Operational highlights
The following report details our performance for the period 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
The Commission has remained committed to a process of continual improvement in an ongoing effort to progress on our commitment to create a capable, active and innovative organisation. During 2016-17 a number of projects were undertaken to introduce new, or amend existing practices towards increasing efficiency in administrative processes and to aid in the delivery of more effective services. These projects included:
•	implementation of a new case management reporting framework
•	conversion of old community specific, alpha-numeric client ID numbers to unique identifiers, eliminating complications arising from clients moving between communities
•	development of a web based portal to facilitate service provider reporting for clients on case plans
•	a number of database administrative and technological changes and upgrades to facilitate a ‘work smart’ approach.
Further process improvement projects arose from the need to change administrative procedures in response to a change in the reporting of School Attendance notices from DET in January 2017. In previous years the Commission received a School Attendance notice when a child reached a threshold of three unexplained absences in a term. Once that threshold was reached, no further absence in that term was notified, however, attendance percentages for children enrolled at the school were routinely reported on a weekly basis which enabled Commissioners to monitor progress. The amendments to DET’s reporting resulted in a School Attendance notice being generated each time a three day absence threshold was reached during the term. This resulted in an increase in the number of notifications received from 1230 for the period 1 January – 30 June 2016 to 4576 for the same period in 2017, an increase of 272 percent. In addition the report containing weekly attendance percentages for enrolled children was withdrawn, and requests for individual attendance reports for children have had to be made directly to the relevant schools. This change in reporting has had a significant impact on the workload of registry staff and Local Coordinators, and has also impacted on the scope of information available to the Local Commissioners to use in conference, necessitating changes to administrative processes.
April 2017 saw the responsibility for the operation of the WBCs in Aurukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge being handed over from the RFDS to Apunipima. This necessitated the transition of the case plans of 117 clients from RFDS to Apunipima for the provision of service. Case workers from RFDS compiled summary reports for 71 clients in Aurukun, 22 clients in Coen, 8 clients in Hope Vale and 16 clients in Mossman Gorge, which were subsequently forwarded to Apunipima.
The change in responsibility for the WBCs afforded the Commission the timely opportunity to implement the first stage of a new reporting framework that was developed as the result of a recommendation from a service system audit conducted in February 2016. The recommendation was that the FRC institute a standardised, quarterly reporting framework to facilitate the collection of meaningful information in relation to the progress of clients referred to support services as an outcome from conference. The new reporting framework aims to:
•	improve the timeliness and usefulness of reports as a tool for conferencing
•	enhance the FRC’s ability to analyse and evaluate program effectiveness and the quality of reports to government
•	provide greater service provider accountability and improve service delivery to clients.
The new reports replaced the former Monthly Progress Reports with a more comprehensive quarterly report based on a clinical intervention plan. The first of the quarterly progress reports for the period from April to June 2017, were submitted to the Commission in early July.
A web based portal to enable the report data to be entered directly online is currently under development. The new reporting framework will be rolled out to other service providers following the portal going live early in the next financial year.
To supplement the information provided in the service provider progress reports and to ensure Commissioners have access to up to date information during conference, the Commission has established an internal process whereby Local Coordinators seek a fortnightly update from service providers on those clients scheduled to attend conference the following week. The Commission’s CRM database has been enhanced to allow these fortnightly updates to be incorporated into the case management information already collected through the quarterly progress reports. The data has assisted in providing the Commission with a better picture of both individual and broader client outcomes as they progress through a case plan.
The 2016-17 year saw a widely reported period of upheaval for the Aurukun State School. A security assessment and review of education sparked by incidents of violence from a group of young people, recommended that the DET take the lead in the delivery of education services in the community, working alongside GGSA. During a visit to Aurukun in January 2017 Noel Pearson set aside any differences to deliver a strong, positive message to the community that regardless of the provider, the education of children is the key to the future.
“So I’m not here for the government. I’m not here for the Council. I’m not here for my own organisation. I’m here for your children. I want to support the Mayor in his message: bring your children and grandchildren to school, because that is the only way to make the Wik people strong……”
The 2015-2016 Annual Report identified difficulties faced by Local Commissioners in offering support to victims of domestic violence due to the Commission not being provided with details of the aggrieved in the notification of Domestic Violence Orders and Domestic Violence Breaches. Following representations to the Director-General of DJAG the Commission was authorised to obtain a copy of a record relating to proceedings under the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012.
The Commission, whilst respectfully acknowledging cultural protocols surrounding deaths in Indigenous communities, notes the continuing impact of sorry business on school attendance in some communities. Sorry business includes attending funerals and taking part in mourning activities in the community. This can take time out of normal everyday life, sometimes necessitating travelling long distances, and the closure of businesses in community. It is important in Indigenous cultures that people participate in sorry business, however Doomadgee reported community closures due to sorry business on at least 15 days between the 1 February and 30 June this year. Attendance percentages were driven down further by student absences in the days before and after funerals, or for absences due to travel to other areas for mourning. Some Councils have taken steps to lessen the effect of sorry business on school attendance by encouraging a community practice of holding funerals on Fridays where possible and appropriate.
Performance statement
Following are the performance measures used by the Commission to identify workload and operating results.
Performance measures	2015-2016
actual result	2016-2017
actual result	
Percentage of conferences conducted independently by Local Commissioners	New Measure	36.31%	
Percentage of CIM clients who have had CIM orders revoked or reduced	28%	34.29%	
Percentage of conferences attended	New Measure	65.56%	

