social justice
diversity
compassion
respect
annual report
2017/18
Our vision is to achieve a society that values the diversity of its people and actively provides support to ensure meaningful social and economic participation. We support newcomers and other vulnerable Australians to prosper. We build our sector’s capacity and create positive, social outcomes with government, corporations and communities.
100+
2,300+
media stories about SSI were each read by an average of 5,000 people
at least165
children each day were cared for by SSI’s Multicultural Foster Care program
327
people were supported as artists or participants in SSI Arts and Culture project
2017/18
impact
1,100+
people secured employment with SSI’s support, including 700+ people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds
5,500+
people received assistance with their employment goals
3,932
people seeking asylum were supported to live in the community
26,975
clients came through the doors of SSI’s four primary offices
190+
young people engaged with Youth Collective activities
9,992
families connected with their community during Community Hubs activities
30,000+
individual sessions were held with migrants and refugees through the NSW Settlement Partnership
4,200+
refugees were supported in the early stages of their settlement journey
300+
volunteers contributed approximately 58,000 hours of time
4,737
People with disability and 1,006 family members and carers were supported towards their goals
entrepreneurs with a disability or from refugee backgrounds were supported to establish and expand small businesses
From the Chair
As an organisation, SSI must be front-footed in our approach to emerging trends and expectations — learning from other sectors, from academia and research, and from our counterparts overseas. SSI and its board observes and responds to these developments to ensure we remain a standard setter in our sector.
This past year, SSI’s learning and development journey hugely benefited from a range of very significant opportunities that reflect this imperative. First and foremost, we have a strong leader in Violet. She and her team have availed themselves of opportunities here and overseas to both showcase SSI’s work and to bring back information to further our growth.
Well-deserved accolades for Violet — including 2017 Telstra Business Woman of the Year and 2018 InStyle Women of Style Award for Charity and Community — not only demonstrate the esteem in which she is held, but they have also increased awareness of SSI’s work and garnered support for newcomers to Australia.
With the successful acquisition of a number of new contracts, we have increased our work on risk management, improving systems that will serve us well into the future. Our service standards meet the requirements of our funding bodies and accreditation standards, speaking to our transparency and performance. Always referencing our own goals against that of external benchmarking ensures we also continue to meet community expectations. Other ways include being in dialogue with sector collaborators through initiatives such as the DiverseAbility Conference.
We need to keep reflecting on how we maximise can efforts in the service of our communities. Our growing international protection work and the appointment of a Victorian State Director for Strategy, Growth our Partnerships allow us to envision a future with increased national and international possibilities. At present, this is seed work and will be undertaken thoughtfully, responsibly, and with respect for other services on the ground. We are looking at gaps and opportunities to help the people we serve; there is no value in duplicating efforts.
The extraordinary growth over recent years has required us to keep reviewing the skills needed at board level. We are introducing board evaluations this year to ensure that our people and processes will serve the needs of a fast-paced, high functioning, innovative organisation.
I continue to value the balance of our independent and member-based director contributions, as we explore new frontiers together, and look forward to the year ahead.
- SSI Chair Elisabeth Shaw
From the CEO
We remain a client-centred organisation but with an improved capability that will enhance our work with clients, members, partners and other stakeholders.
A focus on sustainability and strengthening our systems in 2017-18 has left SSI in a better position than ever as we enter the new financial year.
Extensive business planning has led to the implementation of a new strategic and business plan that builds on the solid foundation of our successes to date and sets out a roadmap to take SSI to our next stage of growth and maturity. It focuses on four strategic priorities that reflect the breadth and scale of our work in 2017 and beyond.
We have also realigned our organisational structure to capitalise on opportunities for growth. We remain a client-centred organisation but with an improved capability that will enhance our work with clients, members, partners and other stakeholders. The reorganisation will see SSI adopt a flatter structure that reflects our strategy, addresses key risks and highlights organisational priorities.
Another cornerstone of the development of stronger systems at SSI has been an IT review that will see our organisation push ahead with an integrated digital and technology strategy. These organisational improvements will give us the flexibility to take advantage of new commercial opportunities, along with a more mobile workforce, additional support for our rapidly expanding geographic footprint, and more meaningful data analytics. For SSI to go to the next level, we must use integrated digital solutions to enhance service delivery and to improve the experiences of the clients, donors and stakeholders who engage with our organisation.
To enhance our organisational sustainability, SSI also made inroads into new geographic areas in 2017-18, including our first interstate move into Victoria and the launch of several new offices in regional NSW. We do our best work when we are close to our clients and partners. Rapid expansion in our refugee settlement and employment has seen us co-design bespoke partnerships with our MRC members and secure a new premise in Liverpool, where we are supporting vulnerable individuals and families close to their communities and creating new relationships with local employers and other service providers.
After spending 2017-18 focused on systems and sustainability, SSI is now navigating a new path of ambitious but exciting change and new horizons in the year ahead.
- SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis