WELCOME

We acknowledge the mental and emotional fatigue many of us have experienced due to COVID-19 throughout the past year. We are indebted to our staff and volunteers, and the supporters, partners and funders who have demonstrated continued compassion towards people in need. Despite the numerous challenges of responding to COVID-19, we are grateful to God that nearly all of our services and programs have continued to be safely delivered in communities throughout Australia.

Celebrating achievements

We are particularly proud of our organisation’s response to the pandemic. Keeping people safe is at the heart of everything we do and we have taken extra precautions to ensure our work environment is safe for our staff and those we serve. Our Aged Care staff are all fully vaccinated and in partnership with local health authorities, we set up vaccination clinics in our community housing at Common Ground in Sydney and the Mission Australia Centre (MAC) in Surry Hills. 

In addition to the physical safety of our staff we have deployed a range of responses to support the mental health of our staff, especially those working at home and grappling with the challenges of lockdowns and restrictions.

One year into our 20-25 Strategy, we are pleased with the progress made. Some highlights include:

  • Construction of the Coffs Harbour MAC and 40 one-bedroom social housing units will be complete this year, thanks to donations from our supporters and partners
  • in June 2021, Mission Australia Housing Partnership Limited purchased off plan 130 units at Mid-Town Macquarie Park in Sydney to make available as affordable housing
  • Advancing the development of new alcohol and drug rehabilitation centres in Cairns and Batemans Bay
  • Establishment of our first Community of Focus initiative in Cairns South
  • We formed a new alliance of sector partners in South Australia to work towards ending homelessness

Our Founding Purpose

For over 160 years, Mission Australia’s Founding Purpose has stood the test of time.

“Inspired by Jesus Christ, Mission Australia exists to meet human need and to spread the knowledge of the love of God.”

During the year we finalised the ‘Unpacking our Founding Purpose’ charter, providing greater clarity on what our Founding Purpose looks like in practice.

As you enjoy our first digital Annual Report, we hope you are encouraged by the fruits of your contribution. Thank you for your support as we strive towards an Australia where all of us have a safe home and can thrive.

Warm regards,

ken dean signature

Ken Dean
Chairman

james toomey signature

James Toomey
CEO

James Toomey’s final year as CEO

In October 2021, James announced his intention to step down from his role as CEO by March 2022.

“It has been an absolute honour to serve Mission Australia in my various roles, and being CEO has been the greatest, most humbling and rewarding experience,” says James.

Read the announcement.

Together, we supported 152,684 Australians on their journey towards independence last year.

Homelessness

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

22,080 people assisted
through 75 services

Housing

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National2

6,092 people assisted
through 10 services

Aged care

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National3

246 people assisted
through 3 services


Alcohol & other drugs

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

5,813 people assisted
through 32 services

Children & families

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

22,864 people assisted
through 66 services

Community development

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

15,942 people assisted
through 19 services


Employment, education & training

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

23,802 people assisted
through 150 services

Family & domestic violence

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

3,846 people assisted
through 18 services

Financial wellbeing

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

5,405 people assisted
through 24 services


Mental health recovery

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

3,134 people assisted
through 36 services

Justice & corrections

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

4,240 people assisted
through 18 services

NDIS

11888 Annual Report stats ICONS National

37,903 people assisted
through 18 services

20-25 Strategy

In 2020, we launched Mission Australia’s 20-25 Strategy with a vision for an Australia where all of us have a safe home and can thrive. In the past year, we are proud of our progress in our four strategic areas of focus. From the construction of a new Mission Australia Centre in Coffs Harbour to expanding our Alcohol and Other Drugs Facilities in Cairns and Batemans Bay.

See our progress

Mission Australia stands together with Australians in need, until they can stand for themselves.

Thank you for making our work possible this year.

Ending homelessness

Construction of the new Mission Australia Centre in Coffs Harbour commenced in early 2021. Made possible by donations from Mission Australia supporters, the new MAC is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that people on the Mid North Coast have access to the services they need and a safe place to call home.

