An organisation helping empower people to achieve heath and well-being through work, culture and leisure has developed a more bicultural approach to include tangata whenua.

Occupational Therapy New Zealand (OTNZ) has adopted a Maori name and a Maori president of the association.

Karen Molineux, of Tainui descent, has been appointed as the president of Whakaora Ngangahau Aotearoa.

The chair of the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand, Jane Hopkirk of Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, says OTNZ - a branch of the board - is determined to foster some Maori values.

Ms Hopkirk said it wants the organisation to become more culturally sensitive to the needs of tangata whenua and made a deliberate choice to include a Maori name to the organisation to acknowledge the bicultural partnership.

The organisation also decided to appoint kaumatua - not just for the ceremonial roles - but to help guide the organisation and the development of a governance model has also come out of that initiative, she said.

Sourced from: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/254987/health-association-adopts-biculturalism

 

The External Reporting Board (XRB), in conjunction with DIA Charities Services, has arranged seminars to update Registered Charities on the accounting requirements that become mandatory in 2015. The seminars are aimed at Registered Charities with annual expenditure less than $2 million. These charities will be able to report using Simple Format Reporting standards.

The two hour seminars will be run throughout the country in October 2014 and will include:

• The new legislative requirements for Registered Charities to follow XRB Accounting Standards from 1 April 2015;
  
• An overview of the requirements of the Simple Format Reporting Standards issued by the XRB in November 2013;
  
• How the final standards differ from the proposed standards as a result of consultation with the sector during 2013 (which was the focus of the last seminar series);
  
• What Charities need to do now to get ready to apply the Simple Format Reporting Standards next year; and
  
• Future opportunities to learn more about the Standards and how to apply them.
  

Click here for details and to register
http://xrb.govt.nz/tools/events/list.aspx?SECT=News

Aspedia Australia is very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Dan Keller as its new Sales Manager for the Member Evolution product. Dan commenced his new role with Aspedia Australia on 1 September 2014 and comes with a wealth of experience working with many associations, particularly after having previously worked as Sales and Marketing Director at another Australian based specialised software solutions provider.

As you could appreciate, after having spent many years in the association and not for profit industry, Dan has an in-depth understanding of NFP needs and the issues that are faced on a day to day basis and is looking forward to working further with NFP businesses to share this knowledge and help build better membership management, membership retention and engagement strategies.

As an IT sales professional with over 25 years’ experience in direct and channel roles with local and international companies, Dan will be a dynamic addition to the Aspedia and Member Evolution team.

The Goods and Services Tax Act 1985 has recently changed in relation to persons engaged as directors, chairpersons or members of local authorities or statutory boards, councils, committees or similar bodies. Two changes have been made:

1. When a person is engaged by a third party such as a board to be a director, board member, or a similar position, and the person is required to remit any payments received from the third party to their employer, the employer will be treated as supplying services to the third party. Therefore, the employer will return GST and the third party will be able to claim input tax on the payments.

2. When a person, in carrying on a taxable activity, accepts an office (ie, engagement) such as a director or board member who sits on a board, the person is required to account for the GST on any payments for their services to the board.

The changes apply from 30 June 2014.

More information is given on page 123 of the commentary to the Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014 and in the Tax Information Bulletin Vol 26, No 7 (August 2014) page 96.

With regard to withholding tax, work or services performed by statutory and non-statutory chairpersons or board members continue to be "schedular payments" and so are subject to withholding tax (at 0.33 tax rate) - unless that person holds a valid certificate of exemption (COE) or special tax code certificate (STC). In some instances the person may be under a fiduciary obligation to pass fees on to their employer, partnership or trust. Where this occurs the fees are considered to be earned by the employer, partnership or trust and if they hold a valid COE, STC or are otherwise exempt from the withholding regulations (for example, the employer is a company), the COE, STC or exemption will apply to that fee.

Soruce: http://www.ird.govt.nz/aboutir/newsletters/business-tax-update/2014/btu-issue-055-09-14.html#08

Friday, 5 September 2014, 1:56 pm
Press Release: Tourism Industry Association
5 September 2014

Media Release

Tourism industry aims to outdo forecast
Performance

The tourism industry is aiming to outperform the government’s tourism forecasts released today, to cement its position as one of New Zealand’s biggest export sectors, the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) says.

TIA Chief Executive Chris Roberts says the five-year forecasts are a prediction of likely visitor numbers and visitor spend in a business as usual approach.

