Linking Community through transport

12th Annual General

Report

2015 -2016

C O N T E N T S

Service Details

Chairperson’s Report

Manager’s Report

Service Co-ordinator Report — Lawson

Service Co-ordinator - Penrith/Operations Manager Report

Client Intake Services/Client Support & Access Worker &

Reassessments/Assessments Report

Volunteer Driver & SmartLink Co-Ordinator Report

Volunteer Support Worker Report

Volunteer Roll of Honour

Jean Hale Volunteer of the Year Awards

Supporters & Sponsors Thank you

Client acknowledgments

Financials

Contact Details

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

Executive

Kevin Richards Chairperson

Glenn Fernandez Vice Chairperson

Dean Saunders Treasurer

Vacant Secretary

Board Members

John Krisenthall

Meg Zvirbulis

Catharine Pruscino

Craig Legender

Mark Flynn

Volunteers

Office receptionists, car drivers driving

their own vehicles and carer

companions without whom the

Service would not function.

Medical transport volunteer drivers

from Springwood Neighbourhood

Centre and the Lower Blue Mountains

Neighbourhood Centre at Blaxland.

Smartlink Transport Volunteer Drivers

Pool - Drivers for Transport Register

Driver team members driving our

family of cars

OFFICE TEAM

Helen Walker Manager – Retired September, 2016

Phillipa Walker Lawson Co-Ordinator – Retired August, 2016

Milad Jonaidi Penrith Co-Ordinator & Operations Manager – Appointed

October 2016

Andrew Mitchell Volunteer Driver & Smartlink Co-Ordinator

Kendra Herron Client Intake Officer

Graham Edwards Client Support & Access Worker

Sharon Sloan Volunteer Support Worker

Mina Neary Finance/Admin Manager

Susan Pearce Accounts Clerk

Michelle Atkins Administrative Support & Document Control Officer

CASUAL DRIVER/CARERS

Nasser Atmar, Peter Blunden, Paul Cobden, Jack Ellis, Rod Hamilton, Kim Jackson,

Stephen King, Gil Lighezzolo, Peter Matthews, Ian Napthali, Clive Nash, Peter Odell,

Mathew Pavlovic, Helen Pope, Barry Wadely, Rod Watson

CASUAL DRIVER

Henry Ostrowski

SERVICES AND RESOURCES

DIRECT SERVICES:

Great Community Transport Inc. provides small group, special care transport for the Home and

Community Care target group ie the frail aged, people with disabilities and their carers. There is

also some transport assistance available through funding received from NSW Health and Blue

Mountains/Nepean Local Health Network for people who are “transport disadvantaged”.

These services include:

Weekly or fortnightly Shopping buses (depending on where people live) to closest local major

shopping centre).

Transport to Centre-based meals.

Mini-bus to specialist medical/ hospital appointments in Penrith on Wednesdays from the Blue

Mountains.

Social Outings as per bi-monthly program.

Transport for Special Interest Outings.

Special Respite Outings.

Small group transports to health related appointments (including Penrith shuttle to Westmead

Hospital)

Volunteer Medical Transports.

VISTA – small group one-to-one shopping assistance with individual carers.

Other as resources permit and need identified.

INDIRECT SERVICES:

Administration of the Blue Mountains City Council Access Buses.

SmartLink Transport Register

Lobbying on appropriate transport issues

Information and referral.

SERVICE RESOURCES:

Lawson

3 x HiAce Commuter Vans with wheelchair access.

2 x Coaster/Rosa (1 each) buses with wheelchair access.

2 x HiAce Commuter Vans without wheelchair access.

2 x Tarago station wagons.

2 x Camry sedans.

1 x Commodore station wagon (supplied by NSW Health). Penrith

4x Toyota Camrys Sedans

5 xToyota HiAce Communter Vans all with Wheelchair access

2 x buses Toyota Coatser/Rosa both with Wheelchair access

1 x Nissan Cube hatchback

1 Toyota Tarago People mover no wheelchair access

Volunteer drivers, using their own comprehensively insured vehicles for medical transports

and drivers using service cars.

B.M.C.C. Access Buses

Volunteer workers from local Community.

YEARLY SERVICE REPORT 2015-2016

This month we helped 2238 individual people. We did 64,682 passenger/trips and travelled 649,052 kilometres:-

7 % went to centre-based meals 14 % went to social outings or respite care 19 % went shopping, 30 % of all our trips were to hospitals, while 28 % went to doctors, 1 % went to Community Health Centres & 1 % to other