Read more

 

Strengthening communities 

Balancing work and three children as a single-mum, Mary was overwhelmed. She felt unsure about the future but when she connected with our ParentsNext team, Mary began to feel hopeful about the future again.

Read more

Supporting people in need to thrive

Living with impaired vision, everyday things were difficult for Larry. When he connected with our NDIS Local Area Coordinator in Western Australia, Larry’s life took a turn for the better. Today, Larry is thriving and has even volunteered to help others living with a disability.

Read more

 

More inspirational stories

Supporting older Australians: vaccine roll-out at aged care services
Benjamin Short Grove wins gardening awards
A story of addiction and recovery – Dora's journey

Driving excellence

Our Impact Measurement helps us understand how our services improve the lives of our clients and the communities we serve. We measure our impact by asking our clients questions about their wellbeing when they start a service and when they exit.

Funded by the Federal Government, our Reconnect services support young people at risk of homelessness. Our impact measurement data shows that when young people left a Reconnect service, they were more satisfied with their life as a whole than at the start.

Bar chart of Reconnect average satisfaction with 
 life as a whole showing there is an increase when they exit compared with starting

*Matched data collected from January 2020 to July 2021 (n=176)

1 International Wellbeing Group (2013). Personal Wellbeing Index: 5th Edition. Melbourne: Australian Centre on Quality of Life, Deakin University

Research & advocacy

Mission Australia provided submissions to the Federal Government on a range of issues, including:

Homeless icon

Inquiry into homelessness in Australia 2020

Conversation icon

Indigenous Voice Co-Design Interim Report

human rights icon

An Inquiry into the human rights implications of the ParentsNext program.

We furthered our collaboration with the community housing and homelessness sectors, advocating for more social and affordable housing and a national strategy to end homelessness as part of Everybody’s Home.  

Mission Australia continued to advocate for adequate income support for people in need and to combat intergenerational poverty as part of the Raise the Rate for Good campaign. 

Explore our publications

View our media releases

 

Thank you for your generosity

Bill and Heather Webster logoCorella Fund logoDe Grey Mining logoDeloitte logoHerbert Smith Freehills logoIvany Foundation logoLotterywest logoMatana Foundation for Young People logoMicrosoft logoProfield Foundation logoPwC logoRegal Foundation logo Sir David Martin Foundation logo Tenix logoWestpac logo

Our people

Our staff

staff snapshot: 2320 total staff, 1476 full time, 633 part time and 209 casual.

Our volunteers

We thank our 806 selfless volunteers, who over the last financial year generously contributed almost 16,195 hours in the support of our staff and the people we serve.

Our leaders

James Toomey
MSc, MBA, GAICD

Chief Executive Officer

Sally Ascroft
BEc, LLB, GAICD

General Counsel & Company Secretary

Iain Keddie
BSc (Hons), FCA, GAICD

Chief Financial Officer

Ben Carblis
BA, MA, GAICD

Executive, Community Services

Chris Bratchford
MBA, LLB, GAICD

Executive, Housing and Property

Marion Bennett
BA (Hons), GAICD

Executive, Practice, Evidence and Impact

Ramsina Lee
BA, GAICD

Executive, People and Culture

Paul Molyneux
MA,MBA

National Chaplain

Our board

Kenneth Dean
BCom (Hons), FCPA, FAICD

President and Chairman

Simon Miller
MBA MPA BA MAICD

Evelyn Horton
BEc, MSocSci (Econs), FAICD

Debra Stirling
BA, GAICD

Dr Robert Mitchell AM
LLB, MPhil, GradDipTax, GradDipTheol, MThSt, GradCertMin, PhD, FAICD

Richard Mark Hutchinson
DBus, BCom

Ian Hammond
BA (Hon), FCA, FCPA, FAICD

Nancy Fox
BA, JD Law, FAICD

Our founding purpose - 'Inspired by Jesus Christ, Mission Australia exists to meet human need and to spread the knowledge of the love of God'