 Thank you very much Rosemary and good afternoon colleagues. I understand that we're live streaming this event today So I also want to say hello to all of those colleagues that are out in other parts of the ACT and for that matter Australia. Robert even tells me there's some people listening in from Indonesia, so I Hope that they're getting some value out of today's discussion Can I also acknowledge that we're meeting on the land of the traditional custodians and underworld people and pay my Respects to their elders past and present and can I also pay my respects to any Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people that are with us today? I I'm really going to talk about context. There's been a lot of discussion this morning on what I call the broader bigger picture context and I'm leading into Robert's presentation bringing us back to the community sector development program And going to build a bridge between that broader Sector context and what Robert has to talk about First of all, can I just recap though? Of course most of the discussion this morning In terms of our local context has been on our the environment in which we find ourselves operating and this context is one that's characterized by our mission to reduce the demand for all of our services and And an increase the outcomes that we're achieving for the most vulnerable people in Canberra The other important context which has been spoken about a lot today is the national disability insurance scheme But most particularly because it's such a fundamental reform in service delivery Relationships and the infrastructure that will support service delivery if you like the person centeredness about NDIS Is going to be driven very strongly by the changing nature of the financial relationship that exists between The consumer of those services and the providers of those services That's going to in my view change the shape of this sector in the ACT I know Minister Barr said this morning that we're into a trial. We're not yet sure how it will pan out He's not willing to predict the impact that that will have on the broader community sector But in my view, I don't think there's any going back as soon as we start to shift the nature of that financial relationship We will see change and we'll learn from that and that learning will be imported into The rest of the sector and of course the disability sector makes up about a third of our sector investment here in the ACT So it's so material. It is very unlikely not to have an impact right across the board We also know that many of you are Providing services to people with a disability and others So it's not just something that's going to have an effect on specialist disability providers because many of you Many of you do support people with a disability The other of course is the financial landscape and I won't dwell on that for too long You know every year you hear the story of my staff tell me this. Oh, yes every budget. It's going to be a tough budget Yes, yes, we have to find savings. We need to reduce Expenditure we do have to cut back, but there are just too many indicators of change in the financial environment that suggests this year is like no other and In some of I can tell you some of the initiatives that we've been discussing with government in the context of the budget Would essentially wipe out the available expenditure for government Across the board. So it is that it is that serious I Also wanted to touch on a question that the minister received this morning. In fact, I think it was Simon that asked at Simon Rosenberg about What's government doing in the context of this change all of those environmental issues that I talked about that Influence the landscape in which we're operating Real to the community services directorate as they are real to you How will we look in two to three years time? I think probably the best indicator for that for any of you at the moment would be to go and have a look at the Human Service blueprint. I'll come back to that because it goes to the theme of context that I want to speak about today But that blueprint is in fact an investment blueprint. That's the way it's been prepared by us collectively and we've put it to government as the design Specifications if you like for the future service delivery system. So if you want to have a look at how we might look Particularly my directorate might look in the next two to three years Go and have a look at that blueprint and we'll give you some good indicators and some good clues about how things are likely to change into the future so The government is reforming its approach and we are looking right across the board in every arm of the work that we do To redress the way that we deliver services. I know the minister also spoke about one ACT We talk about one CST as maybe a good start in that direction and again this community sector development program is Going to drive a lot of change in that area But but in particular again the blueprint will give you some clues as to how a one CST or one community service directorate a government arm of the community services might look into the future with the focus on improved access for universal services Genuinely integrated early intervention and prevention platform and a more Evidence-based approach to intensive service systems as opposed to an office for children youth and family services a disability Housing arm and a policy and general community development arm. I think you'll see those things starting to change but let me come back to our Community sector development program And in terms of the context there what I what I really wanted to talk about today was Relationships and talk about that at a very local level when the government When we went to the government in December last year with a package of procurement contracting and reporting Reforms the very first heading in the discussion paper, which is available publicly was the introduction The next one after that was be in no doubt This is about relationships So that's the second emphasis. I want to put on today about context This heading is