Km Hacc Social Shop Hosp Dr CHC Oth N.HAC Total

Blue Mountains

GCT Vehicles 272666 3761 4116 5603 5341 4093 60 28 23002

Volunteers' Vehicles 63358 48 58 32 1074 2533 63 3808

Smartlink 13542 1563 1563

TOTAL 349566 3809 5737 5635 6415 6626 123 28 28373

Penrith

GCT Vehicles 256050 867 2631 6382 12501 9939 696 77 33093

Volunteers' Vehicles 41840 21 78 14 1087 1504 87 31 2822

Smartlink 1596 394 394

TOTAL 299486 888 3103 6396 13588 11443 783 108 36309

Grand Totals 649052 4697 8840 12031 20003 18069 906 136 0 64682

Cancelled 1642 1046 3304 4968 4422 191 117 15690

Unmet 14 31 45 1 91

* Does not include income from invoice eg: DVA

Individuals Taken Percentages

Lawson 1055 Hacc Respite Shop Hosp Dr CHC Oth N.HAC Total

Penrith 1183 4697 8840 12031 20003 18069 906 136 0 64682

2238

7% 14% 19% 30% 28% 1% 1% 0% 100%

Chairperson’s Report 2015 – 2016

Firstly let me extend our deepest gratitude and wishes for a long and happy retirement to

both Helen Walker, our founder, and Phillipa Walker who have left us after more than 50

years of combined service to GREAT Community Transport! Through their efforts we have

the solid organisation of today which has provided care and transport to the Blue

Mountains and the Nepean regions for almost 30 years. We can only hope to emulate their

dedication and perseverance to keep GREAT providing these services for at least another

30 years.

In October of last year we co-founded the Community Care and Transport Co-operative

along with Bankstown Canterbury Community Transport and Community Wheels

(Parramatta – Holroyd). We have been working steadily to strengthen and advance the co-

operative over the past months and have welcomed Peppercorn Services (Hawkesbury) to

our fold. The co-op is currently looking at funding tenders and procurement opportunities

along with expanding our membership base to build a stronger co-op and obtain the ‘flow-

on’ effects of a larger umbrella organisation to support our local organisations. It is a slow

but steady process which should show more and continued benefits over the next year for

GREAT and the other member organisations.

GREAT Community Transport has also been among the first to implement the new

Centralised Trip Allocation and Booking System (CTABS) provided by Transport for New

South Wales. We began the process in May and became ‘operational’ in mid-July with all

the teething problems inherent in the introduction of a new and extensive software

package. We are already seeing benefits from the system and, when fully integrated and

operational, it is expected that the new system will provide savings, enhance operational

efficiencies and reduce administration.. Over the next few months this should become fully

functional and the benefits apparent.

Finally let me express my appreciation and thanks to my fellow board members for their

dedication and hard work over the past year as they have been deeply involved in all of

what has been mentioned above. Their work has been invaluable and vital.

Let me also extend heartfelt thanks for all the work that has been done by our staff and

volunteers over the past year. The care we provide for our clients would not otherwise

have been possible.

Sincerely

Kevin Richards

Chairperson of the Board

Manager’s Report

2015/2016

This is the 12th Annual Report for GREAT Community Transport and my final AGM report after thirty years in the Community Transport Sector. In this report I will mention a variety of major reforms and changes that are happening in the Community Transport space and will I believe ultimately change the way services are delivered. Unfortunately for a died-in-the-wool community worker such as myself I have decided to pull-up-stumps as the times they are a‘changing. I believe things are moving away from the community focus GCT has thrived in to a more business-like approach to transport provision and I don’t have the skills to lead the changes.

“Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business “– Mark Sanborn

Change and the determination to maintain a community identity, was the driving force that

saw representatives from Bankstown/Canterbury Community Transport, Community

Wheels and GCT approach the then Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian, regarding

funding for the Community Care and Transport Demonstration project. This funding

approval allowed the three services to engage specialist consultants from the Business

Council of Co-operatives and Mutual, Robyn Donnelly a legal advisor, EY and Gillian

McFee. The process was well structured and required commitment from the services

involved, to attend many meetings and week-end workshops and in October 2015 the

Community Care and Transport Co-operative received approval from the Registrar of Co-

operatives and Mutuals that the CCAT Co-operative could go ahead with the three original

members for an eighteen month’s period. The official launch of CCAT was held on 8 th

December 2015 with a large crowd attending and enquiries about what the co-operative

could provide. The biggest challenge for the future success of CCAT lies with maintaining

the ongoing commitment of the services involved to following the Transition Plan and also

finding funding to employ skilled staff who can focus on the growth of this entity.

At a service specific level, change and reforms are flowing from the Federal and State

Government departments as the CHSP program was moved back to the Department of

Health in a Federal cabinet reshuffle with Susan Ley being the new Minister.

The CHSP program focused on the older population and Kendra, Tara, Lyn and now

Grahame have been kept busy with more complex assessments, reassessments and the

Quality Assurance survey. The numbers of new client referrals from the MyAgedCare

(MAC) website continues, as does the frustration that so many of the referrals ( about

75%) aren’t actually wanting transport at this time but they are registering just in case. So

a lot of time and effort is spent ensuring we have the correct information from each person

only to find that they don’t need any help and therefore no direct outcomes. We continued

to take new client requests, to be client-focused and provide business-as-usual for new

clients and always referring new applicants to MyAgedCare for assessment. ( a Catch 22

situation in reality). We have met with the Catholic Health Care Regional Assessment

Teams (RAS) and the Local Health Network RAS team for our area, who have been very

helpful, understand out frustrations and are now sending through referrals identifying

whether the person has an actual transport request.

