Family Responsibilities Commission

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

Quarterly Report
No. 36

April 2017 to June 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 36 with comparisons shown to the previous quarter.
Table 1: Activity from 1 January 2017 to 30 June 2017
Activity	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	Movement	
Within jurisdiction agency notices received	3693	1667	Decreased	
Conferences held	604	642	Increased	
Family Responsibility Agreements entered into	6	6	No change	
Orders made to attend community support services	33	40	Increased	
Conditional Income Management Orders made	79	58	Decreased	
Voluntary Income Management Agreements entered into	5	5	No change	
Clients case managed	187	181	Decreased	
Referrals made	44	45	Increased	
Applications to Amend or End received	16	13	Decreased	
Show Cause conferences held	0	0	No change	

Following on from the transition of wellbeing services from the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) to Apunipima Cape York Health Council (Apunipima) effective from 31 March 2017, the first round of three monthly reports on the progress of clients with case plans transferred to Apunipima were delivered in June. The reports provided information in relation to engagement strategies and assessment, and contained details of intervention plans where appropriate.

In May the annual Local Commissioner Development Week was held with 22 Local Commissioners, Local Coordinators and Registry staff attending. From Local Commissioner reports, the week was a great success and provided opportunities for collaborative learning, consolidation of relationships and opportunities for discussion and interactive dialogue on the future of the Commission.

In the 2017-18 Australian Government budget, funding for income management was extended for the Welfare Reform communities until 30 June 2019. The Australian Government legislative instrument, Social Security (Administration) - Queensland Commission (Family Responsibilities Commission) Specification 2015 which enables the implementation of income management orders under the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, however, was due to expire on 30 June 2017. On 13 June 2017, the Australian Senate referred the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Queensland Commission Income Management Regime) Bill 2017 to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report. The Bill was passed through the Australian Senate on 20 June 2017, extending income management for a further two years until 30 June 2019. The Commission considers this extension vital to enable and support its future operations.

The Commission was advised in January this year of the Aurukun Local Coordinator’s intention to resign (Dellis Gledhill) towards the end of 2017 after nine years of meritorious service. Subsequent to this advice, and the departure of our Hope Vale Local Coordinator (Samantha Foster) in January, we welcomed Matthew Thompson as our new Hope Vale Coordinator, and Robert Hazeldine as our new Doomadgee Coordinator. Bryce Coxall, the departing Doomadgee Coordinator will be transferring to Aurukun in July. Bryce has previous experience with the Aurukun community whilst he was employed with the CYAAA Aurukun campus. He enjoyed his time there and developed many great relationships with the community members of Aurukun.

Table of contents

1.  Activities and Trends		4
2.  Future Direction and Challenges	10
3.  Financial Operations		10

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 30 June 2017.
1.  Activities and Trends

Notices
In quarter 36 the Commission received 2,841 agency notices. Some individuals may have been the subject of more than one agency notice. Of that figure 1,667 notices (59 percent) were within the Commission’s jurisdiction and 1,174 notices (41 percent) were outside the Commission’s jurisdiction.

Table 2: In jurisdiction notices by type and community 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2017

Activity	AU	CO	DM	HV	MG	Total	
District Court notices	2	1	0	0	0	3	
Magistrates Court notices	173	10	0	69	19	271	
Domestic Violence Breach notices	10	3	0	2	1	16	
Domestic Violence Order notices	14	2	0	18	2	36	
School Attendance notices	442	32	559	219	5	1257	
School Enrolment notice	0	1	0	0	0	1	
Child Safety and Welfare notices	40	5	8	16	5	74	
Housing Tenancy notices	0	0	0	7	2	9	
Total	681	54	567	331	34	1667	

Table 3: Not Within jurisdiction notices by type and community 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2017

Activity	AU	CO	DM	HV	MG	Total	
District Court notices	17	0	0	0	2	19	
Magistrates Court notices	163	7	0	121	122	413	
Domestic Violence Breach notices	10	0	0	1	8	19	
Domestic Violence Order notices	10	0	0	3	13	26	
School Attendance notices	62	7	610	14	0	693	
School Enrolment notice	0	0	0	0	0	0	
Child Safety and Welfare notices	1	1	0	0	1	3	
Housing Tenancy notices	0	0	0	1	0	1	
Total	263	15	610	140	146	1174	

Further details of notices within jurisdiction for each community are set out below:
•	Aurukun’s 681 notices constitute 40.85 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction across the welfare reform communities.
•	Doomadgee’s 567 notices constitute 34.01 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction.
•	Hope Vale’s 331 notices constitute 19.86 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction.
•	Coen’s 54 notices constitute 3.24 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction.
•	Mossman Gorge’s 34 notices constitute 2.04 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction.

