NCCH Business Plan 2013-2014 · North Coast Community Housing Business Plan 2013-2014 PLANS-CORP-GEN-0002-1 Version 1 23/07/2013 Page 5 of 18 3. What We Achieved in 2012-2013 Strategic

PLANS-CORP-GEN-0002-1 Version 1 23/07/2013

Business Plan

2013 – 2014

Providing leadership in the creation of strong, sustainable regional communities through the provision of high quality social and affordable housing and professional housing services.

North Coast Community Housing Business Plan 2013-2014

PLANS-CORP-GEN-0002-1 Version 1 23/07/2013 Page 2 of 18

Table of Contents

1. Overview .......................................................................................................................... 3

2. Vision, Mission and Values ............................................................................................ 4

3. What We Achieved in 2012-2013 .................................................................................... 5

4. Executive Financial Summary ........................................................................................ 8

5. Key Budget Principles 2013-2014 .................................................................................. 9

6. Business Plan 2013-2014 Critical Success Factors and Goals .................................. 11



1. Overview

The Business Plan 2013-14 was completed by the Executive Management Team and it

describes the goals and actions required to deliver the first year of North Coast Community

Housing’s (NCCH) Strategic Plan 2013-2016.

NCCH’s Strategic Plan has adopted the following three strategies as our primary focus over the

life of the plan:

Customer Service

This strategy has three main parts;

Continuing the work with the Tenant Council to improve tenant participation across the

region.

Ensuring our services meet the needs of our indigenous clients and the wider indigenous

community and are delivered in culturally appropriate ways.

Benchmarking our level of customer service standards and moving towards industry best

practice.

Organisational Sustainability

Over the life of the strategic plan NCCH will ensure the sustainability of the organisation.

Growth

Over the life of the strategic plan NCCH will endeavour to grow our property portfolio in a

sustainable and socially inclusive manner. We will also search out alternative funding

opportunities for the business and strengthen the results achieved through our membership of the

Housing Alliance.



2. Vision, Mission and Values

Our Vision Providing leadership in the creation of strong, sustainable regional communities through the provision of high quality social and affordable housing and professional housing services.

Our Mission We are committed to being recognised as a centre of excellence for delivering social and affordable housing solutions in our areas of operation. Working with our partners and stakeholders, our aim is to be the leading community anchor in the neighbourhoods where we operate.

We work for the care and well-being of our residents through providing the best housing

services and responding to opportunities to increase the supply of social and affordable

housing tenancies

Our Values

As part of the strategic planning process NCCH undertook a review of its Values and what

they mean to our Board, staff and tenants.

We believe affordable housing is an essential part of building a great region. Communities thrive when a mix of people from different backgrounds live together in neighbourhoods they call home.

We will treat our tenants, staff and stakeholders based on our shared values of:

Our Values What does NCCH mean by this?

Respect We are a people-centred organisation, respecting the diversity

and different needs of the individuals we work with and for,

and treat people in a non-judgemental way

Compassion We care about individuals, and want to make a difference to

people’s lives and the communities in which we work and live

Professionalism We provide high quality and innovative housing services

through continually building the skills of our staff, management

and directors

Accountability We are a social enterprise, accountable to our stakeholders and regional communities, with a goal for open communication and transparency in our actions Safety We will provide a safe working environment for our staff, our

contractors, our clients, our visitors and members of the public

who come into contact with our organisation.



3. What We Achieved in 2012-2013

Strategic Portfolio Growth

Our property portfolio has increased marginally from 839 to 848 homes.

Properties 2011-12 2012-13

Leased from HNSW 658 666

Owned by NCCH 5 10

Leasehold 157 155

Rough Sleepers (LH) 4 4

HPA 15 13

Total Properties 839 848

Our portfolio growth in 2012-13 was lower than expected due to significant changes in the policy

environment. The NSW state government restructured and divided housing responsibilities

between two Ministers and Departments.

The Minister of Family and Community Service (The Department of Family & Community

Services) is responsible for Housing policy and service delivery and Minister of Finance and

Services (Department of Finance and Services) is responsible for the management of assets.