At the State level Transport for NSW has included Community Transport Contract Section

into the Rural & Regional Service Delivery & Performance Infrastructure & Services. This

has been seen as a possible opportunity for Community Transport services in the future.

This change also means focusing on the transport component more ie Community

Transport being seen as part of the public transport service, charging fares but not

undercutting other operators. The obvious conclusion is a reduction of the care component

which CTs specialise in. So with the proposed ending of CHSP core funding in June 2018

these changes are directly challenging the very basis of how community transport has

worked from a care space.

With emerging technologies and changes in passenger expectations the State

Government implemented the Point to Point Transport enquiry. The enquiry included

Taxis, Hire cars, Tourist services, Rideshare services and Community Transport in the

discussion paper with the emphasis on moving competition into the individual transport

market and with the legalisation of Uber in Canberra it was only a matter of time before

NSW allowed Uber to operate in NSW, which happened in January 2016.

The NDIS was rolled out for younger people with disabilities ie 17years and under in the

Nepean Blue Mountains area. From 1 July 2016, people living in Hunter New England,

Southern NSW, Central Coast, Northern Sydney, South Western Sydney, Western Sydney

and Nepean Blue Mountains will be able to access the NDIS. Again the Community

Transport sector is advised to examine the “Business options and implications before

going out into the marketplace and vying for business. With the introduction of the NDIS

we have been advised that TforNSW and ADHC will decrease in the CCSP portion of the

GCT 2016 -2017 funding. This will impact on the GCT annual budget with the loss of

$163,000 over a 12 month period with reduction at the 6 monthly of 25% and 75% at the12

monthly marks.

The biggest impact on direct service delivery will be the introduction of RouteMatch across NSW. Transport for NSW has carried out a very lengthy process of procurement including proof of concept before selecting the RouteMatch product as the approved IT provider. The members of the CCAT Co-op plus 4 other CTs ( Central Coast CT, Sutherland Activus, ACRC and Coast and Country) in NSW are the early adopters, with site visits being made, the design stage happening and nuances captured by early April. The Build phase was planned as a staggered approach across the early adopters and was hoped to be completed by Mid-May, followed by training and users acceptance testing and going live by end of June 2016. The biggest impact to date for GCT is discovering that the data transfer from TRIPS to the new program has meant problems with geo-coding for each client and venue address. We have started to address this matter which is turning out to be bigger than first anticipated. The implementation timeframe also proved too tight and we had to approach Transport for NSW to ask for an extension to allow us to provide training for the paid and volunteer staff. The commitment of the team is to be commended as they gave extra time even attending training on week-ends to ensure that they were ready for the new scheduling software. The Health Related funding we receive from NSW Health was extended for another twelve

months as NSW Health continues to work towards “contestability” for the Non-Government

Organisation Funded program. Considering the size of the Health Related Transport

funding received, value for money as far as people assisted, we continue to comply with

the increasing accountability required, which is time-intensive and yet so crucial for GCT to

receive.

Although we have a very stable workforce at GCT we again had to deal with the loss of the Penrith Co-ordinator Kerri Frail (Simpson) resignation as at 31st July 2015, returning to her previous role in the Hawkesbury. The loss of a worker in such as an integral position has again put pressure on Phillipa to cover this role until a new worker could be employed. Milad Jonaidi was appointed as the new Service Co-ordinator for Penrith office and started 1st September 2015. His previous experience at Inner West Community Transport gave him experience in carrying out this role although he had to get used to working with volunteers, which he has come to accept and appreciate in the services we provide. We welcomed new casual driver/carers Ian Napthali, Nassar Atmar and Peter Blunden and said good-bye to Simon Chin and Bill Lenon. Grahame Edwards retired from the driving and was later reappointed as the Client Support Worker which included working with Phillipa in preparing the Special Outings Programs. We have been reviewing the planning process for the annual Special Outings programs and we have sent out simple forms requesting suggestions from the clients as to where they would like to go next year. We have had a good response to this process as it allows more client input into 2016 Outings venues. The GCT Fleet management of 26 vehicles has been a continuing effort and much of the

paperwork side has fallen to Phillipa, Milad and Susan ( insurance claims) working

together to ensure the service vehicles of varying sizes and capability are kept in good

mechanical and physical condition, organising servicing and repairs. We have been

fortunate enough to have the assistance of a wonderful volunteer Phil who has taken on

the role of washing and cleaning the vehicles at both depots on a regular basis. I feel that

finding such a willing worker to carry out such a role has been a blessing as the vehicles

are the face of the service and having them clean and presentable is vital.

The logistics of scheduling all the trips continues to be the busiest and most challenging of

positions with Phillipa, Kerri and now Milad spending so much of their time planning and

rostering clients’ trips within the limited resources of GCT. Jack Ellis continues to help with

TRIPS when needed and both office receptions are staffed by the dedicated volunteer

office receptionists. As the first point of contact with GCT it is the Office Receptionists at

the Kingswood and Lawson offices, who provide individual attention to each caller, sharing

a little chat and taking bookings and confirming trip details. Sara, Sue, and Maureen go the

extra mile assisting with administration, helping offset the pressure on the paid admin.

workers.

