not receive Domestic Violence Breach notices for Doomadgee.

Domestic Violence Order notices decreased from 50 in quarter 34 to 42 in quarter 35. Coen and Hope Vale increased by 2 notices each, whilst Aurukun decreased by 12 notices. Mossman Gorge remained unchanged with 6 notices received for the quarter. The Commission does not receive Domestic Violence Order notices for Doomadgee.

School Attendance notices increased from 720 in quarter 34 to 3,319 in quarter 35. Three out of the five communities which have the School Attendance trigger experienced an increase in notices this quarter. Aurukun, Doomadgee and Hope Vale increased by 1,029 notices, 1,398 notices and 176 notices respectively, whilst Coen decreased by 4 notices and Mossman Gorge remained unchanged with 8 notices received for the quarter. The significant increase in the number of school attendance notices received was due to the changed reporting process of school absences by the Department of Education and Training to the Commission. This change resulted in the Commission receiving a notification each time the three day unexplained absence threshold was reached for a student, in contrast to previous years where a report was received only once in a term when the first three days of absence was reached.

School Enrolment notices decreased from 1 in quarter 34 to 0 in quarter 35 with Aurukun decreasing by 1 notice.

Child Safety and Welfare notices decreased from 79 in quarter 34 to 33 in quarter 35. Four out of the five communities which have the Child Safety and Welfare trigger experienced a decrease in notices this quarter. Aurukun and Mossman Gorge decreased by 31 notices and 4 notices respectively, whilst Coen and Doomadgee decreased by 6 notices each. Hope Vale increased by 1 notice for the quarter.

Housing Tenancy notices increased to 13 from 4 received in the previous quarter. Coen decreased by 1 notice, whilst Hope Vale increased by 2 notices and Mossman Gorge increased by 8 notices. Aurukun remained unchanged with zero notices received for the quarter. The Commission does not receive Housing Tenancy notices for Doomadgee.

The Commission receives school attendance data from the Department of Education and Training (DET). This data is published on the Commission’s web page at http://www.frcq.org.au when available.

Table 2: In jurisdiction notices by type and quarter 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2017.

Notices by Agency Processed	Qtr 31	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	
District Court	4	9	44	42	8	
Children’s Court	29	24	0	0	0	
Magistrates Court	322	252	300	224	269	
Domestic Violence Breach	22	10	22	7	9	
Domestic Violence Order	30	49	41	50	42	
School Attendance	544	686	800	720	3319	
School Enrolment	4	4	4	1	0	
Child Safety	43	24	65	79	33	
Housing Tenancy	19	23	18	4	13	
TOTAL	1017	1081	1294	1127	3693	

Table 3: In jurisdiction notices by community and quarter 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2017.

Community	Qtr 31	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	
Aurukun	479	498	513	484	1420	
Coen	56	54	78	58	54	
Doomadgee	211	294	336	293	1685	
Hope Vale	226	207	325	255	479	
Mossman Gorge	45	28	42	37	55	
TOTAL	1017	1081	1294	1127	3693	

Since commencement in July 2008, 87.8 percent of clients have received more than one notice with 63.0 percent of clients receiving more than five notices. Frequently this illustrates multiple child school absences for the one family or multiple Magistrates Court notices relating to one incident. Conversely, 12.2 percent of clients have received only one notice.

Table 4: FRC clients by number of notices 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2017.

Number of Notices Received	Number of Clients	
1	258	
2	191	
3	147	
4	101	
5	84	
>5	1327	
TOTAL	2108	

(Note:  Counting rules stipulate that where multiple charges are received each charge is counted as an individual notice or each child’s absence is counted as one notice – i.e. if three children from the one family were absent, that was counted as three notices).
Conferences
Six hundred and four conferences were held across the five communities in quarter 35 resulting in 6 FRA’s being entered into, 33 orders made to attend community support services and 79 CIM orders. Other outcomes as a result of conferencing during the quarter were decisions for no further action, rescheduling and scheduling to return for review with compliance. Sixty new clients were added to the Commission’s database during the quarter. Details of conferencing activity in each community for quarter 35 are as follows:

	260 conferences were held in Aurukun
	30 conferences were held in Coen
	176 conferences were held in Doomadgee
	81 conferences were held in Hope Vale
	57 conferences were held in Mossman Gorge.

Conferences decreased from 630 in quarter 34 to 604 in quarter 35.

Table 5: Conferences by community and quarter 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2017.