The Minister of Finance and Service commenced a review of existing policy settings. This

placed the following policies and programs on hold:-

Property Transfer Program

Vesting the remaining 23 NBESP properties

The consequence is:-

There were no property transfer programs in 2012/13, the main growth driver for

community housing providers including NCCH

Partial and delayed vesting of NBESP properties which are required to meet the NBESP

affordable housing growth targets

Notwithstanding the challenging policy environment facing the community housing sector,

NCCH was successful in gaining the following:-

$1.8 million in Federal government funding under the Supported Accommodation Innovation Fund which was 75% of the cost to build three properties for people with a disability in Murwillumbah, Ballina and Alstonville. The properties have been completed on time and on budget and will provide 12 housing outcomes.

Purchased a 5 x 2 bedroom unit complex in Ballina for $775,000, using our own cash

reserves. This property provides 5/8th of our leveraging target for the transfer of title on the

NBESP properties, and has provided five affordable housing units in Ballina.



Successfully negotiated with FaHCSIA to re-assign our 20 NRAS allocations towards the

purchase of 10 x 1 bedroom and 2 x 2 bedroom units in Tweed Heads valued at $3million

and build 8 x 2 bedroom units in Goonellabah valued at $1.6 million.

Commenced the construction of a specialist disability group home in Byron Bay at a

projected cost of $1.65 million without any government funding, based on securing a 5 + 5

year lease on the property with Gold Coast support provider FSG.

Customer Service Delivery

NCCHC continued to deliver high quality services whist undergoing a restructure of the

Corporate Services and the establishment of a new senior management team, changes in

portfolio management responsibilities.

Our service improvements resulted in NCCH achieving an 88% overall satisfaction rating in the

2012 Tenant Survey, compared to 86% for the community housing sector. Satisfaction with

our maintenance services increased from 74% to 83% from the previous survey.

This was also recognised by the Registrar of Community Housing 2012 Compliance Assessment

Report April 2013, which found us fully or substantially compliant in all areas of our business.

We were also successful in achieving the NSW Federation of Housing Associations award for

excellence in services to tenants at the Federation conference in March 2013.

We further improved our communication with tenants through the two day workshop held in

late June 2012 and by fully involving the Tenant Council in the recent review of the

strategic plan.

Organisational Sustainability

The major issue in this area has been the restructure of the corporate service functions of the

business over the past 18 months with Hariet Brummelhuis joining us in January 2012 and Tanya

Harmon joining us in July 2012. The organisation now has the financial acumen and experienced

staff on board to manage the increasing complexity of the business as we move towards

achieving the targets set in our strategic plan.

We continue our strong financial performance, which is provided in the table below, and provides

further information on our comparative financial performance compared to previous years. The

table below provides further information on our comparative financial performance compared to

previous years.

At the time of writing the Tenancy Management Team have achieved a rent arrears figure of 0.5%

of rental income, or an average of $66 per tenancy across all tenancies. This result is the first time

that the company has achieved such low rental arrears. The current benchmark set by the

Registrar of Community Housing is 2%. The team have achieved this result by focussed effort

over the past year and in the coming year will focus on achieving a similar improvement in the

non-rent arrears.



Key Performance Indicators 2013–14

Budget

2012–13

Actual @

31/05/13

2011–12

Actual

2010–11

Actual

Tenant Satisfaction

Overall satisfaction with the

organisation

90%

88%

83.6%

81%

Service Development

Total housing properties 875 848 839 780

Finance Management

Employee expenses as % of operating revenue Revenue

18.06% 17.02% 15.27%

Property and Maintenance expenses as

% of operating revenue

62.41%

63.92%

63.8%

Other administration and operating expenses as % of operating revenue

9.75%

8.59%

8.03%

Cash at end of year

$1,709,540

$3,262,709

$4,878,531

$4,130,233

Net surplus $996,200 $1,071,504 $1,198,234 $2,114,609

Total Equity $15,700,000 $7,747,472 $5,115,768 $3,917,534

Developing our People

The strength of our senior management team is reflected in building the capacity of the teams,

effective organisational practices and our success in winning and delivering on our tenders.

