Annual report 2022

WELCOME

The ongoing pandemic and environmental challenges in the past year had an immense toll on many of us. We are so grateful for our community of supporters, staff, partners, funders and volunteers who continued to demonstrate kindness, Christ-like love and generosity.

Celebrating achievements

Helping people and communities thrive is at the heart of what we do. We are incredibly proud of our organisation’s resilience in serving and caring for people throughout previous lockdowns and restrictions. Our staff demonstrated creative and dedicated ways of helping others. This was demonstrated in our commitment to the long-term recovery of flood affected communities across NSW and QLD. While Mission Australia is not a disaster relief organisation, our teams coordinated vital community services, and provided support to people experiencing disadvantage and homelessness.

Our frontline teams in Inala and Coffs Harbour prepared over 1,000 care packages, distributed essential items and assisted in recovery efforts.

Two years into our 20-25 Strategy, we are pleased with our progress. This past year, we:

• Opened a Mission Australia Centre (MAC) in Coffs Harbour, along with the Duke Street Housing Complex (which includes 40 one-bedroom social and affordable housing units).
• Advanced our Community of Focus initiative in Cairns South and commenced plans for three additional Community of Focus initiatives in strategic areas.
• Continued the development two Residential Alcohol and Other Drug services in Cairns and Batemans Bay.
• Commenced the development of Mid-Town in Sydney, with the first 259 social housing dwellings on track for completion next year.
• Launched our second innovative Reconciliation Action Plan, which outlines actions for achieving Mission Australia’s vision for reconciliation and commits to 85 deliverables that we will implement by the end of 2023.

Our Founding Purpose

This year, we celebrated 160 years since Benjamin Short founded Sydney City Mission on 11 July 1862.

Distressed by the poverty and deprivation he saw on the streets of Sydney, Benjamin Short’s Christian faith led him to gather church, business and civic leaders to establish the Sydney City Mission.

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

Our Founding Purpose is at the core of everything we do here at Mission Australia and, 160 years on, we remain committed to continue with our purpose and vision to end homelessness and see lives transformed.

Thank you for your support. Together, we are striving towards an Australia where all of us have a safe home and can thrive. We hope you enjoy our 2022 Annual Report.

Warm regards,

Ken Dean
Chairman

Sharon Callister
CEO

Ending homelessness

Thanks to funding from our generous supporters, the new Mission Australia Centre in Coffs Harbour opened in February as part of our ongoing commitment to help people like Ezra on the Mid North Coast have access to the services they need and a safe place to call home.

Read Ezra's story

Supporting people in need to thrive

Terry loves motorbike adventures but sadly, his riding days came to a sudden halt when Terry was diagnosed with advanced multiple sclerosis. Our Local Area Coordination team helped get access to the support he needed but they also went the extra mile to surprise Terry with the ride of a lifetime.

Read more

Driving excellence

Our Impact Measurement Program helps us understand how our 78 homelessness services improve the lives of the people and communities we serve. We measure our impact by asking the people we help about their housing and wellbeing when they start a service and when they exit.

Funded by the Federal and State Governments, our services provide support to people who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness and housing instability. Our impact measurement data shows that when people left a service, they were more satisfied with their personal wellbeing than at the start.

92% of people at risk of homelessness at entry were in secure and stable accommodation at exit.*

Research & advocacy

Mission Australia provided submissions and presented evidence to the Federal Government and State and Territory Governments on a range of issues, including:

• The Productivity Commission’s review of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement
• Federal pre-budget consultations
• The National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Their Children
• The new Disability Employment Services model

We continued to advocate for a national plan to end homelessness, further investment in social and affordable housing, adequate income support and other policy priorities to support people in need to thrive. 

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