Community	Qtr 31	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	
Aurukun	211	247	242	228	260	
Coen	28	28	25	43	30	
Doomadgee	146	166	219	200	176	
Hope Vale	121	110	109	122	81	
Mossman Gorge	36	51	52	37	57	
TOTAL	542	602	647	630	604	

Referrals
The number of referrals to service providers decreased from 82 in quarter 34 to 44 in quarter 35, relating to 34 clients. Since commencement the Commission has referred 965 clients to service providers resulting in approximately 45.3 percent of clients on 12 month service referral plans. Referrals in the communities during the quarter were as follows: Aurukun decreased by 23; Coen decreased by 14; Doomadgee decreased by 2; Hope Vale decreased by 10 and Mossman Gorge increased by 11.

Table 6: Referral pathways by referral type and quarter 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2017.

Referral Type	Qtr 31	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	
MPower	3	6	6	14	3	
WBC - RDFS	28	35	38	30	21	
WBC – NWRH	0	3	2	5	5	
SCM	0	0	0	4	2	
Parenting Program	1	11	3	27	9	
Home Pride	0	1	1	0	0	
QLD Health	1	0	4	0	4	
Save the Children	1	0	10	2	0	
TOTAL	34	56	64	82	44	

Conditional Income Management
Seventy-nine CIM orders were made in quarter 35, an increase of 20 from quarter 34. Since the commencement of the Commission 2,064 CIM orders inclusive of original orders, extensions and amendments have been made relating to 805 clients. Further activity during the quarter is as follows: Aurukun, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge increased by 19, 5 and 4 CIM orders respectively, whilst Coen and Doomadgee decreased by 4 CIM orders each.

As at 31 March 2017, 37.8 percent of the Commission’s clients have been subject to a CIM order over the past eight and a three quarter years. As at 31 March 2017 there were 180 clients subject to a CIM order which equates to 8.5 percent of clients on a CIM order at a point in time. Commissioners continue to negotiate with clients to achieve desirable outcomes or to demonstrate motivation and commitment to make appropriate life choices. Demonstrated positive steps toward taking responsibility provide the Commissioners with sufficient reason to consider revoking CIM orders when requested by the client.

The Commission processed 5 VIM agreements this quarter and since the commencement of the Commission in 2008, 120 clients have requested a VIM agreement. Those clients that request a VIM agreement use income management as a savings and budget tool, often for a specified period and to deter family members from accessing their income.

Table 7: Conditional Income Management orders by community and quarter 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2017.

Community	Qtr 31	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	
Aurukun	31	35	27	21	40	
Coen	1	2	3	8	4	
Doomadgee	0	28	23	18	14	
Hope Vale	4	17	7	6	11	
Mossman Gorge	6	6	9	6	10	
TOTAL	42	88	69	59	79	

Case Management
As at 31 March 2017, 187 clients were being case-managed, a decrease from 188 in quarter 34. Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge each increased by 1, whilst Aurukun decreased by 1 and Doomadgee decreased by 3.

Show Cause Notices
During quarter 35, and similar to the past four quarters, no Show Cause hearings have been held.

Applications to Amend or End Agreements or Orders
Sixteen Applications to Amend or End a Family Responsibilities Agreement or Order were received in quarter 35, an increase of 3 from quarter 34. Outcomes of the 16 applications received are as follows:

	12 Applications granted and Income Management agreements and orders revoked
	1 CIM order percentage decreased from 90 to 75 percent for the remaining period of
		the existing order
	1 CIM order percentage decreased from 90 to 60 percent for the remaining period of
		the existing order
	1 Application dismissed
	1 Application received at the end of the quarter, decision pending.

The Commission continues to encourage clients to participate in the Amend or End process. Commissioners report increasing client confidence to question decisions and the reasons behind decisions, both for decisions delivered by the Commission and decisions delivered by external agencies and bodies.

Table 8: Applications to Amend or End FRA or Order by community and quarter 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2016.

Community	Qtr 31	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	
Aurukun	7	8	9	4	7	
Coen	1	0	3	2	0	
Doomadgee	0	0	1	3	3	
Hope Vale	7	7	6	4	5	
Mossman Gorge	5	2	1	0	1	
TOTAL	20	17	20	13	16	

2.  Future Direction and Challenges

Transition of wellbeing services
Quarter 35 saw the gradual transition of wellbeing services in the Welfare Reform communities from the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) to Apunipima Cape York Health Council. At the end of March (in line with the official handover) quarterly summaries were provided by the RFDS for all Commission clients to facilitate continuing support services through Apunipima. Apunipima representatives advised at a meeting on 17 March that as part of the consultation process conducted for the transition of wellbeing services, community members were asked which programs they would like to see offered to their community members. The first round of three monthly reports on the progress of clients with case plans transferred to Apunipima will be due to be provided to the Commission in June which should provide information in relation to the level of engagement with Commission clients for quarter 36.