The professionalism of the GCT team continues with the regular and varied training and/or

staff meetings. Sharon has really shown an enthusiasm for training often providing or

organising many of the sessions. The volunteer team members attend the compulsory and

optional training modules with enthusiasm as they have an opportunity to catch up with

other team members and share experiences. Rod Watson has earned his title as the BBQ

chief and he is often on hand after the training session with the BBQ, cooking sausages

and onions. It has also proved a wonderful teambuilding activity.

Promotion and marketing are still essential with brochure drops, regular newsletters and

advertisements continue. I would like to thank Grahame Edwards for ensuring the regular

distribution of service brochures and Maureen Robinson for looking after the client

handbooks, newsletters and newspaper advertisements. GCT has a great profile in the

local community and continues to provide a quality services to eligible members of the

community. Michelle has the role of ensuring the service is aware of and follows the

requirements set out in the GCT Policies, procedures and documents. She talks

individually with the relevant team members about changes to the documents particularly

and ensures everyone is aware, not a job everyone would welcome.

Andrew Mitchell continues to support the Volunteer Driving team and does the

administrative role of the SmartLink Transport, the social enterprise and brokerage arm of

our service which is included in our statistics as the groups that hire vehicles through the

SmartLink Website are classified as “transport disadvantaged “ and are unable to hire

vehicles privately.

The GCT board continues to be responsible for the governance of the organisation and

delegate the day to day running of the service to myself and my team. Lastly I would like to

thank the Board members for their commitment to the service Kevin Richards, Dean

Saunders, Craig Legender, John Krisenthal, Glenn Fernandez, Meg Zvirbulis and

Catharine Pruscino and welcome Mark Flynn. I would also like to thank Maureen Robinson

and Carol Ashley who did not renominate at last year’s AGM.

Helen Walker OAM

Manager r drivers, using their own com

j)LService Coordinator

Lawson

REPORT 2015-2016

Park St, Katoomba 17/7/2015 (Courtesy Katoomba Police)

I guess I am lucky in that in my time at Mountains Community Transport and then with GREAT Community Transport, I have performed many roles and have a better understanding of the different requirements and challenges facing service delivery. I have been a volunteer, a paid driver/carer and now a Service Coordinator and can truthfully say I have a more complete view from different perspectives with the challenges both great and rewarding. Kerri resigned to another community service and we wish her well with her new venture. Milad replaced her as the Service Coordinator in the Penrith Office. He came from Inner West Community Transport, so arrived with all the skills to perform the job that was needed to fill this position. We welcome him into our Great Team. We work closely together to provide a great service. Jack has been a wonderful asset, in doing Lawson Trips every Monday and filling in when I have been on leave or required to fill in for Milad. I work with a wonderful group of Office volunteers, who help me by dealing with the initial phone enquiries and who are happy to go the extra mile to help GCT to help others. I worked closely with Kendra (Client Intake Officer) & Grahame (reassessment Officer) on a daily basis as understanding each client’s individual transport needs is crucial in ensuring the transports are provided appropriately and efficiently. With the introduction of My Aged Care, the number of referrals continues to rise and there are also a large number of last minute bookings, “last minute.com”, as we affectionately call them, which challenge my scheduling skills and can mean redoing whole runs with changes to pick-up times etc. This means a lot of moving around of clients, drivers and vehicles just before I do the last print out for the day. Jack retired this year and I have trained Andrew to assist in preparing and organizing trips, He has been doing Monday and filling in when I am on leave or need to cover for Milad in the Penrith Office. I enjoy working with the clients, the volunteers, the driver/carers and other staff members, getting all the bookings into vehicles and on their way with enough time to negotiate the many obstacles such as snow (as pictured above), road works, up and down the mountains many times a day to and from their destinations. We work closely with other services, such as Blue Mountains Food Services, providing regular transports to the different centre-based meals (Village Restaurants) and many Aged Care package providers, who have particular clients with specific transport requirements. We have also been able to support 3 Nursing Homes, Opal Endeavour, Opal Anita Villa and Emmaus Village, in giving their residents a regular outing to various venues, with only positive feedback from all of them.

I also prepare the monthly statistics for the Board; I see how hard the team of paid and unpaid drivers and driver/carers and the bus carers work. The vehicles travelled 649,052 klms this year and provided 64,682 passenger trips, in our fleet of 25 service vehicles plus the many volunteer’s cars and we assisted 2,238 individual clients once or many times. The behind the scene work of run verifications, data collection, volunteer claims and reimbursements and invoices are part of the administration that is not always realized but takes time to do and lots of it. I am very grateful for the help that Sara Dickie, Dennise Freeman & Sue Grimble provide, carefully checking the run sheets at the end of each week and then verifying them into the computer. Jack Ellis and then Andrew Mitchell have also helped by learning the trips allocations and this gives me a bit of extra time to do my other mundane but important administration tasks. The number of cancellations is also an issue and very frustrating at times, as the work still goes into arranging the transports and the only thing we don’t do is actually transport the client. So we encourage the clients to let us know as soon as they can of their changes but it usually means very late notice or at the door cancellations. Special Outings continue to be very popular and I have been helped with venue bookings by the Special Outings Working Party, consisting of Joan Egan, Sylvia Seers, Pam Smith & Glenda Burns. This seems to be working very well and the clients are enjoying their outings and are happy to give their ideas of which venues they would like to attend. Grahame Edwards has also taken on the some of the roles for the Special Outings, doing the bookings, WHS reports and learning to put the program together. I find the role of Service Coordinator a rewarding and satisfying one and enjoy my contact with both our team and the clients. This year has been very busy with the preparation of data and training in readiness for RouteMatch, the new scheduling software from Transport for NSW. I coordinated the preparation for the new software and organized the training rosters. This took quite a lot of time and had to get the data ready for the implementation to take place. We have been included into Wave 1 and will GoLive the 3rd week of July 2016. I have also made the decision to retire at the end of August, 2016 and am busy ensuring the staff, who will be taking on my roles have been trained in all the procedures I am handing across. I am looking forward to retirement, as this year has been particularly full on with all the preparatory work for RouteMatch. I wish everyone at GCT a wonderful future as they move forward into the new technology. Phillipa Walker It is now time to take the time to smell the flowers