It should be noted that the 36.31 percent of conferences conducted independently by Local Commissioners is inclusive of conferences held in Doomadgee where the Local Commissioners have yet to sit in conference alone. The percentage of conferences conducted independently by Local Commissioners across the four remaining communities of Aurukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge was 54.30 percent for 2016-17.

Discontinued measure
The following performance measure reported in the 2015-2016 Annual Report below has been discontinued, as the Local Commissioners conducted 916 conferences independently in both 2015-16 and 2016-17, with Hope Vale, Mossman Gorge and Coen Local Commissioners sitting independently in over 78 percent of conferences held in 2016-17. At the writing of this annual report the Local Commissioners in Doomadgee have yet to commence sitting alone in conference. This measure was discontinued and the new measure of the percentage of conferences conducted independently by Local Commissioners has been reported instead, in-line with our 2016-2020 strategic plan on page 15.
Discontinued measure	2015-2016
actual result	2016-2017
actual result	
Percentage increase in Local Commissioners sitting without Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner	19%	N/A	

School attendance rate for 2013-2017 term 2
School Attendance Data	Term 2 2013	Term 2 2014	Term 2 2015	Revised Term 2 2016	Term 2 2017	
Aurukun - Overall	-	60.9%	57.5%	43.5%	52.5%	
   Aurukun community – Primary4	63.4%	64.7%	57.5%	43.5%	58.1%	
   Aurukun community – Secondary1,4	-	23.2%	-	-	32.7%	
Coen2	89.3%	92.6%	88.7%	89.2%	86.8%	
Doomadgee - Overall	46.8%	59.8%	55.9%	49.6%	56.1%	
   Doomadgee Primary 	49.6%	63.7%	58.9%	54.9%	59.5%	
   Doomadgee Secondary 	24.9%	41.8%	46.2%	35.6%	46.0%	
Hope Vale	70.2%	77.6%	83.3%	76.7%	75.3%	
Mossman Gorge community2,3	84.0%	64.0%	67.2%	72.4%	63.8%	

1. In 2013 Aurukun secondary campus schooling transitioned to the Alternative Secondary Pathway (ASP) program facilitated by Western Cape College (WCC). Term 2 2013 attendance rate for WCC – Aurukun Secondary Campus has been withdrawn from the data table because administrative processes used at the school during that period resulted in attendance rates that were not comparable over time, or with other schools. Effective from 1 January 2015 DET closed the ASP program.
2. Caution should be used when examining the percentage changes in attendance for both Coen and the Mossman Gorge community. Both these have relatively small numbers of students and a small numerical change can result in a large percentage difference in the overall attendance figures.
3. Mossman Gorge community attendance includes attendance for school-identified students from Mossman State School and Mossman State High School.
4. In Term 2 2016, Aurukun Campus of CYAAA was closed from 11-18 May (inclusive) and again from 26-30 May (inclusive). An alternative education program was offered for the remainder of the term covering 31 May to 24 June. Attendance at this alternative program was lower than the normal rates for this term. Aurukun Campus of CYAAA commenced a secondary year level program from August 2016. From 21 November 2016 Aurukun State School was re-established as a stand-alone school.