Since its commencement the Commission has received 33,243 agency notices within its jurisdiction. Total notices decreased from 4,792 in quarter 35 to 2,841 in quarter 36. Of those notices in jurisdiction District Court, Domestic Violence Order, School Attendance and Housing Tenancy notices decreased, whilst Magistrates Court, Domestic Violence Breach, School Enrolment and Child Safety and Welfare notices increased.

District Court notices decreased this quarter to 3 from 8 received in the previous quarter. Aurukun and Coen increased by 1 notice each, whilst Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge decreased by 4 notices, and 3 notices respectively for the quarter. The Commission does not receive District Court notices for Doomadgee.

Magistrates Court notices increased this quarter to 271 from 269 received in the previous quarter. Three out of the four communities which have the Magistrates Court trigger, experienced a decrease in notices this quarter. Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge decreased by 6, 25 and 8 notices respectively, whilst Aurukun increased by 41 notices. The Commission does not receive Magistrates Court notices for Doomadgee.

Domestic Violence Breach notices increased from 9 in quarter 35 to 16 in quarter 36. Three out of the four communities which have the Domestic Violence Breach trigger, experienced an increase in notices this quarter. Aurukun, Coen and Mossman Gorge increased by 7 notices, 2 notices and 1 notice respectively, whilst Hope Vale decreased by 3 notices. The Commission does not receive Domestic Violence Breach notices for Doomadgee.

Domestic Violence Order notices decreased from 42 in quarter 35 to 36 in quarter 36. Coen decreased by 2 notices and Mossman Gorge decreased by 4 notices. Aurukun and Hope Vale remained unchanged with 14 and 18 notices received respectively for the quarter. The Commission does not receive Domestic Violence Order notices for Doomadgee.

School Attendance notices decreased from 3,319 in quarter 35 to 1,257 in quarter 36. Four out of the five communities which have the School Attendance trigger experienced a decrease in notices this quarter. Aurukun, Doomadgee, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge decreased by 819 notices, 1,121 notices, 123 notices and 3 notices respectively, whilst Coen increased by 4 notices. The significant number of school attendance notices received in quarter 35 was due to the changed reporting process of school absences by the Department of Education and Training (DET) 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. 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 in quarter 35 within the timeframes determined by the conference sittings calendar. At the beginning of quarter 36 the Commission implemented in-house resolutions both to its CRM database and to administrative procedures to mitigate the challenges presented by the additional school attendance reports, thus enabling the Commission to count School Attendance notices with a methodology consistent with prior quarters.
School Enrolment notices increased from 0 in quarter 35 to 1 in quarter 36 with Coen increasing by 1 notice.

Child Safety and Welfare notices increased from 33 in quarter 35 to 74 in quarter 36. Four out of the five communities which have the Child Safety and Welfare trigger experienced an increase in notices this quarter. Aurukun, Doomadgee, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge increased by 31 notices, 3 notices, 3 notices and 4 notices respectively, whilst Coen remained unchanged with five notices received for the quarter.
Housing Tenancy notices decreased to 9 from 13 received in the previous quarter. Hope Vale increased by 4 notices and Mossman Gorge decreased by 8 notices. Aurukun and Coen 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 4: In jurisdiction notices by type and quarter 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2017.

Notices by Agency Processed	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	
District Court	9	44	42	8	3	
Children’s Court	24	0	0	0	0	
Magistrates Court	252	300	224	269	271	
Domestic Violence Breach	10	22	7	9	16	
Domestic Violence Order	49	41	50	42	36	
School Attendance	686	800	720	3319	1257	
School Enrolment	4	4	1	0	1	
Child Safety	24	65	79	33	74	
Housing Tenancy	23	18	4	13	9	
TOTAL	1081	1294	1127	3693	1667	

Table 5: In jurisdiction notices by community and quarter 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2017.

Community	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	
Aurukun	498	513	484	1420	681	
Coen	54	78	58	54	54	
Doomadgee	294	336	293	1685	567	
Hope Vale	207	325	255	479	331	
Mossman Gorge	28	42	37	55	34	
TOTAL	1081	1294	1127	3693	1667	

Since commencement in July 2008, 87.9 percent of clients have received more than one notice with 63.4 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, 12.1 percent of clients have received only one notice.

Table 6: FRC clients by number of notices 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2017.

Number of Notices Received	Number of Clients	
1	260	
2	185	
3	153	
4	104	
5	83	
>5	1358	
TOTAL	2143	

(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 forty-two conferences were held across the five communities in quarter 36 resulting in 6 FRA’s being entered into, 40 orders made to attend community support services and 58 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. Thirty-six new clients were added to the Commission’s database during the quarter. Conferences increased from 604 in quarter 35 to 642 in quarter 36.

Table 7: Conferences by community and quarter 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2017.