Penrith Coordinator/Operation Manager’s

report 2015-2016

I’m writing this report whilst in transition from one role to another since Helen Walker’s

retirement. I have been performing my duties as the Coordinator at Penrith for the past

12 months and have embraced the challenge and thoroughly enjoyed it. The last year

has been a very busy period for the Penrith office as we’ve constantly been working

towards delivering a quality service to our clients and trying hard to achieve our targets.

The Penrith office still consists of the Coordinator overseeing operations with drivers

out on the road and also providing support for the volunteer receptionists. The

volunteer receptionists have been doing a great job maintaining the front line and I

have been working with them closely to maintain that high level of customer service.

The volunteer and paid drivers have also been doing a great job out on the road

through their hard work and their dedication not just to their job, but their dedication to

community service as well which really shows as clients show their appreciation for our

driver team through their feedback. They also have the assistance of our volunteer

carers at times who have also been eager to help and obliging at all times.

The key event of the year was of course the introduction of Routematch, the new

booking and scheduling software which replaced the old “Trips” program used

previously. The new software was purchased by TfNSW for community transport

groups in an initiative to capture data that will be used to enable better planning and

delivery of quality services to customers. This was a major change to the operations of

the service as it is a more complex system and much more “automated” and

“electronic” rather than paper based. Whilst this was a major shake up to the way we

operate, I must say that we took on the challenge and came out with minimal disruption

to the service. There were a few concerns at first with the initial implementation date as

we needed to ensure our data was clean when it transferred from the old system, but

after a bit more preparation we finally went live with the new software and have been

operating since. The impact it had on GCT and the clients was absorbed by the strong

operational team at GCT which really demonstrated their capability and their flexibility

to work under pressure.

As I leave my duties as a coordinator and take on new duties as the operations

manager at least for the time being, I acknowledge the great work others have done

before me and look forward to building upon what’s already there and am excited about

what the future holds for the organisation as we aim to keep delivering a service of the

highest quality.

Milad Jonaidi

Service Operations Manager

Client Intake Services / Client Support and

Access Worker

Reassessments / Assessments

Annual Report 2015 – 2016

Assessment, Re-assessment, Incident Reports, Client Concerns and

Client Complaints

Both Kendra and Grahame are responsible for assessing new clients and re-assessing

existing clients and updating their records including organising Work Health & Safety

inspections of driveways, wheelchairs, oxygen cylinders and other aids. Re-assessment is

required every 12 months or sooner if the client has been hospitalised, has changed

address or has changes in their health and/or mobility. We also deal with Incident Reports

and Client Concerns as reported by staff and with clients’ complaints.

During the period July 2015 to June 2016, we conducted 490 assessments and

reassessments in Penrith and 381 in the Blue Mountains. 153 Work, Health & Safety

home visits were organised and completed by senior drivers. We had 48 clients who

stated they no longer wished to proceed with community transport at assessment, 30

clients who had applied for transport but were unable to be contacted and were sent a

letter asking them to contact us again, 36 clients were deemed ineligible at assessment

and we dealt with 126 Client Concerns.

With the advent of My Aged Care, we are receiving a large number of referrals which do

not develop into trips, although an assessment has to be completed before this is

ascertained and most referrals say they would like to be registered “just in case”.

Special Outings Grahame is responsible for all work related to the fortnightly special outings from the planning of the calendar, to the booking of the venues for each outing, the publication of the leaflets advertising the outings, the WH&S access audits for all venues, the publication of venue instructions for the drivers and any follow-up required.

Quality Assurance Survey Grahame’s position also includes the conducting of the Quality Assurance program which involves phoning clients from both LGAs, recording and collating their responses and writing the quarterly report for the manager and board.

Advertising Grahame coordinates the distribution of service brochures advertising GREAT Community

Transport and for organising any changes to the brochures and the reprinting of brochures

as required. A detailed spreadsheet of addresses covering all areas of the Blue Mountains

and Penrith LGAs has been developed and is maintained to ensure that our advertising

brochures are available to potential clients at hospitals, doctors’ clinics, allied health

professionals, council chambers, offices of Members of Parliament, neighbourhood

centres, shops and other appropriate places.