“The tourism industry has signalled through the Tourism 2025 growth framework that by aligning our efforts we can do much better than BAU,” Mr Roberts says.

“Our challenge is to treat these Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment forecasts as a minimum target and then to take action which drives even greater returns for the industry and our individual operators.”

The Tourism 2025 growth framework identifies a range of opportunities to grow tourism’s contribution to the economy. The focus is on growing volume, but growing value faster.

The new forecasts reinforce the Tourism 2025 view that some of the greatest opportunities for New Zealand’s tourism industry lie within the Pacific Rim, most obviously within the rapidly growing Chinese market but potentially also with other Asian visitor markets like India and Indonesia.

“The forecasts predict an impressive 132% lift in spend by visitors from China out to 2020.

This provides the industry with a sound platform to lift this performance through Tourism 2025 initiatives such as better targeting and attracting high value Chinese visitors,” Mr Roberts says.

“There are several event-specific opportunities during the five-year period of the forecasts for the industry to capitalise on. The first of these is the Cricket World Cup early next year, especially for those markets which can take advantage of the new single visa that can be used by visitors to Australia and New Zealand during the tournament. The 2015 FIFA under-20 World Cup and the 2017 World Masters Games also offer excellent opportunities.”

It is also great to see the positive outlook for traditional visitor markets like the USA and Germany as their home economies improve, he says.

TIA will be working with its members and the government to achieve the Tourism 2025 targets. The recently released 2014 Tourism Election Manifesto highlights a set of priority actions for the incoming Government to support tourism value growth.


Key Facts
• Tourism is one of New Zealand’s biggest export industries, earning $9.8 billion or 16.1% of New Zealand’s foreign exchange earnings (year ended March 2013)
• Tourism directly and indirectly contributes almost 9% of gross domestic product (GDP)for New Zealand
• Tourism directly and indirectly generates 8.8% of total employment in New Zealand or 172,100 full-time equivalent jobs
• Tourism in New Zealand is a $65.5 million per day industry. Tourism delivers $26.8million in foreign exchange to the New Zealand economy each day of the year. Domestic tourism contributes another $38.9 million in economic activity every day
• Total tourism expenditure reached $23.9 billion for the year ended March 2013
Visit www.tianz.org.nz for more information.

ENDS

WA Banking Group, Bankwest has launched a philanthropic foundation to deliver what it describes as reform and education outcomes for Australia’s community sector including a $1 million scholarships program for community sector leaders.

Bankwest says the mission of the foundation is to improve the wellbeing of Australians through community initiatives in Western Australia and nationally.

It says Bankwest Foundation will receive $1 million per year for five years from Bankwest, in support of domestic initiatives which align with its four key areas of focus including supporting grassroots initiatives; growing community sector capability and capacity; supporting research and reform of the community sector in WA; and promoting volunteering and civic leadership.

“Our commitment to the community is important to the ongoing success of our organisation, and I am confident the Foundation will continue our long-held tradition of making meaningful contributions to the communities which Bankwest has supported for almost 120 years,” Bankwest Managing Director, Rob De Luca said.

“Two new partnerships have been established that will deliver tangible research and enhance the capability and capacity of the community sector to improve the wellbeing of all Australians,” he said.

“Long-term relationships with the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Australian Scholarship Foundation (ASF) will generate vital research and establish a scholarships program for community sector leaders thanks to unprecedented funding from the Foundation.

“UWA and ASF will each receive $1 million over five years from the Foundation to deliver this essential work."

“At UWA, we are excited about the research we will be undertaking thanks to the Foundation – research that will help to improve the lives of those members of our society who most need support,” UWA Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Johnson said.

“The Foundation and the Centre for Social Impact will lead two research initiatives for the benefit of the WA community sector. These initiatives are linked to two of the University’s focus areas: growing community sector capacity and supporting research relevant to the community sector in this State.”

Australian Scholarship Foundation CEO, Amy Lyden said many community organisations simply do not have the capacity to fund professional development for their people.

“Yet with deepening constraints on funding, changes in the regulatory environment and the misguided expectations from donors to not invest in ‘administration costs’, the need for education and training is greater than ever,” she said.

“The Bankwest Foundation is one of the few Foundations that recognises this critical need. This unprecedented $1 million scholarship program demonstrates the Foundation's commitment to ensuring community organisations not only cope with the challenging environment they are facing, but thrive in it.”

