Family Responsibilities Commission

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

Quarterly Report
No. 41

July 2018 to September 2018

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 41 with comparisons shown to the previous quarter.
Table 1: Activity from 1 April 2018 to 30 September 2018.
Activity	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	Movement	
Within jurisdiction agency notices received	1462	1532	Increased	
Conferences held	671	698	Increased	
Family Responsibility Agreements entered into	7	5	Decreased	
Orders made to attend community support services	24	21	Decreased	
Conditional Income Management Orders made	53	60	Increased	
Voluntary Income Management Agreements entered into	1	5	Increased	
Clients case managed	101	84	Decreased	
Referrals made	31	24	Decreased	
Applications to Amend or End received	14	16	Increased	
Show Cause conferences held	1	0	Decreased	

As can be seen from the above table, Quarter 41 has been a busy period for the Commission with notices received, conferences held, CIM Orders made, VIM Agreements entered into and Applications to Amend or End up from Quarter 40. 
On 26 July by way of Executive Council Minute No. 312 the Governor in Council, under the Family Responsibilities Commission Act 2008, approved Commissioner Glasgow’s reappointment as Commissioner of the FRC from 1 August 2018 until 31 December 2018.
Aside from finalising the Commission’s Annual Report 2017-18, policy work was a major focus of this quarter with reviews of the Travel Policy, Guidelines for Travel and Hours of Work Arrangements, Business Continuity Plan, Complaints Involving Corrupt Conduct by the Commissioner, Financial Delegations and Open Data Strategy. On-line fraud and corruption training was completed by all Commission employees, and the Local Commissioner Code of Conduct training was amended to include a section on the dangers of engaging in social media, emphasising how our personal activity on-line must be of a standard that is appropriate and proper to not reflect seriously and adversely in relation to our conduct at work.
Due to an upgrade of community infrastructure in Mossman Gorge, the Commission was required to vacate the premises it has occupied since 2008 and move into new premises. With the assistance and cooperation of both the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (DATSIP) and Bamanga Bubu Ngadimunku Aboriginal Corporation (BBNAC), the move was effected in a timely manner with minimal disruption to operations.
The Commission is proud to report that in September Aurukun Commissioner Ada Woolla was appointed to the Queensland First Children and Families Board. The Board will oversee the implementation of Our Way – A generational strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families 2017 – 2037 and Changing Tracks – An action plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families 2017 – 2019. Local Commissioner Woolla has proven herself to be a leader of her community and a professional with personal experience in influencing the community of Aurukun to nurture their children. Her experience with the Family Responsibilities Commission in dealing with school attendance, domestic violence and child safety matters will stand her in good stead. We know that she will prove to be an asset for the Queensland First Children and Families Board, offering her unique Indigenous perspective.

Table of contents

1.  Activities and Trends		4
2.  Future Direction and Challenges	12
3.  Financial Operations		14

Abbreviations
CIM		Conditional Income Management
DATSIP		Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
DoE		Department of Education
DJAG		Department of Justice and Attorney-General
DV		Domestic Violence
DVB		Domestic Violence Breach
DVO		Domestic Violence Order
FRA		Family Responsibilities Agreement
FRC		Family Responsibilities Commission
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 September 2018.
1.  Activities and Trends

Notices
In quarter 41 the Commission received 2,236 agency notices. Some individuals may have been the subject of more than one agency notice. Of that figure 1,532 notices (69 percent) were within the Commission’s jurisdiction and 704 notices (31 percent) were outside the Commission’s jurisdiction.

Table 2: In jurisdiction notices by type and community 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018.
Type of Notice	AU	CO	DM	HV	MG	Total	
District Court notices	3	1	0	0	0	4	
Magistrates Court notices	306	22	0	62	27	417	
Domestic Violence Breach notices	24	5	0	8	5	42	
Domestic Violence Order notices	25	9	0	10	4	48	
School Attendance notices	282	39	424	202	14	961	
School Enrolment notice	4	0	3	1	0	8	
Child Safety and Welfare notices	25	3	5	12	3	48	
Housing Tenancy notices	0	0	0	2	2	4	
Total	669	79	432	297	55	1532	

Further details of notices within jurisdiction for each community are set out below:
•	Aurukun’s 669 notices constitute 43.67 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction across the welfare reform communities.
•	Coen’s 79 notices constitute 5.16 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction.
•	Doomadgee’s 432 notices constitute 28.19 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction.
•	Hope Vale’s 297 notices constitute 19.39 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction.
•	Mossman Gorge’s 55 notices constitute 3.59 percent of the total notices in jurisdiction.