Kendra Herron Grahame Edwards

Client Intake Officer Reassessment Officer

In the past year, our dedicated teams of GCT and SmartLink Volunteer Drivers have

continued to deliver an outstanding service to the Blue Mountains and Nepean LGA’s.

Overview

Based upon their own circumstances, availability, location and/or preferences, our

Volunteer Drivers are designated as one (or more) of the following Crew Types:

Team Drivers - These Volunteers drive GCT supplied vehicles.

Medical Drivers - These Volunteers drive their own vehicles. (Vehicles used by

Medical Drivers must be type appropriate, be in good condition and have

evidence of comprehensive insurance and full registration).

SmartLink Drivers – The SmartLink Transport Register has a group of

volunteer drivers who provide driving service for community groups that do not

have their own drivers. SmartLink Drivers must have a minimum ‘LR’ licence

and be able to drive community buses with up to 20 passengers.

BMCC Access Bus Drivers – The Blue Mountains Council provides buses for

use by authorised and registered community groups from within the Blue

Mountains LGA.

During 2015/2016, and especially since the 1st quarter of 2016, we have experienced a

decline in the number of new Volunteer Drivers joining the Service. This has resulted in

current Volunteers having to shoulder greater responsibility.

With the introduction of the RouteMatch Transport application (see below), we have not

had the available resources to recruit, train and commission additional drivers into the

team.

Volunteer Driver and

SmartLink Co-ordinator

Annual Report

As of 30th June 2016, we have the following active Volunteer Driver numbers:

Nepean Team

Drivers

Nepean Medical

Drivers

Mountains

Team Drivers

Mountains

Medical Drivers

SmartLink

Drivers

13 6 7 9 17

The above totals reflect a decrease of approximately 15% from the previous year.

Our Workload for 2015/2016

Despite the decrease in available Volunteer Drivers, the number of days worked by the

Volunteer Team and Medical Drivers actually increased (see below). It should be noted

that many of these ‘Journeys’ include multiple clients being transported to different

appointments. Therefore, the number of Client Trips completed was far higher.

The number of Journeys for SmartLink and BMCC Access Drivers completed from 1st July

2015 to 30th June 2016 are listed below. It should be noted that, depending on vehicle

type, these bookings require a minimum number of passengers.

Training and Strategic Planning

Formalised training continues to be a vital component of the Volunteer Driver’s experience

with GCT. The training provided by GCT includes modules that are required to maintain

essential skills for the Volunteer Driver to serve Clients. Further, as the Community

Transport sector comes under greater legislative control, it is essential that Volunteer

Drivers are kept up to date with NSW and Commonwealth requirements.

In addition to practical applications, training provides practical work/life skills and added

social interaction with other team members. Volunteer Drivers are required to complete the

following training modules at least every 2 years:

Customer Service and Communications

Work Health and Safety (WHS) and Risk Management

First Aid for Seniors

High Level Driving Skills

In addition to the required training modules, our volunteer drivers have also attended

training in ‘Being an Effective Volunteer’, ‘Assisting Techniques’, and ‘Working with

Diversity’.

In May 2016, we conducted a Volunteer Driver Workshop. At this event, legislative

changes and the imminent introduction of RouteMatch were outlined and discussed.

RouteMatch

Prior to, and subsequent to the implementation of the RouteMatch application, my

workload and assigned tasks have changed. Since early May 2016 I have assumed

primary responsibility for the Lawson Office Co-Ordinator role as well as Managing the

SmartLink service. This added responsibility has resulted in less time and effort being

availability to support the Volunteer Driver Team.

Summary

2015/2016 has been a year of considerable challenge. With the changes to legislation and

preparing for RouteMatch, we have been required to re-assess and modify our processes,

procedures and controls. At the same time, we continue to encourage our Volunteers to

adopt a more outward looking approach in their roles. This will be an ongoing balance as

we move into the Co-Operative Business model.

We will be doing what we can to make our Volunteer Drivers more effective in serving their

community. At the same time, we will be working to make our Volunteer’s experience with

GCT positive, rewarding and as enjoyable as possible.

It is a privilege to work with our team of dedicated staff and volunteers. I look forward to a

year of ongoing growth, filled with exciting possibilities.

Andrew Mitchell

Volunteer Support Worker

Report 2015/2016

This year has been a challenging one for all at GCT. With the introduction of RouteMatch,

the NDIS and myagedcare we barely have time to get used to one new thing when another

rears its head. As Volunteer Support Worker I have been so proud of the way that the

Volunteers have embraced these changes, those who I thought would struggle have really

stepped up and are determined to learn.

Unfortunately, our numbers have dropped to where we have just over 100 volunteers.

This could be due in part to some of the Job Service Providers having implemented

different requirements for their work for the dole clients, I am hoping as the weather warms

up so will interest from the community in volunteering with Great Community Transport.

It is now over 12 months since I have taken on the role of Training Officer I really enjoy this

role and thank Helen for giving me the opportunity to use the qualifications that I have in

this area. I have received some really good feedback from both staff and volunteers to the

training I have delivered, as they find that having someone who has an understanding of

the service that we deliver makes their training really relevant to their role.