Community	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	
Aurukun	247	242	228	260	186	
Coen	28	25	43	30	33	
Doomadgee	166	219	200	176	241	
Hope Vale	110	109	122	81	147	
Mossman Gorge	51	52	37	57	35	
TOTAL	602	647	630	604	642	

Referrals
The number of referrals to service providers increased from 44 in quarter 35 to 45 in quarter 36, relating to 41 clients. Since commencement the Commission has referred 977 clients to service providers resulting in approximately 45.1 percent of clients on 12 month service referral plans. Referrals in the communities during the quarter were as follows: Aurukun decreased by 1; Coen decreased by 1; Doomadgee increased by 4; Hope Vale increased by 7 and Mossman Gorge decreased by 8.

Table 8: Referral pathways by referral type and quarter 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2017.

Referral Type	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	
MPower	6	6	14	3	2	
WBC - RDFS	35	38	30	21	26	
WBC – NWRH	3	2	5	5	9	
SCM	0	0	4	2	0	
Parenting Program	11	3	27	9	7	
Home Pride	1	1	0	0	0	
QLD Health	0	4	0	4	1	
Save the Children	0	10	2	0	0	
TOTAL	56	64	82	44	45	

Conditional Income Management
Fifty-eight CIM orders were made in quarter 36, a decrease of 21 from quarter 35. Since the commencement of the Commission 2,122 CIM orders inclusive of original orders, extensions and amendments have been made relating to 818 clients. Further activity during the quarter is as follows: Aurukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge decreased by 17, 2, 7 and 7 CIM orders respectively, whilst Doomadgee increased by 12 CIM orders.

As at 30 June 2017, 37.8 percent of the Commission’s clients have been subject to a CIM order over the past nine years. As at 30 June 2017 there were 166 clients subject to a CIM order which equates to 7.7 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, 123 clients have had an active 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 9: Conditional Income Management orders by community and quarter 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2017.

Community	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	
Aurukun	35	27	21	40	23	
Coen	2	3	8	4	2	
Doomadgee	28	23	18	14	26	
Hope Vale	17	7	6	11	4	
Mossman Gorge	6	9	6	10	3	
TOTAL	88	69	59	79	58	

Case Management
As at 30 June 2017, 181 clients were being case-managed, a decrease from 187 in quarter 35. Aurukun, Coen and Mossman Gorge decreased by 4, 8 and 1 respectively, whilst Doomadgee and Hope Vale increased by 3 and 4 respectively.

Show Cause Notices
During quarter 36, and similar to the past four quarters, no Show Cause hearings have been held.

Applications to Amend or End Agreements or Orders
Thirteen Applications to Amend or End a Family Responsibilities Agreement or Order were received in quarter 36, a decrease of 3 from quarter 35. Outcomes of the 13 applications received are as follows:

	4 Applications granted and Income Management agreements and orders revoked
	1 Application granted with Income Management order and case plan revoked
	1 Application dismissed and client placed on a new case plan
	6 Applications 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 10: Applications to Amend or End FRA or Order by community and quarter 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2017.

Community	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	
Aurukun	8	9	4	7	1	
Coen	0	3	2	0	6	
Doomadgee	0	1	3	3	2	
Hope Vale	7	6	4	5	2	
Mossman Gorge	2	1	0	1	2	
TOTAL	17	20	13	16	13	

2.  Future Direction and Challenges

Local Commissioners
The Local Commissioners are the strength and purpose of our organisation. Unfortunately their roles come at a cost in their daily lives, and the cost is particularly apparent for those Commissioners who have been with the Commission since its commencement in 2008. For that reason the Commission is seeking to recruit new Commissioners in some of the Welfare Reform communities to provide support to existing Commissioners, relief for those Commissioners who would like a break from their community roles and to reinvigorate and expand local authority, ensuring adequate representation of cultural and gender diversity in each community. Efforts commenced this quarter to seek new people as Local Commissioners in Aurukun, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge. Following an approval process, appointment of Local Commissioners is then made under section 12 of the Family Responsibilities Commission Act 2008 by the Governor in Council.

Following on from the annual Local Commissioner Development Week held in the week commencing 2 May 2017, and as a consequence of a roundtable held at that conference in regard to the future focus of the work of the Commission in the Welfare Reform communities, the Commission has contracted Dav’Ange Group Pty Ltd to conduct independent consultations with the Local Commissioners in each community to explore further what role the FRC could/should play in the future to capitalise on the gains achieved since its commencement in 2008. It is anticipated the results of these consultations will be provided to the Commission by the end of August 2017 and will provide benefits in developing a Themes and Issues Statement which could form the basis of executive consultation between the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and identified key stakeholders on the future of the FRC. 