Notices within jurisdiction
From 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017, the Commission received a total of 11,616 agency notices of which 7,781 were in jurisdiction, comprising:
Table 1: In jurisdiction notices by type and community 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Type of Notice	AU	CO	DM	HV	MG	Total	
District Court	65	1	0	22	9	97	
Magistrates Court	618	61	0	312	73	1064	
Domestic Violence Breach	28	10	0	10	6	54	
Domestic Violence Order	76	13	0	65	15	169	
School Attendance	2193	123	2831	917	32	6096	
School Enrolment	2	2	0	1	1	6	
Child Safety and Welfare	111	31	50	48	11	251	
Housing Tenancy	5	3	0	15	21	44	
Total	3098	244	2881	1390	168	7781	

Aurukun accounted for 39.81 percent of the total notices that were in jurisdiction, Doomadgee accounted for 37.03 percent, Hope Vale accounted for 17.86 percent, Coen accounted for 3.14 percent and Mossman Gorge accounted for 2.16 percent.
Table 2: In jurisdiction notices by type and quarter 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Type of Notice	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	Total	
District Court	44	42	8	3	97	
Magistrates Court	300	224	269	271	1064	
Domestic Violence Breach	22	7	9	16	54	
Domestic Violence Order	41	50	42	36	169	
School Attendance	800	720	3319	1257	6096	
School Enrolment	4	1	0	1	6	
Child Safety and Welfare	65	79	33	74	251	
Housing Tenancy	18	4	13	9	44	
Total	1294	1127	3693	1667	7781	

Table 3: In jurisdiction notices by community and quarter 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Community	Qtr 33	Qtr 34	Qtr 35	Qtr 36	Total	
Aurukun	513	484	1420	681	3098	
Coen	78	58	54	54	244	
Doomadgee	336	293	1685	567	2881	
Hope Vale	325	255	479	331	1390	
Mossman Gorge	42	37	55	34	168	
Total	1294	1127	3693	1667	7781	

Notices not within jurisdiction
The Commission also received 3,835 notices which were not within jurisdiction, comprising:
Table 4: Not within jurisdiction notices by type and community 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Type of Notice	AU	CO	DM	HV	MG	Total	
District Court	47	0	0	11	12	70	
Magistrates Court	653	56	0	494	665	1868	
Domestic Violence Breach	22	0	0	10	32	64	
Domestic Violence Order	19	5	0	41	73	138	
School Attendance	160	17	1441	56	0	1674	
School Enrolment	0	0	0	1	0	1	
Child Safety and Welfare	4	1	7	3	1	16	
Housing Tenancy	0	1	0	2	1	4	
Total	905	80	1448	618	784	3835	

Notices overview
Of significance in the number of within jurisdiction notices received in this financial year is the rise in the number of School Attendance notices. An increase of 143 percent was recorded from the 2015-16 year with a 361 percent increase occurring between quarter 34 and quarter 35. Changes in the reporting methodology of DET resulted in a School Attendance notice after every third day of unexplained absence, compared to previous years where a notice was generated only once in a term after three unexplained absences. DET will be working with the Commission to rectify the ‘over-reporting’ of absence notices early in the 2017-18 financial year.
Notable also is the increase in the numbers of notices relating to domestic violence matters. The year saw the number of within jurisdiction domestic violence notices received increase from 111 in 2015-16 to 223 in 2016-17 (101 percent), and not within jurisdiction domestic violence notices increase from 85 to 202 (138 percent) for the same period. In the absence of any concrete evidence explaining the rise, it could be surmised that the figures may be indicative of increased reporting as a result of greater awareness that domestic violence is a crime, due to widespread publicity campaigns aimed at addressing the issue in Australia1.
Previously reported but not included in the 2016-17 figures were statistics for notices received from the Childrens Court. 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 1992. 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.
The Commission’s 2015-2016 Annual Report addressed the issue of an overall decline from previous years in the number of Child Safety and Welfare notices. The decline was attributed to changes in QPS policy for reporting child concern matters to DCCSDS. During the year the Commission supported DCCSDS and QPS through reforms in child protection and on measures and strategies aimed at increasing community awareness and strengthening reporting obligations. The figures show an increase in the number of notices from 157 in 2015-16 to 251 in 2016-17 for Aurukun, Coen and Doomadgee, whilst Hope Vale decreased and Mossman Gorge remained unchanged.
1.	Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, Australian Government, Department of Social Services; https://www.dss.gov.au/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/australias-national-research-organisation-for-womens-safety