It is a pleasure to have so many wonderful committed volunteers working in a variety of

roles in the Blue Mountains & Penrith who provide such wonderful caring service to those

members of their communities who use community transport to allow them to live

independently in their own homes, which is so important to their quality of life.

The next 12 months will bring many new challenges that we will face with the same

positive can do attitude that has made Great the wonderful service that it is and has been

for the last 30 years.

Sharon Sloan

Volunteer Roll Of Honour as at June 2016

Penrith

Volunteer Position Started

Length of Service in

Years

1 Abdul-Aziz Agbere Service Car Driver 6/08/2013 2.83

2 Linda Allen Receptionist 7/02/2014 2.33

3 George Andrianakos Bus Carer 26/08/2014 1.83

4 Zena Beardsmore Bus Carer 13/06/2014 2.00

5 Bert Bouman Service Car Driver 20/05/2011 5.08

6 Ruth Bramble Carer Car 30/03/2011 5.25

7 Glenda Burns Bus Carer 13/05/2009 7.08

8 Elaine Carroll Receptionist 24/06/2014 1.01

9 Kevin Chidley Service Car Driver 1/08/2011 4.83

10 Robert Chruszcz Carer 24/06/2009 7.00

11 Beverley Clackson Carer 8/07/2011 4.92

12 Maurice Dibbin Service Car Driver 19/09/2012 3.75

13 Sara Dickie Receptionist 1/02/2010 6.33

14 Suzanne Forwood Receptionist 6/06/2016 0.01

15 Elaine Gibbons Receptionist 3/06/2014 2.01

16 Terrance Gilligan Service Car Driver 27/01/2010 6.42

17 Terry Hamlyn Medical driver 26/10/2010 5.67

18 Kate Hannah Receptionist 20/04/2016 0.20

19 John Holdsworth Driver 13/06/2014 2.00

20 Kay Hudson Receptionist 20/04/2016 0.20

21 Steven Jackson Carer 21/10/2014 1.67

22 Barbara Krupa Medical Driver 7/09/2015 0.90

23 Dennis Lennon Medical Driver 9/03/2009 7.25

24 Dieter Mattaeus Service Car Driver 8/10/2015 0.80

25 Judith Matuszczak Receptionist 13/10/2005 10.67

26 Lorraine McDonald Bus Carer 21/02/2006 10.33

27 Linda McGee Receptionist 6/09/2013 2.75

28 Molly Moseley Bus Carer 12/07/2004 11.92

29 Ray Mosley Carer 30/10/2013 1.67

30 Sue Moylan Receptionist 31/03/2005 11.25

31 Geoff Murphy Service Car Driver 19/03/2013 3.25

32 Richard Nelson Carer 17/10/2014 1.67

33 Dianne Notton Carer 29/10/2015 0.80

34 Janet O'Riley Carer 20/10/2013 2.67

35 Ross Pierce Service Car Driver 4/04/2013 3.17

36 Lenore Price Receptionist 8/02/2014 2.33

37 Brian Rees Service Car Driver 22/07/2014 1.92

38 Margot Shinn Receptionist 28/11/2013 2.58

39 Pam Smith Bus Carer 16/01/2006 10.42

40 Elsa Speechley Receptionist 22/09/2005 10.75

41 June Stewart Bus Carer 24/02/2010 6.33

42 David Taylor Bus Carer 18/11/2010 5.58

43 Neville Taylor Medical Driver 13/01/2006 10.42

44 Stephen Thornley Bus Carer 23/03/2011 5.25

45 Debra Van Der Wielen Service Car Driver 5/12/2013 2.50

46 Anne Veloso Receptionist 26/05/2015 1.08

47 Daphne Ward Medical Driver 30/01/2007 9.42

48 Jeffrey Watson Bus Carer 10/04/2005 11.17

49 Marlies Wilcox Carer 19/08/2010 5.83

50 Lance Winsor Carer 15/05/2013 3.08

51 Pam Wyard Carer 11/02/2016 0.40

230.58

Average time of service for current volunteers

4.52

Volunteer Roll Of Honour as at June 2016

Mountains

Volunteer Position Started

Length of Service in

Years

1 Carol Askar Carer 13/08/2003 12.83

2 John Bates Service Car Driver 9/04/2014 2.17

3 Sue Beevers Carer 10/06/2014 2.00

4 Wendy Blanchard Carer 13/10/2009 6.67

5 Cathy Brown Receptionist 6/02/2015 1.33

6 Christopher Butler Medical Driver 26/08/2015 0.83

7 Joan Carr Medical Driver 29/06/2015 1.01

8 Jen Chambers Carer 26/02/2014 2.33

9 Robynne Cole Carer 1/11/2012 3.58

10 Lynn Crossingham Carer 22/02/2012 1.01

11 Nick De Brett Carer 29/10/2012 3.67

12 Xanthi Dafnis Receptionist 9/02/2016 0.40

13 Jackie Daschke Receptionist 21/09/2015 0.90

14 Jenny Dillon Carer 13/02/2015 1.00

15 Joan Egan Carer 3/03/2004 1.33

16 Jeannie Elliott Carer 9/02/2016 0.40

17 Paul Elliott Service Car Driver 18/02/2015 1.33

18 Stuart English Medical Driver 2/06/2014 2.00

19 Lynne Foley-Brown Receptionist 21/05/2014 2.08

20 Jenny Foster Medical Driver 19/02/2010 6.33

21 Lyn Gilchrist Carer 9/05/2012 4.08

22 Neil Greenaway Carer 10/11/2011 4.67