Provision of school attendance data
The provision of school attendance reports since January 2017 has presented a major challenge for the Commission. The Department of Education and Training (DET) advised that the previous Access database used by DET to provide the school attendance reports was administered and maintained by a staff member no longer with DET. Further, DET advised that all reports must be sourced and produced from the OneSchool database. Unfortunately the reports generated for the 2017 school year were not in the format previously provided and were not in a format which could be uploaded directly to the Commission’s CRM database. The upload of this data provides the EQ notices from which the Commission can legally conference a client who is not sending their child to school according to the provisions of the Family Responsibilities Commission Act 2008 (FRC Act).

The changes to the way DET report school absences has resulted in the Commission receiving a notification each time the three day unexplained absence threshold is reached. This is in contrast to previous years where a report was received only once the first three day absence in a term was reached. The additional notifications have resulted in a significant increase in workload as notifications increased from 544 in quarter 31 (Term 1 of 2016), to 3,319 in quarter 35 (Term 1 of 2017). Having not received any prior advice of anticipated changes to DET reporting, the Commission was left in the position of having to complete administrative processes for all notifications within the timeframes determined by the conference sittings calendar. Processes were further complicated by multiple notifications received for a child in a term, resulting in changes having to be made to the CRM database and to administrative procedures to deal with the additional reports.

The manual process of DET extracting data from OneSchool has led to some errors in reporting which questions the veracity of the information provided, and raises concerns in relation to decisions made in conference based on the data provided. Further administrative checks and changes to the CRM database have been implemented to deal with errors such as duplication in absence dates.

As stated, the Commission has implemented in-house resolutions to mitigate the challenges presented by the new school attendance reports, however, prior to 2017 the Commission was provided with weekly reports on the weekly and term to date attendance of all students enrolled at the relevant schools. The process provided historical and up to date records on a child’s attendance at school and enabled Commissioners to track and monitor attendance percentages over time, particularly following decisions made at conference. The data was also used to generate graphs, providing a visual display of attendance, which were presented to clients in conference. The Commission was advised that from January 2017 these reports would no longer be provided. To obtain this information the Commission is now required to contact the school directly and request attendance details specifically for the children of clients who are listed for conference. Unfortunately the use of visual aids in the conferencing process has had to be discontinued.

Domestic and family violence support services
As reported previously, the Wellbeing Centres advised from the commencement of the DVO/DVB referrals that they had minimal capacity to deal with these referrals and since that time no additional funding or expansion of services has been provided to cater for these referrals in the Welfare Reform communities. Recommendation 2 of the Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee Report No 9, released in November 2015, charged that appropriate domestic and family violence specific support services were to be made available to the Commission to refer community members to following a conference.

Youth Justice (Childrens Court) trigger
The FRC Act was amended on 27 October 2014 to include a new Youth Justice ‘trigger’ requiring notices to be provided to the FRC regarding convictions of a child in a court. The explanatory notes accompanying the amending Bill provide:

The inclusion of the youth justice trigger aims to ensure greater parental/carer responsibility for the young person’s offending behaviour and reduce the current trajectory of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people from youth detention into the adult criminal justice system. A court would be required to notify the FRC when a child is convicted, to enable the FRC to request conferencing with the community members who are the parents or carers of the child.

The Youth Justice Act 1992 (YJ Act) was amended by the Youth Justice and Other Legislation Act (No.1) 2016 and the Youth Justice and Other Legislation Act (No.2) 2016. One of the key policy changes to be effected by these amendments was to prohibit the publication of identifying information about all children dealt with under the YJ Act. The amending Acts removed the discretion to make a publication prohibition order, expanding the prohibition against publishing identifying information to all children appearing before the court, not just first-time offenders. There is no obligation for the Childrens Court to provide notices to the Commission if the publication of identifying information is prohibited under the YJ Act. As of 1 July 2016, publication of all identifying information of children appearing before the court is prohibited under s301 of the YJ Act.

Discussions held with the State Government reveal there is no intention to legislate to provide Youth Justice notices to the Commission. Commissioners will, however, continue to assist families and carers who fall within the jurisdiction of the Commission, if and when they seek support and assistance with children in their care who have been before the Childrens Court.