- See more at: http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2014/09/bankwest-foundation-resource-community-sector-0?utm_source=Pro+Bono+Australia+-+email+updates&utm_campaign=33d7e01f8b-CC_10_99_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5ee68172fb-33d7e01f8b-146918849#sthash.3mDnSHXe.dpuf

The Reserve Bank of Australia welcomes the establishment of a new coordination body for the Australian payments industry – the Australian Payments Council – and the appointment of Ms Christine McLoughlin as its inaugural Chair. The Council will aim to foster the ongoing development of the Australian payments system to ensure it continues to meet the changing needs of its users with innovative, safe and competitive payment services. This will complement the oversight of the payments system in the public interest by the Bank and its Payments System Board.

The Bank and the Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) have been working to support the establishment of the Council since the publication of the conclusions of the Bank's Strategic Review of Innovation in the Payments System in 2012. This has included a joint public consultation on the proposed framework conducted in late 2013 and early 2014. The Bank is separately establishing a user consultation group that will provide a more structured way for users of the payments system to express views or concerns to the Bank. This is expected to be operational around the end of 2014.

The Bank wishes to express its gratitude to the thirteen organisations that have committed senior executives to the initial Australian Payments Council, along with those that in the first instance will be contributing through their participation in the Payments Community that supports the Council. It encourages other organisations with a significant interest in the Australian payments system also to participate in this new coordination framework.

The Bank looks forward to a productive relationship with the Council in the years to come.

Further information on the Australian Payments Council and the Payments Community can be found in the Payments Council's media release and on its website.

Kim Ryan

Chief Executive Officer

The Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN)

www.acmhn.org

The Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) is the peak professional mental health nursing organisation and the recognised credentialing body for mental health nurses in Australia. It seeks to represent the profession at all levels of government and across all health service sectors. In addition, the ACMHN sets standards for practice, supports mental health nursing research and provides a forum for collegial support, networking and ongoing professional development for its members. Importantly, the ACMHN also works to promote public confidence in and professional recognition of mental health nursing.

A great leader whom I find inspirational is… I always find the question of who is a great leader a difficult one to answer, as there are so many
people and they are not always people in the public eye. Of course, there have been great leaders through history, but in more recent times I have been inspired by the passion and commitment to a more peaceful world, by Kofi Atta Annan (Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006). Closer to home I am inspired by the passion, commitment and the eloquent use of language people like Julian Burnside and Michael Kirby employ, and their ongoing challenge to us to consider the human rights of all people. In another arena and thinking globally while acting locally, we can’t go past Ian Kiernan, who saw a need and did something about it. There are of course hundreds of people across Australia every day that are seeing a need and acting on it, whether that be the environment, human rights, children, or people with a mental illness, they are all truly amazing. Looking more at mental health, the ACMHN established the Mental Health Nurse of the Year Award which acknowledges those nominated by their peers for their leadership to the profession, if you are interested the list of previous winners is available at www.acmhn.org.

The type of book I most enjoy reading is… My favourite genre of book is the crime thriller, and I’m an Agatha Christie fan from way back. I thought the Millennium series (aka The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) was great and spell-binding reading; just recently I read The Girl with a Clock for a Heart, which I thought was very well written and kept you trying to figure out what was really going on to the very end. I think I enjoy the escapism in these books; it is so different to the day-to-day life I lead that you are transported to another place for a while, which is good for your mental health.

In my busy week, I always try to make time to… SWIM. I like to swim every day. I try to go before work each day, which isn’t as easy as it sounds, of course, and doesn’t always happen. I call swimming ‘liquid meditation’ - no distractions, no noise, no chatter, it is time to think of nothing and practice mindfulness. However, saying that, I often find the solution I was looking for will finally come to me, while going up and down and looking at that all-familiar black line at the bottom of the pool.

If I retired from paid employment… I think I would work as a volunteer in some capacity. I am not really sure how or in what field, however. Volunteers are the backbone of so many organisations and community endeavours. I know that over the years there has been so much achieved within our organisation through the involvement and commitment of members volunteering their time, which I, for one, am very grateful. Even when I retire, I would still like to support the profession somehow, so I suppose I will just need to wait and see.