23 Sue Grimble Receptionist 24/03/2014 2.25

24 Robert Harris Service Car Driver 3/06/2013 3.00

25 Geoff Hatswell Medical Driver 19/08/2013 2.83

26 Robyn Hayes Carer 8/08/2012 3.83

27 Lyn Higgins Service Car Driver 2/02/2011 5.33

28 John Isles Service Car Driver 28/03/2012 2.25

29 Robert Lewis Service Car Driver 1/02/2011 5.33

30 Phillip Lopes Carer 13/02/2015 1.33

31 Melissa Martiensen Carer 9/02/2016 0.40

32 Sara Matthews Receptionist 12/03/2014 2.25

33 Erica Morris Carer 29/10/1996 19.67

34 Julie Murray Service Car / Medical Driver 18/08/2015 0.83

35 Maureen Robinson Receptionist 12/02/2005 11.33

36 Murray Robinson Medical Driver 12/02/2005 11.33

37 Sylvia Seers Carer 10/06/2005 11.00

38 Kathleen Sheehan Service Car Driver 20/04/2016 0.20

39 Denis Smith Medical Driver 14/02/2002 14.33

40 Julie Starr Receptionist 22/04/2015 1.17

41 Charles Stewart Medical Driver 8/06/2010 6.00

42 Richard Talbot Service Car Driver 20/01/2014 2.42

43 Irene Ti Receptionist 14/07/2015 0.70

44 Alan Townsend Medical Driver 10/01/1999 16.42

45 Sharon Van Keppel Receptionist 13/02/2015 1.33

46 Jenny Wain Receptionist 2/11/2015 0.70

47 Dian Walker Carer 30/10/2008 7.67

48 Alex White Carer 24/09/2014 1.75

49 Cheryl Williams Carer 20/03/2013 3.25

50 Helen Wilson Receptionist 12/02/2013 3.33

204.18

Average time of service for current volunteers

4.08

JEAN HALE VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2015

Our Jean Hale Volunteer of the Year Award was Present by Helen Walker – Manager and

Kevin Richards - Board Chairman.

We had a great response for nominations. Our service is really blessed to have so many

wonderful Volunteers. Congratulations to all our volunteers however there can only be

one winner from each office.

The winner from Penrith is Sara Dickie

Helen Walker Sara Dickie Kevin Richards

The winner from the Blue Mountains is Richard Talbot

Kevin Richards Richard Talbot Helen Walker

To all our wonderful supporters, staff, volunteers and friends for your kindness, support

and generosity.

GREAT Community Transport could not exist without assistance from both private

business and government sources.

To all those special companies, organisations and individuals who provide us with support,

a BIG thank you.

In Appreciation & Recognition

Great Walk Foundation

Windsor Toyota

St Marys Rugby Leagues Club

Blue Mountains Health Trust

Springwood Rotary Club

Can Assist Blue Mountains

Armstrong Op Shop

White River Design

Lions Clubs - Penrith & Cambridge Park

Nepean/Blue Mountains Prostate Cancer Support Group

Golden Oldies

Jean Hale Memorial Volunteer Award

KSR (Kingswood Smash Repairs)

Ross Hutchinson Foundation

Ladies Probus Central Blue Mountains

Our Lady of Nativity

Wentworth Falls Garden Club

J Milton, T. Edwards, J. List, L Hudson, I Thomas, L Langereis

Team work is the key to success within any organisation.

Here are just a few of many kind words expressed from our clients to our

Organisation and Team:-

“What a wonderful day the outing to Damart was. The driver and carer/s were exceptional.

Thank you”

6th August, 2015

“Wonderful service carers and drivers are very good very appreciated of our help”

21st September, 2015

“Just a little note to say a huge thank you to all the office staff who were always very nice

and also helpful. Also a huge thank you to the drivers who drove us on many trips to

Oncology treatments. Without your help it was impossible”

23rd November, 2015

“Most impressed with transport on 11/1/2016! Thank you Great Community Transport very

much”

12th January, 2016

“Very appreciative of all the people at Great Community Transport, you are like a family to

me”

5th May, 2016

Contact Details Mountains Office:

31 Hay Street, Lawson 2783

PO Box 124, Lawson 2783

Phone: (02) 4759 2403

Fax: (02) 4759 2444

Penrith Office:

99 Cox Ave, Kingswood 2747

PO Box 124, Lawson 2783

Phone: (02) 4722 3083

Fax: (02) 4722 3071

www.greatcommunitytransport.org.au

SmartLink Transport

31 Hay Street, Lawson 2783

Phone: 1300 577 346

www.smartlinktransport.org.au