Table 3: Not within jurisdiction notices by type and community 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018.
Type of Notice	AU	CO	DM	HV	MG	Total	
Supreme Court notices	0	0	0	0	0	0	
District Court notices	0	0	0	0	0	0	
Magistrates Court notices	209	3	0	93	115	420	
Domestic Violence Breach notices	7	0	0	11	4	22	
Domestic Violence Order notices	1	2	0	18	8	29	
School Attendance notices	53	11	133	19	5	221	
School Enrolment notice	0	0	1	0	0	1	
Child Safety and Welfare notices	4	0	4	1	1	10	
Housing Tenancy notices	0	1	0	0	0	1	
Total	274	17	138	142	133	704	

Table 4: Court locations for in jurisdiction DVB and DVO notices 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018.
Court Location	Number of DVB notices	Number of DVO notices	Total	
Aurukun	15	25	40	
Cairns	7	2	9	
Coen	3	8	11	
Cooktown	9	8	17	
Mossman	5	4	9	
Weipa	3	1	4	
Total	42	48	90	

Since its commencement the Commission has received 40,363 agency notices within its jurisdiction. Total notices increased from 2,153 in quarter 40 to 2,236 in quarter 41. Of those notices in jurisdiction Magistrates Court, Domestic Violence Breach and School Attendance increased, whilst District Court, School Enrolment, Child Safety and Welfare and Housing Tenancy notices decreased. Domestic Violence Order notices remained unchanged from the previous quarter.

District Court notices decreased this quarter to 4 from 24 received in the previous quarter. Aurukun decreased by 1 notice, Hope Vale decreased by 19 notices and Mossman Gorge decreased by 1 notice, whilst Coen increased by 1 notice for the quarter. The Commission does not receive District Court notices for Doomadgee.

Magistrates Court notices increased this quarter to 417 from 323 received in the previous quarter. Hope Vale decreased by 3 notices, however, Aurukun, Coen and Mossman Gorge increased by 86, 8 and 3 notices respectively. The Commission does not receive Magistrates Court notices for Doomadgee.

Domestic Violence Breach notices increased from 37 in quarter 40 to 42 in quarter 41. Aurukun and Mossman Gorge increased by 4 notices and 3 notices respectively whilst Coen decreased by 2 notices and Hope Vale remained unchanged with 8 notices received for the quarter. The Commission does not receive Domestic Violence Breach notices for Doomadgee.

Domestic Violence Order notices remained unchanged with 48 notices received for the quarter. Aurukun decreased by 3 notices, Coen increased by 5 notices, Hope Vale remained unchanged with 10 notices for the quarter and Mossman Gorge decreased by 2 notices. The Commission does not receive Domestic Violence Order notices for Doomadgee.

School Attendance notices increased from 925 in quarter 40 to 961 in quarter 41. Coen, Doomadgee and Hope Vale increased by 2, 47 and 53 notices respectively, whilst Aurukun and Mossman Gorge decreased by 59 and 7 notices respectively.

School Enrolment notices decreased from 9 in quarter 40 to 8 in quarter 41 with Aurukun and Doomadgee increasing by 2 notices and 3 notices respectively. Coen and Mossman Gorge decreased by 4 notices and 2 notices respectively. Hope Vale remained unchanged with 1 notice received for the quarter.

Child Safety and Welfare notices decreased from 86 in quarter 40 to 48 in quarter 41. Four out of the five communities experienced a decrease in notices this quarter. Aurukun, Coen, Doomadgee and Mossman Gorge decreased by 26, 9, 1 and 2 notices respectively. Hope Vale remained unchanged with 12 notices received for the quarter.

Housing Tenancy notices decreased to 4 from 10 received in the previous quarter. Aurukun and Hope Vale decreased by 2 notices and 4 notices. Mossman Gorge and Coen remained unchanged with Mossman Gorge receiving 2 notices for the quarter, whilst no notices were received for Coen. The Commission does not receive Housing Tenancy notices for Doomadgee.

