Section 2 – Statement of Requirement

2.1 Eligible Organisations

FaHCSIA will only enter into funding agreements with:

• Incorporated Associations (incorporated under State/Territory legislation, commonly have 'Association' or 'Incorporated' or 'Inc' in their legal name);
• Incorporated Cooperatives (also incorporated under State/Territory legislation, commonly have 'Cooperative' in their legal name);
• Companies (incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 - maybe not-for-profit or for-profit proprietary company (limited by shares or by guarantee) or public companies);
• Aboriginal corporations (incorporated under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2006) and administered by the Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations;
• Organisations established through a specific piece of Commonwealth or State/Territory legislation (many public benevolent institutions, churches, universities, union etc);
• Partnerships;
• Trustees on behalf of a Trust;
• Local Governments; and
• Where there is no suitable alternative, an individual or - jointly and separately - individuals.

Note: FaHCSIA will only contract with a single organisation. Applicants may determine that efficient or effective service delivery is best achieved through the use of a network of providers through a sub-contracting arrangement. This can be recorded in responses to the Selection Criteria. A successful provider who utilises an authorised sub-contracting arrangement will be held liable for all obligations contained in the terms and conditions of the funding agreement. This includes monitoring, management, financial performance, service outcomes, and specifically insurance coverage.

The Reconnect provider must not sub-contract any of the services without prior written approval by FaHCSIA.

2.2 Required Services

The Department seeks to fund community-based organisations to implement the following strategies to achieve the objectives of Reconnect in:

• Bankstown, Parramatta, Auburn (NSW);
• Fairfield, Liverpool (NSW); and
• Albany (WA).
• use family focused early intervention strategies to reconnect young people with family, education, training, employment and the community;
• improve the coordination of services delivered by government and the community sector;
• assist Centrelink by contributing to assessments for young people seeking income support and claiming it is unreasonable for them to live at home; and
• use sound management practices such as:
  • developing and using strategic and operational plans;
  • ensuring access for diverse groups;
  • using documented data management procedures;
  • setting staff entry-level standards;
  • ensuring appropriate supervision of staff;
  • providing training and development for staff;
  • using regular staff appraisal;
  • implementing client and staff safety policies;
  • implementing client feedback mechanisms;
  • using service design processes; and
  • regularly assessing service delivery performance.

Action research is a key component of Reconnect and services will be required to provide evidence that they engage other local services and participants' views in using action research to further develop and shape Reconnect. Service providers are required to comply with the seven Good Practice Principles as given in section 2.6 of the Reconnect Operational Guidelines.

2.3 Funding Agreement period

Following the Selection Process, the Department aims to enter into Funding Agreements with successful applicants by October/November 2009. Successful applicants will provide the Reconnect until 30 June 2011.

2.4 Amount of Funding Available

The Department seeks to fund community organisations to deliver Reconnect to eligible young people and their families living in the communities of:

• Bankstown, Parramatta, Auburn- including the Statistical Local Areas of: Bankstown (C) - North West, North East, South, Parramatta (C) - Inner, North East, North West, South, Auburn (A)
• Fairfield, Liverpool - including the Statistical Local Areas of Fairfield (C) - East, West, Liverpool (C) - East, West.
• Albany - including the Statistical Local Areas of Albany (C) Albany, Denmark (S) and Plantagenet.

Funding for each of the three Reconnect services is as follows:

• *Bankstown, Parramatta, Auburn up to $410,000 pa (pro rata)
• *Fairfield, Liverpool up to $340,000 pa (pro rata)
• *Albany up to $200,000 pa (pro rata)

*All funding is GST exclusive
*Establishment funding may be available in addition to the above funding amounts to assist with any minor establishment costs. Successful applicants can apply to FaHCSIA for consideration for establishment funding.

The funding paid directly to the service provider to provide the Reconnect service will involve:

• Two six monthly payments, both equalling up to 50% of the full year funding. The first payment will be made within 30 days of the signing of the Funding Agreement and the second payment will be made in July 2010;
• 2009 - 2010 funds will be paid on a pro rata basis as services will commence after 1 July 2009; and
• Establishment funding may be available. Applicants should provide details, if establishment funding is required, in the budget breakdown in the Application Form.

The Activity End Date will be 30 June 2011 and the Funding Agreement End date will be 31 December 2011.

2.5 Funding Priorities

N/A

2.6 Use of Reconnect funding

Service providers are funded to undertake a range of holistic services that address issues facing young people and their families. These services can include brokerage, counselling, group work, mediation, education, training and employment. Funding levels are based on a service model involving full/part-time youth and family workers, coordination and part time administrative support.

A service management fee may be charged by an auspice body for the overall management of Reconnect being conducted within their organisation. The fee is usually charged as an administrative expense, is a percentage of the total funding received and must be easily identified in the financial report submitted to FaHSCIA.

Should an auspice body consider charging a management fee, they must negotiate with FaHSCIA to determine whether the fee is appropriate and the appropriate percentage rate to apply. When deciding if a management fee is appropriate, the impact on service delivery must be carefully considered before a fee is set.

What cannot be funded

The purchase of capital items including vehicles cannot be funded under Reconnect. The lease or hire of vehicles is acceptable. Where a lease exceeds $5,000 written permission from FaHSCIA must be obtained before entering into a contract. Details of the proposed leasing arrangement, including registration, insurance and licensing requirements, should be documented by the Funding Recipient in a submission to FaHSCIA.

Service providers may not claim payments that would constitute double funding, e.g. claim funding for a Reconnect participant for whom they receive funding from another source for the same or similar services.

Funding will not be provided for the following categories of costs, whether or not the Project may otherwise meet the Selection Criteria:

• Costs that are not directly and specifically related to the Project, e.g. Ongoing staff wages, rent, overheads and administrative costs of the applicant's existing operations;
• Overseas travel;
• Relocation costs; and
• Retrospective costs, including costs incurred in the preparation of this Application.

2.7 The Funding Agreement

The Funding Agreement is the legal agreement between the Department and the service provider over the funding period. In managing funding provided, the service provider must comply with all the requirements of the Funding Agreement.

Funded service providers are responsible for ensuring that:

• the terms and conditions of the Funding Agreement are met,
• service provision is effective, efficient, and appropriately targeted,
• highest standards of duty of care are applied, and
• services are operated in line with, and comply with the requirements as set out within all State and Territory and Commonwealth legislation and regulations. These include but are not limited to the:
  • Privacy Act 1988,
  • Racial Discrimination Act 1975,
  • Sex Discrimination Act 1984,
  • Disability Discrimination Act 1992,
  • Any applicable Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws,
  • any applicable state or territory law relating to discrimination, and
  • any state/territory laws regarding young people who are under 18 years of age such as mandatory reporting requirements and police checks (Youth Programs).

Providers should also be aware of any case based law that may apply or affect their service delivery.

2.8 Performance Reporting

The current reporting requirements are detailed in the Schedule to the Funding Agreement and include:

• Online collection of de-identified client and group work data
• Annual Progress Report
  • Community Capacity Building Checklist
  • Action Research reports
• Annual Financial Reports
• State/Territory Office service visits.