3.  Financial Operations

Governance

Part 12 of the Act provides for the establishment of the Family Responsibilities Board (the Board).

The Board has a mandate to give advice and make recommendations to the Minister about the operation of the Commission and similarly to give advice and make recommendations to the Commissioner about the performance of the Commission’s functions.

The Board must meet at least every six months. The meeting may be held by using any technology available which will allow for efficient and effective communication, however, the Board members must meet in person at least once a year. A quorum for the Board is comprised of two members. The Board’s membership consists of the following members:

•	Ms Clare O’Connor	Director-General, Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
•	Mr Noel Pearson		Founder, Cape York Partnership as the Executive Chairman, representing Cape York Institute.
•	Mr Troy Sloan	First Assistant Secretary, Indigenous Affairs, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Operational

In meeting obligations under Part 3 of the Act, the Family Responsibilities Commission Registry (the Registry) commenced operations on 1 July 2008 with a central Registry office established in Cairns and local Registry offices operating in each of the five welfare reform communities.

The Registry, managed by the Registrar, provides corporate and operational support to the Commissioner, the Local Commissioners and the Local Coordinators.

Financial

Income:
•	Income received by the Commission for the period 1 January 2017 to 31 March 2017 totalled $1,020,502. This income consisted of:
•	$407,500 Queensland Government funding
•	$156,500 Queensland Government
•	$450,000 Australian Government funding
•	$2,983 interest received
•	$3,519 received in sundry income.
The balance of available funds in the bank as at 31 March 2017 is $1,796,681.

Expenditure:
•	Expenditure for the period 1 January 2017 to 31 March 2017 was $919,039. This total represents 22 percent of the projected annual expenditure of $4,253,232.

1 January 2017 to	Expenditure	1 January 2017 to	Expenditure	
31 March 2017	Qtr 35	31 March 2017	Qtr 35	
				
Employee salaries – FRC staff	$491,214	Internet & IT	$42,678	
Employee salaries – Local Commissioners	$95,450	Motor vehicle	$11,404	
Employee on costs – FRC staff	$91,796	Property	$56,663	
Employee on costs – Local Commissioners	$14,562	Travel	$48,393	
Other employment costs	$10,774	General operating	$33,479	
Communications	$4,908	Other expenses	$17,718	
		Total	$919,039	
Table 9: Expenditure in quarter 35.

Quarter 35 disbursement of expenditure by category and percentage of total expenditure.

Table 10: Total FRC Operating Costs 1 January 2017 to 31 March 2017.

Expenditure Category	Percentage of Total Expenditure	
Employee salaries – FRC staff	53.45%	
Employee salaries – Local Commissioners	10.39%	
Employee on costs – FRC staff	9.99%	
Employee on costs – Local Commissioners	1.58%	
Other employment costs	1.17%	
Communications	0.53%	
Internet & IT	4.64%	
Motor vehicle	1.24%	
Property	6.17%	
Travel	5.27%	
General operating	3.64%	
Other expenses	1.93%	
Total	100.0%	

Regional operational expenditure by location and quarter.

Table 11: Operating Costs by remote location 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2017.

Community	Qtr 31	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	
Aurukun	$115K	$167K	$124K	$117K	$119K	
Coen	$41K	$58K	$39K	$34K	$29K	
Doomadgee	$141K	$185K	$148K	$136K	$145K	
Hope Vale	$84K	$120K	$75K	$72K	$65K	
Mossman Gorge	$47K	$55K	$39K	$38K	$36K	
TOTAL	$428K	$585K	$425K	$397K	$394K	

Cairns Registry expenditure for quarter 35 compared to the previous four quarters.

Table 12: Quarterly Operating Costs Cairns 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2017.

Community	Qtr 31	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	
Corporate Services	$221K	$229K	$245K	$221K	$226K	
Operations	$272K	$248K	$246K	$213K	$257K	
Gov/Board Reporting	$33K	$35K	$36K	$36K	$36K	
Abnormal Expenditure	$0K	$1K	$0K	$2K	$6K	
TOTAL	$526K	$513K	$527K	$472K	$525K	