From 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017, 37.6 percent of the Commission’s clients who received a notice in the financial year received more than five notices. This increase of 15 percent from last year is again attributed to the increase in the number of School Attendance notices received as a result of the changes in DET’s reporting methods.
Table 5: FRC clients by number of notices 
1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017
Number of Notices Received	
Number of Clients	

1	
308	

2	
172	

3	
133	

4	
87	

5	
68	

>5	
462	

TOTAL	
1230	

Note: Agency notices are counted on the basis of the number of persons named on the notice. For example a Child Safety and Welfare notice relating to two parents is counted as two notices and if three children from one family have an unexplained absence on one day, it is counted as three individual notices.
Conferences
From 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017 a total of 2,523 conferences were held with 65.56 percent of conferences attended by clients. Of those not attended 21.52 percent were for explained reasons.
Table 6: FRC conferences by community and quarter
1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Community	
Qtr 33	
Qtr 34	
Qtr 35	
Qtr 36	

Aurukun	
242	
228	
260	
186	

Coen	
25	
43	
30	
33	

Doomadgee	
219	
200	
176	
241	

Hope Vale	
109	
122	
81	
147	

Mossman Gorge	
52	
37	
57	
35	

TOTAL	
647	
630	
604	
642	

	Referrals
Referrals to service providers are an integral part of achieving the Commission’s strategic outcomes of improved community wellbeing and improved community responsibility. From 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017, 235 referrals for 183 clients were made to service providers.
Table 7: FRC referral pathways by referral type and quarter 
1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Referral Type	
Qtr 33	
Qtr 34	
Qtr 35	
Qtr 36	

MPower	
6	
14	
3	
2	

WBC	
38	
30	
21	
26	

WBC - NWRH	
2	
5	
5	
9	

SCM	
0	
4	
2	
0	

Parenting Program	
3	
27	
9	
7	

QLD Health	
4	
0	
4	
1	

Home Pride	
1	
0	
0	
0	

Save the Children	
10	
2	
0	
0	

Total	
64	
82	
44	
45	

During the reporting period, community support services were provided by: RFDS and Apunipima WBCs; Opportunity Hub services delivered by CYP including the Parenting Program and MPower money management; school case managers at schools; Queensland Health; Save the Children; and North and West Remote Health. Referrals to the WBCs in Aurukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge account for 49 percent of all referrals made by the Commission in this reporting period. The Home Pride program was discontinued as a referral option in November 2016.
CYP reported a repositioning of their Parenting Program from October 2016 to incorporate addressing issues related to parenting such as drug and alcohol problems and family support networks. Child and Family Practitioners and Parenting Consultants were able to assess client needs and develop appropriate case plans with options including programs such as ‘PPP’ (Parenting Under Pressure), ‘Family as First Teachers’ and ‘Circle of Security’.	

Doomadgee Local Commissioners continue to consider referrals to School Attendance Officers, WBC and Save the Children. Commissioners are working to encourage service providers to effectively engage clients and undertake a range of strategies to enhance client engagement. Attendance rates to service providers as a tangible measure of engagement remain low. Factors contributing to poor attendance include lack of proactive attempts to engage, insufficient availability of programs, insufficient notice of programs scheduled and inadequate facilities and resources, particularly in relation to the location of the WBCs.
Seventy-five case plan referrals were made as an outcome from conferences in relation to domestic violence issues. One referral was to MPower for money management, three referrals to Queensland Health, seven to Parenting Programs, 45 to RFDS WBCs and 19 to Apunipima WBCs.
As previously reported RFDS WBCs advised from the commencement of the receipt of domestic violence notices that they had limited capacity to deal with domestic violence referrals. Apunipima offer counselling for domestic and family violence victims and perpetrators. In 2017 Queensland Corrective Services notified the Commission of the facilitation of its Positive Futures: Mens Program for family violence. The program involves two three hour modules per week, in the evening, for six consecutive weeks.
Conditional income management
In this reporting period 265 CIM orders were issued to 212 clients. CIM remains a flexible tool used by Commissioners to improve the welfare of children by encouraging families to ensure basic household needs are met.
The total number of clients subject to CIM orders has remained fairly consistent over the years. The addition of Doomadgee clients in the total count from 2015-16 has been offset by a reduction in the numbers of clients on CIM orders in Aurukun and Hope Vale.
Contrary to perception, and surprisingly to many, the number of clients subject to income management orders remains consistently low. The point in time percentage of FRC clients actually on a conditional income management order (measured at the end of each quarter) has remained below 10 percent of the total number of clients since January 2015.
	The Commission processed 21 Voluntary Income Management (VIM) agreements during this reporting period. VIM provides a practical option for all welfare reform community members to help manage their finances. As an example, some elderly community members who found themselves vulnerable to family pressures and requests for money have recently signed up to a BasicsCard through VIM.
Table 8: Conditional income management orders by community and quarter 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Community	
Qtr 33	
Qtr 34	
Qtr 35	
Qtr 36	