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

Table 5: In jurisdiction notices by type and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Notices by Agency Processed	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
District Court	21	23	27	24	4	
Magistrates Court	364	345	312	323	417	
Domestic Violence Breach	30	19	14	37	42	
Domestic Violence Order	56	76	54	48	48	
School Attendance	593	1241	800	925	961	
School Enrolment	3	0	10	9	8	
Child Safety	39	51	34	86	48	
Housing Tenancy	3	6	5	10	4	
TOTAL	1109	1761	1256	1462	1532	

Table 6: In jurisdiction notices by community and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Community	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Aurukun	512	605	600	668	669	
Coen	31	96	49	78	79	
Doomadgee	259	537	374	383	432	
Hope Vale	249	479	195	270	297	
Mossman Gorge	58	44	38	63	55	
TOTAL	1109	1761	1256	1462	1532	

Since commencement in July 2008, 87.9 percent of clients have received more than one notice with 64.6 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 7: FRC clients by number of notices 1 July 2008 to 30 September 2018.
Number of Notices Received	Number of Clients	
1	282	
2	186	
3	145	
4	122	
5	88	
>5	1504	
TOTAL	2327	
 (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
A total of 698 conferences pertaining to all matters were held across the five communities in quarter 41, resulting in 5 FRAs being entered into, 21 orders made to attend community support services and 60 CIM orders issued. When compared to last quarter, this represents a decrease of 2 FRAs and 3 orders to attend community support services and an increase of 7 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-three new clients were added to the Commission’s database during the quarter. Conferences increased from 671 in quarter 40 to 698 in quarter 41.

Table 8: Conferences by community and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Community	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Aurukun	225	248	302	294	312	
Coen	34	21	12	28	12	
Doomadgee	204	223	199	230	245	
Hope Vale	101	92	105	92	97	
Mossman Gorge	36	39	27	27	32	
TOTAL	600	623	645	671	698	

Conferences for Domestic Violence related matters
As a subset of the total number of conferences conducted for the quarter, 93 domestic violence conferences were conducted in Aurukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge in quarter 41, representing an increase of 22 from the previous quarter. Domestic violence conferences in the communities during the quarter were as follows: Aurukun increased by 8, Coen decreased by 4, Hope Vale increased by 11 and Mossman Gorge increased by 7 domestic violence conferences.

Table 9: Number of conferences held in relation to domestic violence notices (breaches and orders) per community 
1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018.
Number of Domestic Violence Conferences	AU	CO	HV	MG	Total	
Relating to both a DVB and a DVO notice	7	0	0	3	10	
Relating to a DVB notice	15	2	2	0	19	
Relating to a DVO notice	34	4	18	8	64	
Total	56	6	20	11	93	

Table 10: DV conferences by community and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Community	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Aurukun	34	45	49	48	56	
Coen	6	8	3	10	6	
Hope Vale	16	10	19	9	20	
Mossman Gorge	4	8	5	4	11	
TOTAL	60	71	76	71	93	

Table 11: Number of conferences held in relation to domestic violence notices (breaches and orders) per quarter 
1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Number of Domestic Violence Conferences	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Relating to both a DVB and a DVO notice	5	3	9	6	10	
Relating to a DVB notice	13	11	10	7	19	
Relating to a DVO notice	42	57	57	58	64	
Total	60	71	76	71	93	

Referrals
The total number of referrals to service providers decreased from 31 in quarter 40 to 24 in quarter 41, relating to 22 clients. Since commencement the Commission has referred 1,030 clients to service providers resulting in approximately 44.0 percent of clients on 12 month service referral plans. Referrals in the communities during the quarter were as follows: Aurukun decreased by 2; Coen decreased by 3; Doomadgee decreased by 5; Hope Vale decreased by 1; and Mossman Gorge increased by 4.

Table 12: Referral pathways by referral type and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Referral Type	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
MPower	3	2	0	3	3	
WBC	32	21	6	10	9	
WBC – NWRH	0	3	1	2	3	
SCM	0	3	4	3	0	
Strong Families - Parenting Program	5	2	4	2	1	
QLD Health	0	1	0	0	1	
Save the Children	1	1	2	11	7	
TOTAL	41	33	17	31	24	

Referrals for Domestic Violence related matters
As a subset of the total number of referrals in the quarter, 5 referrals were made in relation to domestic violence conferences in quarter 41, representing an increase of 2 from the previous quarter.

