President’s Foreword

As a ‘for purpose’ organisation, we continue to align every decision to stay focused on our purpose to help people and communities thrive in what is a rapidly changing world.

This requires us to constantly think about the new challenges that will shape the relationships that people have with loved ones, coworkers, strangers and themselves. With limited resources it requires us to monitor the impact each of our services plays in the bigger picture and to constantly look for opportunities in how we deliver these services.

Sometimes this means asking the tough questions of ourselves – are we the best organisation to deliver a particular service? Could we deliver this service better by partnering with someone else?

The new challenges the community faces are broad, but we can’t be all things to all people. In a state like Tasmania it makes sense to foster stronger working relationships with other organisations to reduce replication and maximise our impact through the glue that binds our community together – respectful relationships.

A new addition to our Board meetings this year has been a segment for staff to speak directly about their programs. This gives the Board a direct insight not just to what’s in our Board papers but that valuable personal insight in to the human consequence of our decisions as well.

Attending the statewide staff conference last year was an immersive opportunity to feel the genuine care that our staff have for the people they serve.

Attending the statewide staff conference last year was an immersive opportunity to feel the genuine care that our staff have for the people they serve. There were a wide range of speakers allowing us to discuss topics and changes in society openly and respectfully, and I really enjoyed the short talks given by some of our own people too as they shared their expertise in their niche topics.

Building a workplace where people are proud to be part of our team, where staff know they’re contributing to a positive impact, and where people aspire to work, is at top of mind for our Board.

We have also seen a restructure and modernisation of the way the Relationships Australia Federation operates and the new national constitution was signed by the full National Council in Hobart in March this year. This structure will continue to underpin strength and collaboration in our Federation strategically as well as operationally, to provide greater impact for the current and future needs of our community especially the upcoming social challenges we share across the nation.

This year we farewell several of our Board members who have been exemplary in their dedication to RA Tas over many years, especially with the heightened requirements of out of session decisions through COVID-19.

This year we farewell several of our Board members who have been exemplary in their dedication to RA Tas over many years, especially with the heightened requirements of out of session decisions through COVID-19.

Dr Sarah Dawkins has been the inaugural Board representative on the Clinical Governance, Quality and Practice Improvement Committee, reporting directly back to our Board and providing an enhanced level of analysis and insight including trends and issue management.

Kristian Falconer departs after 8 years of service, including her most recent role as Secretary. With skills in financial management she’s provided sound advice to the Board to ensure our limited funds have maximum impact. Also, while her time with our organisation is much longer than mine, I remember her alignment to our values of waiving client fees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last but not least, I sincerely thank Wendi Key as Vice President and holding various roles in the Board for over a decade. Wendi has shared her vast experience in community across our subcommittees, and has been integral to the recruitment of Board members and our Leadership Team transition.

This year we will welcome four new Board members. In our recruitment we were absolutely delighted with the calibre of all those who applied and the high regard they had for RA Tas. I thank Emma Lovibond as Treasurer for her support in the extensive interview process as well as all other Directors who participated in helping to scope the needs of the skills and diversity of backgrounds that are most needed to lead RA Tas through our next chapter.

I’d like to acknowledge and thank our CEO Michael Kelly, who remains open to a ‘warts and all’ approach of discussing our challenges as easily and openly as we do our opportunities. This sets a culture for the better. Michael has also been welcomed in to the Social Impact Leadership Australia Program, which doesn’t only keep our CEO at the forefront of ‘for purpose thinking’ but also builds capacity for our organisation overall by including our full organisational structure. Welcome to Mel Harback as our COO after the semi-retirement of Jules Carroll. Thank you Jules for the decade of service to RA Tas and as a critical part of the Leadership Team throughout the COVID-19 period.

Once again the most important asset we have are our staff of 153 dedicated people right across Tasmania. Without them we could not deliver our vision to help Tasmanians achieve positive lives and healthy relationships. Quite simply, thank you.

Rick Marton