Annual Report – Year 2022

Ethnic Council President’s Report – Year 2022

It is very pleasing this year that we can conduct an in person Annual General Meeting after last year being so impacted by Covid that Government permitted community associations to continue without the need for an AGM. The Ethnic Council complied with all of the legal requirements including an independent audit, the preparation of an annual report and statutory reporting to Consumer Affairs.

Covid clearly impacted our office. and staff who were required to work remotely for extended periods and still met all our funding requirements in terms of service delivery. The impact of Covid was severely felt across all of the Greater Shepparton region and our staff worked tirelessly to ensure our multicultural communities were kept informed. Specific funding for Health messaging including first languages was received and strategic partnerships were formed with Greater Shepparton Council and Goulburn Valley Health to support the testing and vaccination program through the employment of bilingual workers.

Although Covid has been and will remain a priority issue the Ethnic Council continued to maintain or increase the level of service delivery by attracting new grants funding and utilising technology to assist staff working remotely.

I particularly note that our financial position is very sound, and funding is assured for most programs over the next 12 months or more. To maintain our governance oversight the Board will continue to be well informed on the functions and the financial probity of service delivery particularly in a period of growth as exists at the moment. The Board receives monthly financial and activity reports from Management to oversight the Councils Financial and overall performance to ensure our financial viability and standard of service delivery.

Each Board Member makes a valuable contribution to the overall working of the Ethnic Council, and I acknowledge the commitment of every Board member. Like most community association in Victoria Covid had an impact on membership and the Board has been focused on recruitment which will continue to be a priority.

COVID has restricted the capacity to participate in a range of community activities many of which have been cancelled or deferred. I continue to be a member of the Advisory Committee at Harmony Village and of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia’s Rural and Regional Advisory Committee which meets virtually monthly and annually in person and I also sit on FECCA’s Healthy Aging Reference Group, and I represent the views of our older multicultural communities in this important forum.

The Board maintains an excellent working relationship through Manager Chris Hazelman with our staff who are responsive to Board needs and provide information and support as requested. Successfully achieving additional grants funding has provided a level of financial security which enables better strategic program planning and service delivery.

All our current grants have enabled the establishment of effective partnership relationships with the funding and regional organisations. I note that some funding opportunities are now delivered through consortium arrangements with counterpart regional organisations, and this provides more flexibility and capacity to deliver diverse programs

Our end of year financial position is welcomed and the relationship with our Auditors indicates a level of compliance and understanding of the various components required for financial reporting.

I encourage all members to maintain the objectives of the Council and to remain a viable organisation providing advocacy and specific services for multicultural people.