Conference attendance
The Commission has been closely monitoring conference attendance to more accurately identify explained absences from conference and commencing in October 2016 attendance statistics were provided to the Local Commissioners whilst in conference to focus on and develop future strategies to encourage attendance and re-engage with clients where necessary. This extra focus has resulted in increased attendances in the last six months of this financial year across the board in all communities ranging from a 6.3 percentage increase to a 16.3 percentage increase. Best attendances were achieved in the two largest welfare reform communities of Aurukun and Doomadgee of 81.4 and 73.6 percent respectively. Of those not attending, approximately 19 percent were for valid reasons.

Information and Community Technology
This quarter the Commission commenced the design of a public facing web portal to enable external stakeholders to directly access the Commission’s CRM database. The benefit to be realised from this project is timely reporting from service providers by affording them easy access to client case plans which require updates, enabling them to enter more detailed information regarding client attendance and engagement.

A redesigned and redeveloped website was introduced with a view to establishing a fresh, professional and more appropriate online representation of our organisation. The new website showcases the communities in which the Commission operates, the Local Commissioners who are the foundation of our community operations, and provides comprehensive information on who we are and the services we provide.

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 April 2017 to 30 June 2017 totalled $1,025,344. This income consisted of:
•	$407,500 Queensland Government funding
•	$156,500 Queensland Government
•	$450,000 Australian Government funding
•	$8,617 interest received
•	$2,727 received in sundry income.
The balance of available funds in the bank as at 30 June 2017 is $1,633,660.

Expenditure:
•	Expenditure for the period 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2017 was $1,099,642. This total represents 26 percent of the projected annual expenditure of $4,253,232.

Table 11: Expenditure in quarter 36.

1 April 2017 to	Expenditure	1 April 2017 to	Expenditure	
30 June 2017	Qtr 36	30 June 2017	Qtr 36	
				
Employee salaries – FRC staff	$519,640	Internet & IT	$49,145	
Employee salaries – Local Commissioners	$129,350	Motor vehicle	$14,197	
Employee on costs – FRC staff	$84,858	Property	$64,370	
Employee on costs – Local Commissioners	$24,610	Travel	$95,686	
Other employment costs	$5,482	General operating	$82,814	
Communications	$4,639	Other expenses	$24,851	
		Total	$1,099,642	

Table 12: Total FRC Operating Costs 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2017.

Expenditure Category	Percentage of Total Expenditure	
Employee salaries – FRC staff	47.26%	
Employee salaries – Local Commissioners	11.76%	
Employee on costs – FRC staff	7.72%	
Employee on costs – Local Commissioners	2.24%	
Other employment costs	0.50%	
Communications	0.42%	
Internet & IT	4.47%	
Motor vehicle	1.29%	
Property	5.85%	
Travel	8.70%	
General operating	7.53%	
Other expenses	2.26%	
Total	100.0%	

Table 13: Operating Costs by remote location 1 April 2016 to 30 June2017.

Community	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	
Aurukun	$167K	$124K	$117K	$119K	$118K	
Coen	$58K	$39K	$34K	$29K	$52K	
Doomadgee	$185K	$148K	$136K	$145K	$215K	
Hope Vale	$120K	$75K	$72K	$65K	$98K	
Mossman Gorge	$55K	$39K	$38K	$36K	$47K	
TOTAL	$585K	$425K	$397K	$394K	$530K	

Table 14: Quarterly Operating Costs Cairns 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2017.

Community	Qtr 32	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	
Corporate Services	$229K	$245K	$221K	$226K	$263K	
Operations	$248K	$246K	$213K	$257K	$263K	
Gov/Board Reporting	$35K	$36K	$36K	$36K	$36K	
Abnormal Expenditure	$1K	$0K	$2K	$6K	$7K	
TOTAL	$513K	$527K	$472K	$525K	$569K	

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	24 ½ day				
		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 ½ day					
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		20 ½ day			
		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		3 ½ day			
		1					
7 August		8	9	10		Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
14 August		15	16			15 ASC Meeting
Aurukun Cape B Circuit	
		15		17 ½ day			
		15					
21 August		22			Public Holiday	25 Doomadgee Day	
		22	23	24			
28 August		29	30				
		29		31 ½ day			
		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		14 ½ day			
		12					
18 September							
25 September							
2 October	Public Holiday		4	5		2 Queens Birthday
Cooktown Circuit	
		3		5 ½ day			
		3					
9 October		10				Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
		10	11	12			
16 October		17	18			Aurukun Cape B Circuit	
		17		19 ½ day			
		17					
23 October	23		25	26		24 ASC Meeting
27 FR & WRA Board Meetings	
30 October		31	1				
		31		2 ½ day			
		31					
6 November		7	8	9		Cooktown Circuit	
13 November		14	15			Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
		14		16 ½ day			
		14					
20 November	20	21	22	23		21 ASC Meeting	
27 November		28	29			CYAAA schools finish 1/12/2017	
		28		30 ½ day			
		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