what? This heading is what it is because regardless of the procedural nature of say red tape reforms or the sometimes prosaic nature of a sector development program and Regardless of how the human service blueprint will end up changing how we deliver services Regardless of all these things There has to be a relationship and for us to achieve the social impact that I know we all want That relationship has to be strong and must have high levels of trust and confidence between the parties. I Think that we are very lucky here in the ACT having worked in the Australian government You know, I think it's pretty amazing that we had the minister for community services come along this morning Not only deliver the keynote address, but then stay for some time and answer questions When I used to work in a department who shall remain nameless We couldn't even we couldn't even get the secretary to come and meet with the peak bodies That were the major stakeholders in the work that we do the work that we did and We often invited the minister's advisors along because we would never get the minister and they More often than not on the on the day didn't turn up because there are other in more important priorities that they needed to address So in that respect, I'm I think we have already very strong relationships. I know we want more We want a sense of a stronger Depth of trust in our relationships But by comparison we've got a very very good platform to work on here in the ACT So this is a relationship that we can never cease working on, of course And I'll never claim that we're there yet It's far too important to ever relax about these sorts of things But I do think that we are making progress and the context that I want to put the sector development program into Along with the number of the other reforms that I've mentioned and that are happening at the moment is this relationship context This slide, which I think they'll bring up in a moment There's a slide about to come up which just really has a list of Some key initiatives that are going on right now and are affecting us Right here and now in the ACT government and you in the community sector You'll see the next slide, please the Wrong slide, it doesn't matter just listen come back and listen to me. Don't worry about those slides They're a distraction anyway, aren't they? So the list of the initiatives that I was going to put up on the board were the sector reform program Which we've launched today the human service blueprint the national disability insurance scheme implementation homelessness reforms the gateway project Strengthening families and through care. I could also add the youth services blueprint And there's some interesting work coming out of health now in relation to childhood health development and Of course the work we've done on child protection with the out-of-home care Sector I mentioned these in particular because some of them well into delivery mode some are still at the very early stages or in the planning process But all of them characterize this notion of the Relationships that I think characterize the strengths of the ACT community every one of those elements of those initiatives Have in my view I think set a new standard for the way in which we are working with the community sector and Since I arrived three years ago I think we have followed up very genuinely with our intent to involve you early in discussions about policy development process and take The collaborative approach to presenting issues back to government. I think many of you would also acknowledge that we've been More open and engaged with you in the way in which we are Informing government around the work that we're doing with you what that feedback has been How we're moving that into a budgetary context and what role we expect Ourselves respectively to play as we as we move through I think we still can get better at that And I know that we will continue to learn from those experiences, but the quality of input that's come through Those collaborative approaches has been second to none in my view What does the development of these programs say about our relationships Well minister bar noted that the governance and financial management model of the sector development program commenced Delivery in October last year and we've had some feedback from 20 organizations that have participated so far in that module We did have those up on a slide, too But let me just tell you that the the comments that were on that slide were essentially Going to the cross-section of views which were by and large very positive About the nature of that engagement through that process To me the important thing is not that we congratulate ourselves necessarily on that good program But to concentrate on the partnership that developed it because it's a partnership. That is the reason that it's a very good program This module like all of the modules in the development program was developed in conjunction with the community sector reform advisory group more affectionately known as CS RAG Our team and a panel of consultants it was through this type of partnership and the preparedness by us in government to resist The temptation to control it too tightly. I hope you concur with that view That has resulted in something so beneficial Minister bar made also some comments about the importance of the government playing its role in removing impediments from your path The important thing in the reforms shown It was on a slide. I haven't got my slides up here with me Robert, but The the more important thing in the reforms that were shown in this slide that relate to Removing impediments in your path, which is about our red tape production program is that these reforms were developed again by the community Sector representatives as well as government representatives from across the ACT and you returned the courtesy not just by proposing some more But by treating the process very seriously The result was that all the recommendations were accepted and in fact I'm now in a process within the governance of my directorate of Pulling people into responsibility for