A decision I have made in my career that I look back on and feel may have been a mistake is … I began my mental health nursing career when services and systems were very different; they were the days just before deinstitutionalisation. We worked in large hospitals and, in many cases, the care of patients was very good. But there were other instances where the care was not so good. As a young nurse in a large institution with a strong hierarchal system it was not always easy to question or complain about what you thought could be done better or what you thought might be out and out wrong. I did make the decision once to complain about the treatment of a patient which alienated me for some time with other staff - I seemed to get a lot of night duty.

From the above decision… I learnt from the above example that it is important, no matter where you work, to establish a culture of honesty and transparency. People need to feel safe to question and discuss behaviours and practices. We all, as individuals, should expect to be treated with respect and honesty. This has only fuelled my passion for supporting those more vulnerable in our community, those that cannot speak up for themselves.

As a leader, any CEO must be equipped with a set of appropriate competencies. I would say the one most important ability a leader should have is… Gee whiz, not sure there is just one! But if I had to pick one, it might be passion. Being passionate is really important. It sits hand-in-glove with commitment. There is something you want to achieve and contribute to, and you will do all you can to see that vision through. It’s what keeps you going through the rough times when you feel everywhere you turn there is a barrier. Leadership is complicated, and while you have a passion you have to be able to share it with others and bring others along with you. Of course, Florence Nightingale comes to mind: a woman with a passion and dogged determination, turning down a marriage proposal because marriage might distract her from her cause. I am certainly not professing many of us would be that committed, but passion and a vision and the commitment to reach your goals are key factors.

The most significant change in my organisation/industry in the next few years will occur in… Over the next few years I think there will need to be a more planned and dedicated approach to the management of chronic diseases, with mental health being one of them. There will also need to be a greater focus on comorbid physical and mental health problems. In a study commissioned by the World Economic Forum, mental disorders emerged as the single largest health cost, with global projections increasing to $6 trillion annually by 2030, more than diabetes, cancer, and pulmonary diseases combined. In Australia our spending on health is increasing every year. In 2009-10 we spent 9% of GDP on health alone. Spending on health is important but we will need to find ways of providing more cost effective health care, and that will require a lot of rethinking by governments, health providers and health professionals.

In the next few years, my most important goal is… Over the next few years I want to see mental health nursing better understood by the community, other health professionals and nursing more broadly. We need more mental health nurses and we need to demystify mental health and mental health nursing. I have always felt very privileged to be a mental health nurse to work with people at times when they are most vulnerable; to work with people that so much of our community don’t understand and shun. Mental health nursing is a wonderful career and if I can get others to see that I will be happy.

Sourced from: https://www.enterprisecare.com.au/newsletter_september_2014_-_get_to_know_a_ceo

From AuSAE Member Charles Hardy, Community Management Solutions

"I am completing a Masters (Thesis) in Safety Science, through Central Queensland University.

The topic of my Thesis is “The effectiveness of an online training course in work health and safety (WHS) for volunteer committee members in community organisations.”

While this is targeted at Committee members / Board members, it equally applies to CEO’s who in many instances are either ‘Persons in Charge of a Business or Undertaking’ (PCBU’s), or are deemed as ‘Officers’ under the Qld Work health and Safety Act (2011).

For the most part the terminology (PCBU’s / Officers) is common across Australia irrespective of the state you are in, however the focus (from the Act ) is based in Qld.

How to get involved? Participants will need to:

• Send back a consent form
  
• Participate in 3  (1 minute) surveys 
  
• View a 17 minute Webinar
  

The benefits of participation (and assisting me) are:

• An increased awareness of WH&S
  
• Increased knowledge of obligations with the view to ,
  
• Creating a safer workplace, and
  
• The best of all….. Its Free.

All emailed responses are kept confidential. Only the statistical numbers are being used in the results once tabulated. Happy to publish and make available my final paper (once marked) to both participant and AuSAE."

Please contact Charles on 07 3251 2010 or email executive@cmsolutions.org.au

How do you sustain your member’s interest so they renew year after year and remain active, committed members of your community?

At this year’s AuSAE Leadership Symposium there are several membership focused sessions covering a range of specific membership components such as the all-important: retention, segmentation, research and engagement.

We all know good research is fundamental to gaining the information and the insights necessary for successful decision-making, so why not join other not-for-profit leaders at this special event to hear what innovative membership component strategies they have in place and their future plans?

Sound good? Then click here to download the 2014 AuSAE Leadership Symposium Program and click here to register today.

I look forward to seeing you on October 13-14 in Sydney at this special event.

Kimberley Miller
Events and Communications Manager
AuSAE