Table 13: Number of referrals in relation to domestic violence notices (breaches and orders) per community 
1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018.
Notice Type	Community	Referral	Provider Total	
DVB	Coen	Wellbeing Centre	2	
	DVB Total		2	
DVO	Mossman Gorge	MPower	1	
	Mossman Gorge	Wellbeing Centre	2	
	DVO Total		3	
GRAND TOTAL			5	

Table 14: Referral pathways in relation to domestic violence notices (breaches and orders) by referral type and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Referral Type	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
MPower	0	1	0	0	1	
WBC	17	15	5	3	4	
Strong Families - Parenting Program	0	1	0	0	0	
QLD Health	0	1	0	0	0	
TOTAL	17	18	5	3	5	

Conditional Income Management
A total of 60 CIM orders were made in quarter 41, an increase of 7 from quarter 40. Since the commencement of the Commission 2,415 CIM orders inclusive of original orders, extensions and amendments have been made relating to 868 clients. Further activity during the quarter is as follows: Coen, Doomadgee and Mossman Gorge increased by 1 order, 2 orders and 5 orders respectively; Aurukun decreased by 1 CIM order; and Hope Vale remained unchanged with 4 CIM orders for the quarter.

As at 30 September 2018, 37.0 percent of the Commission’s clients have been subject to a CIM over the past ten and a quarter years. As at 30 September 2018 there were 148 clients subject to a CIM which equates to 6.3 percent of clients on a CIM 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 when requested by the client.

Table 15: Number of times a client has been placed on conditional income management per community 
1 July 2008 to 30 September 2018.
Number of CIMs	CIM’d only once	CIM’d 
2-5 times	CIM’d
6-10 times	CIM’d
11+ times	Total	
Aurukun	145	211	60	8	424	
Coen	32	27	0	0	59	
Doomadgee	36	57	0	0	93	
Hope Vale	88	106	14	0	208	
Mossman Gorge	30	33	19	2	84	
Total	331	434	93	10	868	

Table 16: Conditional Income Management orders by community and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Community	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Aurukun	28	48	33	23	22	
Coen	0	1	1	2	3	
Doomadgee	19	11	14	22	24	
Hope Vale	5	2	6	4	4	
Mossman Gorge	5	5	2	2	7	
TOTAL	57	67	56	53	60	

Conditional Income Management for Domestic Violence related matters
As a subset of the total number of CIM’s in the quarter, 7 CIM orders inclusive of alterations were made in relation to domestic violence conferences in quarter 41, representing an increase of 5 from the previous quarter.

Table 17: Conditional Income Management orders in relation to domestic violence notices (breaches and orders) by community and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Community	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Aurukun	3	10	4	1	2	
Coen	0	0	0	1	1	
Hope Vale	4	0	1	0	2	
Mossman Gorge	2	1	1	0	2	
TOTAL	9	11	6	2	7	

Voluntary Income Management
The Commission processed 5 VIM agreements this quarter and since the commencement of the Commission in 2008, 137 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.

Case Management
As at 30 September 2018, 84 clients were being case-managed, a decrease from 101 in quarter 40. Aurukun, Coen and Hope Vale decreased by 15, 1 and 8 respectively, whilst Doomadgee increased by 7 for the quarter and Mossman Gorge remained constant with 10 clients case-managed for the quarter.

Show Cause Notices
During quarter 41 no Show Cause hearings were held.