A considerable focus of developing our HR Policies is to ensure that we have the systems and

processes in place to recruit, retain and develop our staff. We implemented

clearer and consistent HR policies fully implemented on CompliSpace

new organisational values to shape organisational culture and behaviour

competency based position descriptions, with KPI’s linked to the strategic plan

reclassification of all award staff in line with the new national award structure

A commitment to becoming an employer of choice in the region

We are implementing a performance appraisal and management system. To establish a

performance benchmark we undertook a staff satisfaction survey, carried out by the Voice Project

which has allowed us to benchmark our employee engagement against other CHP’s in the sector.

All of our tenancy team, who do not already have a Certificate IV in Social Housing are currently

undertaking the qualification with the training arm of the NSWFHA. Most staff are scheduled to

complete their qualification in the next two financial years.



4. Executive Financial Summary

In 2013-14 NCCH is projecting an O perating Result of $996,200 and a Net Surplus (Net of

Capital Grants) of $834,025.

The major drivers of the 2013-14 budget and key highlights of NCCH’s commitment include:-

• Maintaining portfolio growth through the additional 27 tenancies through NRAS and the

Bangalow Rd Byron Bay properties.

• Increased staffing through the employment of a Community Development Officer in the

second half of the year.

• Building organisational and infrastructure capacity through the implementation our

Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) on line system (CompliSpace).

• Delivering Asset Maintenance Plan of $1.27m for designated capital properties, including identified disability modifications.

• Responsive repair costs of $550k

• Financial Assumptions

- Consumer Price Index of 3.00% applied to income (excluding rent) and expenses. - The rent is based on the trend in the 2012/2013 rental income and has been increased

with the following indexation:

Increase from May 2013 3.00%

Increase from November 2013 2.00%

Increase from May 2014 2.00%

- 5% annual increase applied to salaries

- Superannuation Guarantee increase of 0.25% from July 1

Consultancy fees of $118,5k to undertake work including:

- HR Consultancy

- Annual Staff Survey

- Community Development

- Customer service level survey

- Housing Alliance projects

- Safety awareness program

Media & Promotion costs of $39k

Property & Community Development of $70k

Professional Development of staff of $125k

Board expenses of $87.5k

Office leases of $154k

Council rates increased by 11% based on last year’s average increase

Water charges increased by 4.5%

Insurance increased by 15% based on claims history



5. Key Budget Principles 2013-2014

The key assumptions include Item

Composition

Operating Revenue

Rent, leasehold rent, management and maintenance subsidy , management fee income, operating grants, NRAS subsidy, water charges to tenants, R&M charged to tenants, OMP income

Direct Operating Expenses

Responsive, cyclical and planned maintenance , rates and usage charges, rents to landlords, interest payments on property loans, insurance, SHSP loan repayment, OMP expenses

Administrative Costs

Consultant Fee, External and Internal Audit, IT Service Staff

Training Tenant Participation It and Communications Salaries and on-costs

Salaries – Core, Agency Relief, Superannuation,

Workers Compensation

Detailed assumptions are included in the approved 2013 – 2014 budget. The following information and ratios provide a summary of the key annual targets.

Non-Financial Information

Actual & forecast Budget Budget

FY 2013 FY 2013 FY 2014

Community Housing Residency / tenancy agreements 885 882 923

Number of Properties leased from HNSW 666 632 672 Number of Properties owned by NCCHC 33 32 64 Number of SAIF Units 12 12 12

711 676 748 Number of Leasehold properties 160 167 160 Number of Rough Sleepers (LH) properties 4 4 4 Number of HPA properties 13 15 13 Total number of properties

888 862 925

Number of Void Housing Units 5 5 5

Number of Vacant Housing Units 10 10 11

Number of Properties in development 15 0 0

Employees

Number of FTE 21 22 22



Actual & forecast Budget Budget

FY 2013 FY 2013 FY 2014

Ratios EBITDA Margin (Net of capital Grants) 9.63% 11.06% 9.81%

Net Surplus (Net of Capital Grants) as % of operating revenue 11.00% 12.33% 8.22% Working capital ratio (current assets v current liabilities) >1