APPENDIX A			

	SITTING CALENDAR 2017
FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES COMMISSION
1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017		
Week Beginning	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Other	
2 January	Public Holiday					2 New Year’s Day	
9 January						Cooktown Circuit	
16 January						Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
23 January		24	25	Public Holiday		26 Australia Day	
		24	25				
		24					
30 January		31					
		31	1	2			
6 February		7	8			Cooktown Circuit	
		7					
		7					
13 February		14	15	16		Aurukun Cape B Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
20 February		21	22			21 ASC Meeting	
		21					
		21					
27 February		28	1	2			
6 March		7	8			Cooktown Circuit	
		7					
		7					
13 March		14				Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
		14	15	16			
20 March		21	22			21 ASC Meeting	
		21					
		21					
27 March		28	29	30			
3 April						Cooktown Circuit	
10 April					Public Holiday	14 Good Friday
Aurukun Cape B Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
17 April	Public Holiday	18	19	20		17 Easter Monday 18 ASC Meeting	
			19	20			
24 April		Public Holiday	26	27		25 Anzac Day
28 FR & WRA Board Meetings	
				27			
1 May	Public Holiday					1 Labour Day
Commissioner Development Week
Cooktown Circuit	

	SITTING CALENDAR 2017
FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES COMMISSION
1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017		
Week Beginning	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Other	
8 May		9	10			Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
		9					
		9					
15 May	15		17	18		16 ASC Meeting
Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit	
22 May		23	24				
		23					
		23					
29 May		30				2 Mabo Day	
		30	31	1			
5 June		6	7			Cooktown Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
		6					
		6					
12 June		13	14	15		Aurukun Cape B Circuit	
19 June		20	21			20 ASC Meeting	
		20					
		20					
26 June							
3 July						Cooktown Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
10 July		11				Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit	
		11	12	13			
17 July		18	19		Public Holiday	Estimates 18-21 July and 25-27 July
21 Cairns Show Day
18 & 19 ASC Meeting	
		18					
		18					
24 July		25	26	27		24 Mossman Show
28 Cooktown Show and Coen Public Holiday
28 July FR & WRA Board Meeting	
31 July		1	2		Public Holiday	4 Aurukun Day
Cooktown Circuit	
		1					
		1					
7 August		8	9	10		Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
14 August		15	16			15 ASC Meeting
Aurukun Cape B Circuit	
		15					
		15					
21 August		22			Public Holiday	25 Doomadgee Day	
		22	23	24			
28 August		29	30				
		29					
		29					

	SITTING CALENDAR 2017
FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES COMMISSION
1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017		
Week Beginning	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Other	
4 September		5	6	7		Cooktown Circuit	
11 September		12	13			12 ASC Meeting
Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
		12					
		12					
18 September							
25 September							
2 October	Public Holiday		4	5		2 Queens Birthday
Cooktown Circuit	
		3					
		3					
9 October		10				Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
		10	11	12			
16 October		17	18			Aurukun Cape B Circuit	
		17					
		17					
23 October	23		25	26		24 ASC Meeting
27 FR & WRA Board Meetings	
30 October		31	1				
		31					
		31					
6 November		7	8	9		Cooktown Circuit	
13 November		14	15			Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
		14					
		14					
20 November	20	21	22	23		21 ASC Meeting	
27 November		28	29			CYAAA schools finish 1/12/2017	
		28					
		28					
4 December						Doomadgee and Mossman schools finish 8/12/2017
Cooktown Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
11 December						12 ASC Meeting
Aurukun Cape B Circuit	
18 December							
25 December	Public Holiday	Public Holiday				25 Christmas Day, 26 Boxing Day
27, 28, 29 Office closed for Xmas	

LEGEND

	Office Days	
	Public Holidays	
	Aurukun Sitting	
	Coen Sitting	
	Doomadgee Sittings	
	Hope Vale Sitting	
	Hope Vale Half Day Meeting	
	Mossman Gorge Sitting	
	Mossman Gorge Half Day Meeting	
ASC	Aurukun Shire Council Meeting	
DSC	Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council Meeting	
0	Cancelled Conference	

OFFICE	CONTACT NAME	Phone	Mobile	Facsimile	
Cairns – Registrar	Ms Maxine McLeod	4057 3871	0409 461 624	4041 0974	
Cairns – A/Client Manager	Mrs Anne Crampton	4057 3874	0419 647 948	4041 0974	
Cairns – Finance Manager	Ms Tracey Patterson	4057 3875	0429 495 353	4041 0974	
Aurukun Local Coordinator	Ms Dellis Gledhill	4060 6185	0428 985 106	4060 6094	
Coen Local Coordinator	Ms Sandi Rye		0417 798 392	4041 0974	
Doomadgee Local Coordinator	Mr Bryce Coxall	4745 8111	0418 666 204	4745 8366	
Hope Vale Local Coordinator	Mr Matt Thompson	4060 9153	0408 482 026	4060 9137	
Mossman Gorge Local Coordinator	Ms Sandi Rye		0417 798 392	4041 0974