Table 18: Show Cause Notices by community and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Community	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Aurukun	0	0	0	0	0	
Coen	0	0	0	0	0	
Doomadgee	0	0	0	0	0	
Hope Vale	0	0	1	1	0	
Mossman Gorge	0	0	0	0	0	
TOTAL	0	0	1	1	0	

Applications to Amend or End Agreements or Orders
Sixteen Applications to Amend or End an Agreement or Order were received in quarter 41, an increase of 2 from quarter 40. Outcomes of the 16 applications received are as follows:

	9 Applications granted and income management agreements and orders revoked
	1 CIM order at 90 percent revoked and client placed on a new order at 60 percent for 12 months
	1 CIM order percent reduced from 75 to 60 percent for the remaining period
		of the existing order
	1 Application refused
	1 Application rescheduled until next quarter
	3 Applications received at the end of the quarter, decisions 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 19: Applications to Amend or End FRA or Order by community and quarter 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Community	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Aurukun	3	10	10	8	7	
Coen	0	0	5	0	2	
Doomadgee	1	5	9	3	3	
Hope Vale	1	0	1	0	1	
Mossman Gorge	1	2	0	3	3	
TOTAL	6	17	25	14	16	

2.  Future Direction and Challenges

School and community reports
(Note: school attendance percentages stated below have been provided by local school sources. They are unofficial, unpublished and may differ to those released by the Department of Education in term 4)

Aurukun
The July to September period saw an increase in cash flow into community due largely to tax returns, and this has had (as in previous years) a negative cascading affect in community. The police have worked tirelessly during this period with good results in stopping the flow of ‘sly grog’, however, it was evident that some alcohol still made it through to community with increased occurrences of intoxicated community members, assaults and community fighting. The unsettling result during this quarter was unrest in households and on the streets, which then affected school attendance.

The Aurukun State School reported that term 3 primary school attendance (Prep to grade 6) finished on 59 percent and secondary at 33 percent approximately. The school stated that with the total number of high school students fluctuating to and from boarding schools throughout the term, it was difficult to determine an accurate attendance figure. The Local Commissioners report that it was very disheartening to see that a large percentage of parents continued not to prioritise their children’s education. The incentives the Aurukun State School offered to the children in term 3 were well beyond the norm, and the Commissioners were disappointed that community members did not take full advantage of these opportunities. Some if the initiatives and incentives included:
-	weekly ‘Try for 5’ prizes and awards given out each morning at school parade
-	weekly class attendance trophies and awards
-	school band camp which saw 16 of the best attenders travel to Cairns to perform
-	culture camp where parents and children travelled out on homelands for a week camping and spent time with the rangers
-	AFL clinic held at the school for the children
-	Australian Army band and workshops at the school and
-	continued promotion of the World of Dream tours – a trip to the Gold Coast to visit the theme parks (amongst other exciting activities) for the best 20 school attenders (trip scheduled for week 7 of term 4)

Despite these exciting opportunities (aside from other normal drawcards for the children including food club, social interaction and the chance to learn), the local Remote School Attendance Strategy officers (RSAS) were kept very busy visiting parents to discuss their children’s non-attendance. The RSAS team also did an excellent job of an uninterrupted bus service with three school buses each morning providing pick-ups and drop-offs. Additionally one day each week the school leadership team assisted in these bus runs, which proved a positive way to interact with the community. The RSAS program, with the employment of local staff, plays a vital role in maintaining school attendance and the Local Commissioners report that without their efforts the school attendance figures would be a lot lower.

Coen
The Coen Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy commenced term 3 with a lower than usual student attendance percentage of 63 percent for the first three weeks of term. The overall term attendance, however, increased to 87 percent. There were a number of contributing factors to this low attendance in the first few weeks including the Cairns Show, a funeral held out of community, and the Lama Lama Land and Sea Ranger conference being held in Cairns. Families report they are not comfortable leaving their children in Coen, or have no one to care for their children when attending such events. Most families are communicating with the school and requesting school work before leaving community, however, this is still reported as an absence and notified to the Commission.

There are ongoing issues reported with student absences due to parents/carers having to leave community for work training purposes, or to attend block education courses in Cairns. When this occurs and children accompany their parents/carers, there is an expectation for the child to be enrolled in a Cairns school, however, as they do not have a local address they are unable to enrol for a temporary period.

Doomadgee
School attendance for Doomadgee was largely affected by several significant events during the quarter including the Mount Isa rodeo and the Frontier Festival at Gregory Downs (both in August). In addition, funerals had a significant impact upon attendance with the passing of Elders from a couple of larger family groups, the funerals for which were held in Mount Isa and Mornington Island. One pleasing result this quarter has been boarding school numbers which have stayed consistent, and interest remains high in families wanting to make applications for the 2019 school year.