Interest cover ratio (EBITDA v interest expenses) >1.5 N/A

11.32

Debt Service cover ratio (EBITDA v interest and loan repayment) N/A

6.86

Debt to Total Assets ratio N/A

18.35%

Debtors ratio (rent arrears v rental income) Strat plan target 3%

Debtors ratio (non rent arrears v non rental income) Rental Bad debts ratio (bad debts v rental income)

target 0.75% 0.62% 0.99% 0.75% Non-rent bad debts ratio (bad debts v non-rental income) target 35% 43.96% 15.71% 35.00%

Average rental revenue per week

$ 167

$ 172

$ 173

Property and Maintenance expenses as % of operating revenue 64.90% 61.36% 62.41%

Employee expenses as % of operating revenue 16.82% 17.52% 18.06% Other administration and operating expenses as % of operating revenue 8.65% 10.07% 9.72% Employee and Overhead Expenses as % of operating revenue 25.47% 27.58% 27.79%

Annual Leave > 20 days, number of employees 2.00 Annual Leave > 30 days, number of employees 0.00

Staff Staff to property ratio 42.29 39.18 42.05

North Coast Community Housing Business Plan 2013-2014 Business Plan 2013-2014


6. Business Plan 2013-2014 Critical Success Factors and Goals

The NCCH Business Plan 2013-2014 translates the Strategic Plan 2013-2016 Organisational Goals into detailed goals and actions and provides a

plan of how these are to be achieved. This is provided in summary below

Summary Business Plan Organisational Goals

Goal

Target (Performance Measure)

1. Customer Service 3.1.1 Tenant Participation

3.1.1.1 - The Tenant Council will be supported to develop their own operational framework for the next three years, their priorities for the year ahead and to undertake a review of their aims, mission and role.

KPI 3.1.1.1 – Tenant Council Operational Plan finalised by 30 December 2013

3.1.1.2 - NCCH will work with Tenants to improve communication, in particular ensuring the use of plain English in our documentation and will review and implement suitable social media strategies to improve the communication with tenants across all age and cultural groups.

KPI 3.1.1.2 – Tenant Communication plan implemented by 31 March 2014

3.1.1.3 - In collaboration with the Tenant Council and staff, NCCH will implement a ‘menu of involvement’ as a tool to promote benefits of tenant participation, offering tenants a variety of ways of getting involved in order that more people are part of the process.

KPI 3.1.1.3 – Tenant Menu of Involvement launched by 31 October 2013

3.1.1.4 - NCCH will implement the disbursement of funds through the NCCH Gift Fund to assist tenants with approved scholarship and grant opportunities.

KPI 3.1.1.4 – NCCH Gift Fund operational by 30 September 2013

3.1.2 Cultural Inclusion 3.1.2.1 - NCCH will commit to working with our Indigenous clients and the wider Indigenous community within the region to ensure our services are culturally inclusive.

KPI 3.1.2.1 – NCCH tenants and regional Aboriginal community groups mapped for forum by 30 November 2013

3.1.2.2 - NCCH will commit to exceeding the requirements of the Community Housing for Aboriginal People strategy over the life of this plan.

KPI 3.1.2.2 – NCCH will set internal requirements for exceeding Community Housing for Aboriginal People guidelines within two months of targets being set.



Organisational Goals

Goal


3.1.2.3 - Within the first year of this plan NCCH will sponsor a forum of Aboriginal clients and Aboriginal community organisations aimed at determining which services would be appropriate to provide.

KPI 3.1.2.3 – NCCH will host a forum for Indigenous tenants and regional Indigenous support organisations by 30 June 2014

3.1.3 Customer Service Standards 3.1.3.1 - Within the first year of this plan NCCH will benchmark our customer service standards against industry best practice and develop an appropriate plan to manage and improve any shortfall against the standards.

