The 2024-2025 year has been marked by both achievement and resilience. We are pleased to report ongoing financial sustainability, with continued growth in fee-for-service income complementing grant funding and strengthening ADSI’s long-term stability. These results reflect strong financial stewardship and the commitment of our dedicated team.
ADSI remains guided by a strength-based, client-centred approach – prioritising shared decision-making, focusing on meaningful outcomes, fostering partnerships, and delivering integrated services. These principles continue to shape our strategy, governance, and daily operations, delivering lasting impact across the community.
While ADSI had a break even financial year this year, reflective of growth, staff changes, increased operating costs, and community investment – total income again increased with fee for service continuing to outstrip grant income.
But what was really heartening for us was the community impact – 35,000 hours of home care delivered, 622 volunteer visits with the elderly, 183 individuals supported to find affordable housing, 500 new clients provided emergency relief, 206 playgroup sessions delivered, and over 500 community education sessions delivered.
ADSI Annual Report 2022-2023
2022-2023 is the first full year that ADSI resumed its operations in a “traditional” way post-lockdown/pandemic.
Facing unprecedented external challenges such as stricter compliance, severe staff shortages, and soaring costs of operation, ADSI implemented a range of transformation measures from governance to operations to ensure that the organisation was well-positioned for the future.
Meanwhile, ADSI continually encouraged internal efforts in the areas of system enhancements, staff development, community engagement, partnerships, advocacy, and promotions.
It is worth noting that revenue from fee for services exceeded that from block funding for the first time in history during the reporting period, reaching a level close to 50%. This is an outstanding achievement made during a difficult period, leading to stronger financial sustainability and making further investments in staff systems and infrastructure possible. ADSI wouldn’t have been able to make these achievements without everyone’s contributions.
ADSI Annual Report 2021-2022
ADSI operated in the COVID-19 pandemic for another full year in the last 12 months, starting with a 4-month NSW-wide lockdown. It is a challenging, stressful, and anxious experience for everyone.
Keeping everyone safe remains the priority. ADSI closely monitored physical and mental health of its workforce, and constantly provided support such as advice, peer support, employee assistance program, and flexi for healthy work life balance.
ADSI applied and will continue to apply people centred, needs-based, and outcome-focused principles for the best possible support to clients and local communities, in a positive way.
 ADSI Annual Report 2021-2022 |
ADSI Annual Report 2020-2021
ADSI operated in the COVID-19 pandemic for another full year in the last 12 months, starting with a 4-month NSW-wide lockdown. It was a challenging, stressful, and anxious experience for everyone.
Keeping everyone safe remains the priority. ADSI closely monitored physical and mental health of its workforce, and constantly provided support such as advice, peer support, employee assistance program, and flexi for healthy work life balance.
ADSI applied and will continue to apply people centred, needs-based, and outcome-focused principles for the best possible support to clients and local communities, in a positive way.
| ADSI Annual Report 2020-2021 |
ADSI Annual Report 2019-2020
The organisation transitioned from an incorporated association to a company limited by guarantee (CLG) on 31/03/2020, registered with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) under the Corporation Act 2001 (cth), with the company name – Accessible Diversity Services Initiative Limited (ADSI). This change is in line with ADSI’s strategy to switch to a skill-based organisation, following a top-down approach. The Board and CEO fully understand that a successful service organisation requires capable workforce in conjunction with efficient systems, and any transition process would be difficult and painful, as it involves cultural changes, operational overhaul, staff turnover, stakeholder relationship, and significant investments of time and money. However, it is critical for ADSI to remain competitive for the future of the organisation.
Everything was managed and progressed well until the COVID-19 outbreak which changed not only the world, but inevitably the way we work, in a very short time. The Company still needed to maintain its contractual obligations during such a difficult time, i.e. service delivery. Our core business in the last 20+ years, i.e. settlement services were hit hard following the government border closure decision in March 2020. This means less and less eligible clients and workers had to work harder to provide services in a completely different way. Other block funded programs were also negatively affected to different levels. Fee for services once again indicated its importance in terms of revenue, employee headcount, growth and ultimately financial sustainability for the whole organisation.
| ADSI Annual Report 2019-2020 |
ADSI Annual Report 2018-2019
In the financial year 2018-2019, we saw tremendous changes within Auburn Diversity Services Inc (ADSi), which affect the organisation in the areas of finance, service provision, human resources, risk management and compliance.
It is obvious that the organisation’s traditional core business in the last 20 years, i.e. settlement services were hit hard in the last 12 months, as a result of mixed reasons such as more rural and regional rather than metropolitan settlement allocations, and a revised funding model based on initial arrivals rather than second migration. Though there was dramatical reduction in block funding, we observed increased responsibilities as a frontline service provider as a result of transition from output to outcome focused in our daily work, where service provision must be able to demonstrate it actually makes a positive change to people’s lives, or at least help to do
so.
On the other hand, it is also evident that fee for services became much more important in terms of revenue, employee headcount, growth speed and ultimately financial sustainability for the whole organisation. However, the fee for services model requires the organisation to have robust systems in finance, human resources, compliance, risk management, and service delivery, and ability to consolidate all such systems to provide a solution package to clients, in a free market where not-forprofits, commercial companies, individuals are competing for service quality and value for money to attract and retain clients.
| ADSI Annual Report 2018-2019 |
ADSI Annual Report 2017-2018
2017-2018 is a year of improvement at Auburn Diversity Services Inc (ADSi) where we saw a range of changes introduced into the organisation to ensure quality services are provisioned to eligible clients and community members, with a special focus on fee for services and outcome based block funding. These include,
- Improvement of our aged care home care services which successfully met all requirements during the Aged Care Quality Review conducted by the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency (AACQA) in December 2017
- Finalisation of disability services operational procedures and went through smoothly random audit conducted by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in April 2018
- Investment to establish the new Disability Employment Services (DES) Employment Support Service (ESS) in June 2018 with services starting from July 2018, a 5-year contract based on outcomes or performance.Different from traditional block funding where funds are allocated for certain outputs, services based on the fee for services model requires the organisation to have robust systems in finance, human resources, service delivery, etc., and ability to consolidate all these systems together to provide packages to clients, in a market where not-for-profits, commercial companies, individuals are competing for service quality and value for money to attract and retain clients.
| ADSI Annual Report 2017-2018 |