Council issues continued to plague the community, and unfortunately the resultant disarray was not conducive to the Council prioritising, or promoting school attendance which remained in the 50 percent range for the term.

Hope Vale
School attendance got off to slow start for term 3 due to a funeral in the first week of term and a short week which resulted in some families remaining out of community. As a result the Hope Vale Commissioners assisted the school by contacting the Commission’s Local Coordinator for Mossman Gorge to follow up on some families who had not returned to Hope Vale. No significant events impacted in weeks 2 and 3 and attendance slowly increased to 72 percent. The FRC Local Coordinator attended walk to school events on Friday mornings as an initiative to increase attendance and the school also held a barbeque to try and lift attendance at which the Local Coordinator assisted. By week 9 school attendance had increased to 84 percent, but reduced to 79 percent as families left early on holidays.

Mossman Gorge
The Mossman Gorge student cohort of 19 students at Mossman State Primary School has been reported to have achieved 67.79 percent attendance for term 3 2018. Student absence is found to be connected to complex family situations, sorry business and transient families. When a family leaves one community for another, parents/carers are not enrolling their children in the new school straight away, therefore absences are recorded until the family re-enrol their child.

The Mossman Gorge student cohort of 3 students at Mossman State High School is reported to have achieved 13.05 percent attendance for term 3 2018. Student absence for high school has similar complexities to primary students and in addition, after talking with families the Commissioners report that some of the students have found the transition from a nurturing primary school to an independent high school quite confronting. Other families do not value education as important once the student enters high school.

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:

•	Dr Chris Sarra	Director-General, Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (Chair)
•	Mr Troy Sloan	First Assistant Secretary, Legal, Employment, Environment and Evaluation Division, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
•	Mr Noel Pearson		Founder, Cape York Partnership representing the Cape York Institute.

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 July 2018 to 30 September 2018 totalled $1,068,933. This income consisted of:
•	$436,000 Queensland Government funding
•	$156,500 Queensland Government funding – Doomadgee
•	$450,000 Australian Government funding
•	$9,447 interest received
•	$16,986 received in sundry income.
The balance of available funds in the bank as at 30 September 2018 is $2,143,733.

Expenditure:
•	Expenditure for the period 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018 was $922,661. This total represents 26 percent of the projected annual expenditure of $3,557,800.

Table 20: Expenditure in quarter 41.
1 July 2018 to	Expenditure	1 July 2018 to	Expenditure	
30 September 2018	Qtr 41	30 September 2018	Qtr 41	
				
Employee salaries – FRC staff	$492,790	Internet & IT	$50,110	
Employee salaries – Local Commissioners	$93,350	Motor vehicle	$11,412	
Employee on costs – FRC staff	$91,961	Property	$57,036	
Employee on costs – Local Commissioners	$14,144	Travel	$36,759	
Other employment costs	$9,975	General operating	$49,452	
Communications	$3,221	Other expenses	$12,451	
		Total	$922,661	

Quarter 41 disbursement of expenditure by category and percentage of total expenditure.

Table 21: FRC operating costs 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018.
Expenditure Category	Percentage of Total Expenditure	
Employee salaries – FRC staff	53.41%	
Employee salaries – Local Commissioners	10.12%	
Employee on costs – FRC staff	9.97%	
Employee on costs – Local Commissioners	1.53%	
Other employment costs	1.08%	
Communications	0.35%	
Internet & IT	5.43%	
Motor vehicle	1.24%	
Property	6.18%	
Travel	3.98%	
General operating	5.36%	
Other expenses	1.35%	
Total	100.0%	

Regional operational expenditure by location and quarter.

Table 22: Operating costs by remote location 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Community	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Aurukun	$167K	$144K	$116K	$152K	$106K	
Coen	$33K	$34K	$32K	$60K	$24K	
Doomadgee	$137K	$149K	$124K	$154K	$142K	
Hope Vale	$74K	$72K	$69K	$91K	$60K	
Mossman Gorge	$30K	$37K	$35K	$40K	$28K	
TOTAL	$441K	$436K	$376K	$497K	$360K	

Cairns Registry expenditure for quarter 41 compared to the previous four quarters.