Aurukun	
27	
21	
40	
23	

Coen	
3	
8	
4	
2	

Doomadgee	
23	
18	
14	
26	

Hope Vale	
7	
6	
11	
4	

Mossman Gorge	
9	
6	
10	
3	

TOTAL	
69	
59	
79	
58	

Case management monitoring
As at 30 June 2017, 181 clients were being case-managed through active case plans pertaining to referrals.
The Commission continues to monitor case management statistics, primarily through progress reports provided by community support services.
The introduction of the new reporting framework this year aims to improve on information in relation to key areas of focus for the FRC including intervention strategies and engagement. The reports provide data to enable meaningful analysis and measurement of outcomes.
In conjunction with the implementation of the new reporting framework the Commission engaged the services of an external IT consultant to develop a web based portal to enable service providers to enter client progress reports online. The portal is expected to go live early in the next financial year.

Show cause notices
From 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017, no show cause hearings were held.
Show cause notices were originally intended as a conferencing tool to address non-compliance with a requirement under a case plan to attend a community support service. The proposed action for a show cause notice given to a person included imposing an income management order, increasing the proportion of the person’s welfare payments to be income managed or increasing the period for which the person is subject to income management. From January 1 2014 the increase of the maximum rate for income management to 90 percent has effectively superseded the show cause process.
Amend or end applications
Table 9: Applications to amend or end FRA or order by community and quarter 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Community	
Qtr 33	
Qtr 34	
Qtr 35	
Qtr 36	

Aurukun	
9	
4	
7	
1	

Coen	
3	
2	
0	
6	

Doomadgee	
1	
3	
3	
2	

Hope Vale	
6	
4	
5	
2	

Mossman Gorge	
1	
0	
1	
2	

TOTAL	
20	
13	
16	
13	

The FRC Act invites clients to apply to amend or end a Commission order or agreement. The Commissioners continue to consider a number of options when determining the outcome of applications, including varying a case plan, amending the income management percentage or ending the order or agreement. The Commission views applications to amend or end agreements or orders as an indicator of client confidence in the Commission’s ability to provide a fair, just and equitable process. Sixty percent of the applications received this year resulted in a revocation of the income management order or agreement.
Applications to amend or end voluntary income management are also heard in the conference setting,
	unless the client indicates to the Commission that the request requires urgent attention. If so, the application may be heard and a decision made outside of a scheduled conference date.
Commissioners continue to use applications to amend or end income management as a way of encouraging engagement with support services, improve school attendance and to incentivise overall behaviour change.
From 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017 a total of 62 applications to amend or end an FRA or order were received. The applications resulted in:
	34	income management agreements and orders revoked
	1	income management order and case plan revoked
	1	income management order revoked and client ordered to comply with their case plan
	1	income management order and case plan revoked and client placed on a new case plan
	1	CIM order percentage reduced from 90 to 75 percent for the remainder of the original income management order
	3	CIM order percentages reduced from 90 to 60 percent for the remainder of the original income management order
	1	CIM order percentage reduced from 75 to 60 percent for the remainder of the original income management order and client placed on a new case plan
	1	CIM order percentage reduced from 90 to 60 percent for the remainder of the original income management order and client placed on a new case plan
	13	applications dismissed
	2	applications dismissed and clients ordered to comply with their case plans
	1	application dismissed and client placed on a new CIM order at 90 percent for a period of 12 months
	2	applications rescheduled for the 2017-18 financial year
	1	application received at the end of the financial year - decisions pending.