KPI 3.1.3.1 – NCCH will engage a suitable consultant to carry out a benchmarking study to determine our baseline Customer Service Standards by 31 March 2014




Goal


2. Organisational Sustainability 3.2.1 Governance

3.2.1.1 - NCCH has sound governance practices in place that meet or exceed the Evidence Guidelines required to maintain Tier 1 or 2 registration, under the National Regulatory System for Community Housing.

KPI 3.2.1.1 – NCCH have conducted an independent audit of our governance practices by 30 November 2013

3.2.1.2 - The Board of NCCH have a documented succession plan in place and conduct an annual review of Board performance against the Regulatory Guidelines.

KPI 3.2.1.2 – NCCH Board have developed a succession plan and conducted a Board performance review by 30 June 2014

3.2.1.3 - The Board of NCCH have a documented professional development plan and commit funds annually for Director development.

KPI 3.2.1.3 - The Board of NCCH have a documented professional development plan and have committed funds in the 2013 – 2014 budget for Director development.

3.2.2 Compliance

3.2.2.1 - NCCH will complete the implementation of the CompliSpace Governance, Risk & Compliance system and ensure that all reviews and actions are completed within the

necessary time frames.

KPI 3.2.2.1 – NCCH have completed the implementation of CompliSpace by 30 November 2013 KPI 3.2.2.2 – NCCH has completed the six monthly reviews of our Risk Register by December 2013 and June 2014.

3.2.2.2 - The General Manager will provide the Board with the necessary reports, within the agreed time frames, to assure the Board that NCCH is meeting its Governance, Risk & Compliance obligations.

KPI 3.2.2.2 – NCCH has completed the six monthly reviews of our Risk Register by December 2013 and June 2014.




Goal


2. Organisational Sustainability 3.2.3 Safety

3.2.3.1 - NCCH will research and implement a structured safety awareness program to ensure the safety of all staff, contractors, suppliers, tenants and members of the public who come into contact with our business.

KPI 3.2.3.1 – Suitable safety awareness program has been sourced and implemented by 30 December 2013.

3.2.4 Staff Employment & Retention - NCCH will endeavour to be an employer of choice within the region.

3.2.4.1 - NCCH will conduct an annual Employee Engagement Survey to assess the success of our staff employment and retention strategies.

KPI 3.2.4.1 – Annual Employee Engagement Survey result of at least 75% of staff Satisfied or Highly Satisfied. KPI 3.2.4.4 – Annual staff turnover rate less than 8%. Based on average staff number through year and number who left that we wanted to stay.

3.2.4.2 - NCCH will implement a robust staff appraisal, recognition and rewards system within the first year of this plan and monitor, review and revise the system in years two and three.

KPI 3.2.4.2 – Robust staff appraisal, recognition and rewards system in place following staff consultation by December 2013.

3.2.4.3 - NCCH will ensure that each staff member has an annual professional development plan that meets the current and future needs of both the employee and the business.

KPI 3.2.4.3 – 100% of staff to have an annual professional development plan in place by June 30 2014.

3.2.5 Finance & IT Infrastructure

3.2.5.1 – NCCH will maximise surplus opportunities in line with our vision and mission.

KPI 3.2.5.1 – NCCH will maximise surplus opportunities in line with our vision and mission.

3.2.5.2 – NCCH will meet arrears and bad debt targets each year as part of the annual Business Plan.

KPI 3.2.5.2 – NCCH has set arrears and bad debt targets as part of the annual business plan and achieved the targets.

3.2.5.3 - Investigation and implementation of a uniform Maintenance Schedule of Rates (SOR) with Alliance members.

KPI 3.2.5.3 – Uniform Schedule of Rates implemented by 30 December 2013.




Goal


3.2.5.4 - Investigation and implementation of cost saving initiatives with Alliance members.

KPI 3.2.5.4 – CSM has implemented the cost saving initiatives which have been investigated by the Alliance members by 30 June 2014.

3.2.5.5 - Investigate cost saving opportunities and value for money within the leasehold property portfolio.

KPI 3.2.5.5 – GM and CSM have investigated and implemented the cost saving and value for money opportunities within the leasehold portfolio.