Table 23: Quarterly operating costs Cairns 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2018.
Community	Qtr 37	Qtr 38	Qtr 39	Qtr 40	Qtr 41	
Corporate Services	$253K	$248K	$219K	$228K	$236K	
Operations	$234K	$213K	$235K	$243K	$289K	
Gov/Board Reporting	$56K	$49K	$36K	$46K	$38K	
TOTAL	$543K	$510K	$490K	$517K	$563K	

APPENDIX A			

	SITTING CALENDAR 2018
FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES COMMISSION
1 July 2018 to 31 December 2018		
Week Beginning	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Other	
2 July						Cooktown Circuit
Doomadgee – Gulf Circuit	
9 July							
16 July		17	18		Public Holiday	20 Cairns Show Day
17 ASC Meeting
Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit	
		17					
23 July *	Public Holiday	24	25	26		23 Mossman Show
27 Cooktown Show and Coen Public Holiday
27 ASC Meeting (Budget)
Estimates: Tuesday 24/7/2018 – Friday 27/7/2018	
30 July *		31	1	2		Cooktown Circuit
Estimates: Tuesday 31/7/2018 – Thursday 2/8/2018	
		31					
6 August *	Public Holiday	7	8	9		6 Aurukun Day
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
13 August *		14	15	16		Aurukun Cape B Circuit	
		14					
20 August			22	23	Public Holiday	24 Doomadgee Day
21 ASC Meeting	
27 August *		28	29	30			
				30			
3 September *		4	5	6		Cooktown Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
10 September *		11	12	13			
		11					
17 September *	17		19	20		18 ASC Meeting
Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit	
				20			
24 September							
1 October	Public Holiday					1 Queens Birthday
Cooktown Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
8 October *		9	10	11			
15 October		16	17	18		Aurukun Cape B Circuit	
		16					
22 October *		23	24	25		23 ASC Meeting	
		23					
29 October *		30	31	1			

	SITTING CALENDAR 2018
FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES COMMISSION
1 July 2018 to 31 December 2018		
Week Beginning	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Other	
5 November *		6	7	8		Cooktown Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
				8			
12 November		13	14	15		Aurukun Cape B & Coen Cape A Circuit	
19 November *		20	21	22		20 ASC Meeting	
		20					
26 November *		27	28	29			
		27					
3 December		4	5			CYAAA schools finish 7/12/2018
Cooktown Circuit
Doomadgee - Gulf Circuit	
10 December						11 ASC Meeting
Aurukun, Doomadgee and Mossman schools finish 14/12/18
Aurukun Cape B Circuit	
17 December							
24 December		Public Holiday	Public Holiday			25 Christmas Day, 26 Boxing Day
27, 28 Office closed for Xmas	
31 December		Public Holiday				1 New Year’s Day 
31 Office closed for Xmas	

LEGEND
	Office Days		
	Public Holidays		
	Aurukun Sitting	* Aurukun sitting alone	
	Coen Sitting		
	Doomadgee Sitting	* Doomadgee sitting alone	
	Hope Vale Sitting	* Hope Vale sitting alone	
	Mossman Gorge Sitting		
ASC	Aurukun Shire Council Meeting		
0	Cancelled Conference		

OFFICE	CONTACT NAME	Phone	Mobile	Facsimile	
Cairns – Commissioner	Mr David Glasgow	4081 8413	0439 776 798	4041 0974	
Cairns – Registrar	Ms Maxine McLeod	4081 8412	0409 461 624	4041 0974	
Cairns – Client Manager (Tue, Wed)	Ms Camille Banks	4081 8410	0438 195 342	4041 0974	
Cairns – Acting Client Manager
	 (Mon, Thurs, Fri)	Mrs Anne Crampton	4081 8410	0419 647 948	4041 0974	
Cairns – Finance Manager	Ms Tracey Patterson	4081 8411	0429 495 353	4041 0974	
Aurukun Local Coordinator	Mr Bryce Coxall	4060 6185	0428 985 106	4041 0974	
Coen Local Coordinator	Ms Sandi Rye		0417 798 392	4041 0974	
Doomadgee Local Coordinator	Mr Robbie Hazeldine	4745 8111	0418 666 204	4041 0974	
Hope Vale Local Coordinator	Mr Matt Thompson	4060 9153	0408 482 026	4041 0974	
Mossman Gorge Local Coordinator	Ms Sandi Rye		0417 798 392	4041 0974