implementing each one of those particular Particular recommendations relating very directly to contract arrangements Reporting arrangements financial arrangements and so on to bring those into effect For your information the CS RAG agreed last Thursday that as these reforms are implemented They'll provide an operational perspective to make sure good intentions are reflected in good process In other words, they're going to keep us bloody. Well honest about it I'm very excited about those reforms because again, it's about this point about infrastructure that will assist in it Accelerating this shift and this change in the way that government presents itself to the community sector and And I know that you have a strong voice and you will most certainly keep us honest Finally the development of the human service blueprint also represents a sharing of working together of our people and yours at different levels through a core design team And also through an intensive design workshop We trialled some different methodologies as well as having a number of community sector leaders Participate in a steering group with director generals from across Across government in that particular program. We use time to talk as a way of Opportunity providing opportunity for more people that wanted to stay engaged and get involved to do so That particular process worked very effectively and I can remember very distinctly having a conversation with some of you in this room about the pace at which we were forcing that process a very important one where We'd agreed again a number of us sitting around a table some 12 months ago That we had to stop talking about integrated service delivery and do something about it We needed to have a shared vision of what we wanted the human service system in the ACT to look like and I knew that if we took what we normally take is more than 12 months to have a conversation like that to collaborate In an ex what excuse me for saying this, but I'd say it in an excruciating way Crossing every T and dotting every I we'd missed the budget process which started last November is really Coming to conclusion about now as we move into just the final finessing of the budget that will be announced in June So we had no choice or we'd lose another year We had to do something quickly and we had to be confident enough that we would retain some integrity in the collaborative approach and And then I guess make up for lost ground as we moved into implementation So people came with us on that approach Said okay, let's let's do this and I know at every meeting It was again something that people were very concerned about have we given each and each part of this the appropriate consideration Where did we have the right to represent the whole community sector? With our views on this issue had we consulted widely enough had we engaged clients and so on well We kept bringing ourselves back to we know what we have to achieve. We've been talking about it for years. We've done Numerous surveys of clients. Is there anything that anyone could really tell us that we didn't already know? we used I think a group of very motivated and experienced front-line workers on the core design team and We workshopped a lot of their thinking in a two-day intensive Conference style process workshop style process We delivered. I think and an amazing piece of work Articulating what a single human service system should and could look like We've been able to get that into government through cabinet and now ready for budget consideration And that's something that I'm not at liberty to talk to you about today, but stay tuned. You'll hear about it very shortly And again, I say if you want to see what we'll look like in two or three years time go and have a look at that that document. I Suspect it's what you will look like to Because it's going to in dry drive the investment that government will make into the things that matter within the sector And so it's a very important Piece of work and one will come back to another day and spend the appropriate amount of time working you through it I Finally You've heard from David Crosby about the importance of being clear about your mission and sticking to it You've heard rosemary talk about building on your strengths and being very good at what you do I didn't hear Miranda's presentation, but I'm just picked up a few comments as I arrived that She exposed the lived experience of change and reform and getting ready for major reform And many people conveyed to me that they really appreciated those insights You've heard from minister bar about talk about responsibility and government and to put the interests of clients first I'm convinced that this work will accelerate Many of the themes that have progressed today the common purpose the shared vision playing to our strengths the integrity of values And being clear about what they are and and making sure that we As each organization a dear to our values Respecting our interdependencies by that. I mean not only between government and the sector, but within the sector itself Having real clarity about roles and that's something I think we'll all struggle with as we move through the next couple of years What's the right role for government? What's the right role for the sector or different parts of the sector? But all of it will be about focusing on getting good good and better outcomes for all of our clients I believe that all these messages are consistent and that working together is the way that we deliver What we all agree on none of this is easy for any of us and I'm sure that we'll make mistakes along the way But I'm also confident that our successes will outweigh the mistakes And I'm looking forward to hearing more of the positive feedback from the sector development program as it rolls out over the next 18 months Reform is most certainly upon us. I think it's going to be a very exciting period of maturity For all of us that work in this sector. I think we will work together I think we can and we have demonstrated that we can work together very effectively and in fact we must work together Thank you