3.2.5.6 - NCCH IT Infrastructure & Software Plan approved by Board.

KPI 3.2.5.6 – NCCH IT Infrastructure & Software Plan approved by Board by 30 September 2013.

3.2.5.7 - IT infrastructure plan implemented to suit current and future needs.

KPI 3.2.5.7 – NCCH IT Infrastructure & Software Plan implemented by 30 June 2014.

2. Organisational Sustainability 3.2.6 Government and Community Linkages

3.2.6.1 - NCCH will develop and implement a communications and media strategy to ensure that regular contact is made with local, state and Federal representatives.

KPI 3.2.6.1 – Communications & Lobbying Plan approved by Board by 30 September 2013

3.2.6.2 - NCCH will develop a plan aimed at positioning the organisation as a key community anchor in each of the key areas within the region.

KPI 3.2.6.2 – Community Engagement Plan approved by Board by 30 December 2013.




Goal


3. Growth – NCCH will be

proactive in seeking growth

opportunities that align with our

vision and mission.

3.3.1 Portfolio Growth

3.3.1.1 - NCCH will increase its housing portfolio by at least 27 tenancies in the first year, The growth in the portfolio will be based on areas of highest demand and completed developments will be scaled to match the needs within the region.

KPI 3.3.1.1 – NCCH has increased its housing portfolio by a minimum of 27 tenancies by June 30 2014.

3.3.2 Accessible Housing Properties

3.3.2.1 - NCCH will have completed a minimum of $100,000 worth of value for money modifications to new or existing properties to make them accessible for clients with a disability.

KPI 3.3.2.1 – NCCH has completed a minimum of $100,000 worth of value for money modifications to its property portfolio to make them accessible for clients with a disability by June 30 2014.

3.3.3 Community Development Capacity

3.3.3.1 - NCCH will identify at least one discreet community and property redevelopment project within the HNSW portfolio and present a proposal for the project to the NSW Government for consideration.

KPI 3.3.3.1 – NCCH has presented at least one discreet community and property redevelopment proposal to the NSW Government by June 30 2014.

3.3.3.2 - NCCH will engage a suitable qualified and experienced Community Development officer by 31 January 2014, if required, and explore the possibility of cost sharing with other Housing Alliance members. The Community Development officer will have designed and commenced the implementation of the Byron Shire Community Development Plan by June 30 2014.

KPI 3.3.3.2 – NCCH has engaged a suitably qualified and experienced Community Development Officer by 31 January 2014 if required.

3.3.4 Alternative Sources of Funding

3.3.4.1 - NCCH will have sourced and applied for alternative methods of funding to finance new and existing areas of the business.

KPI 3.3.4.1 – NCCH has sourced and applied for alternative methods of funding throughout the financial year and will report the outcome to the Board by 30 June 2014.




Goal


3.3.5 Housing Alliance

3.3.5.1 - NCCH will have collaborated on the Housing Alliance strategic plan and sought Board approval to implement recommendations by 30 September 2013.

KPI 3.3.5.1 – NCCH has collaborated on the Housing Alliance Strategic Plan and sought Board approval to implement recommendations by 31 October 2013.

3.3.5.2 - NCCH will participate in the launch of the Housing Alliance at the National Housing Conference in late October 2013.

KPI 3.3.5.2 – NCCH has collaborated on the Housing Alliance Strategic Plan and sought Board approval to implement recommendations by 31 October 2013.

3.3.5.3 - NCCH will investigate the possibility of collaborating with the other Alliance members in engaging a business development manager for the group to actively source alternative sources of funding.

KPI 3.3.5.3 – NCCH has investigated the opportunity to engage a Business Development Manager with Housing Alliance partners and sought Board approval to proceed if viable by 31 October 2013.


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NCCH Business Plan 2013-2014 · North Coast Community Housing Business Plan 2013-2014 PLANS-CORP-GEN-0002-1 Version 1 23/07/2013 Page 5 of 18 3. What We Achieved in 2012-2013 Strategic