The Shepherd Centre - 2012 Annual Report

Annual Report2012

About UsThe Shepherd Centre is a registered charity, founded in 1970 by Dr Bruce Shepherd AM and his late wife Annette to provide a family-centred training program to teach children born deaf or hearing impaired how to develop spoken language.The Shepherd family’s mission - to enable children who are deaf and hearing-impaired to develop spoken language so they may fully participate in the world, and in doing so, reach their full potential - remains our organisational vision to this day.Since its establishment, The Shepherd Centre has supported more than 2000 deaf and hearing-impaired children to develop spoken language, attend mainstream schools and participate fully in society. Today, we provide a range of services to more than 370 children each year, across our five centres in NSW and the ACT. Year after year more than 90% of children we’d expect to develop spoken language at the same level as normal hearing children do so by the time they are ready for school. These outcomes have earned The Shepherd Centre an international reputation as a centre of excellence in helping children with hearing loss learn to listen and speak.

Our cover child

Emerson Our cover star, Emerson, 4, is a superhero to his family – and a super inspiration

to everyone at The Shepherd Centre. Emerson was born with a condition

called microtia, whereby his ear didn’t form properly on his right side, along

with mild-moderate hearing loss in his left ear. But these conditions have

never held ‘Super’ Emerson back in any way!

Emerson is currently learning to listen and speak at our Darlington centre,

having recently received a Baha (implantable device) to provide him with

access to speech sounds and the ability to hear.

Of Emerson’s journey at The Shepherd Centre, mum Vanessa says: “A whole

amazing world has opened up to Emerson now. He now knows the words to

his favourite songs on the radio, happily singing along! It didn’t even dawn on

me before that he didn’t know the words but now I realise he probably couldn’t

hear them clearly.

“We will be eternally grateful to The Shepherd Centre for introducing us to the

beautiful world of the Baha.”

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Contents

Message from our Chairman 2

CEO’s Reflection 4

Our Past Graduates of the Year 6

The Class of 2012 9

Our Clinical Programs 17

2012 Clinical and Research Outcomes 18

2012 Clinical Programs Update 22

Meet the Team 23

Senior Clinical Team 24

Collaborative Research, Presentations and Publications 34

2012 Centre Updates 46

Fundraising & Communications 53

Bequests & Major Gifts 55

Direct Mail Appeals 56

Loud Shirt Day 57

Trusts and Foundations 58

Corporate Volunteering 60

Australian Father of the Year Awards 62

How you can help 65

Our Operations 67

Our Patrons 68

ESG Assessment 70

Concise Financial Statements 73

First Voice 98

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2012 in Review

A message from our Chairman

Michael ShepherdChairman

Our total income levels reached a historical high which went some way to meeting the expenses associated with our historically high number of children being supported; our Graduates scored remarkable speech, language and vocabulary outcomes on their way to ‘big school’; our staff and family satisfaction ratings soared; and we expanded a number of our programs in order to provide a service to families that is better than ever.

All in all, 2012 has been a wonderful year for everyone involved with The Shepherd Centre.

However, we are not resting on our laurels. As we move toward 2013, we are more committed than ever to remaining at the forefront of our field, and will continue to develop and improve our services to ensure every young child with hearing loss can have a very bright future.

And what better example of this than our 2012 Graduating Class, as they prepare to head off to mainstream primary schools with speech and language skills that are on-par with their hearing peers. Not only is this the pinnacle of our work at The Shepherd Centre, it is also an ongoing tribute to the vision of my brother Bruce Shepherd and his late wife Annette. And I’m so thrilled to say that our 2012 Graduating Class achieved some of our most outstanding outcomes yet – you can read more about our graduates and their achievements on page 9.

This year saw The Shepherd Centre celebrate an impressive number of milestones. The number of families in our Early Intervention program hit an all-time peak; as did the number of talented and highly-skilled staff we employ to provide a bright future for those families.

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They say that “it takes a village to raise a child” – and this certainly rings true in the case of our programs. The wonderful results achieved by our Graduates simply wouldn’t be possible without the tireless dedication of their primary ‘therapists’: their parents and primary carers. At the core of our Early Intervention program is our commitment to working with the family, not just the hearing loss.

Our programs are designed to train parents to seize every opportunity in day-to-day life to teach their child to listen and speak. We know from experience that the most effective therapy takes place at home, every day, through the constant interactions with mum and dad, doing everyday activities such as cooking, washing, going to shops or for a walk outdoors.

The Shepherd Centre works with families to involve their child in these everyday experiences, and use them to develop their skills in listening, speech and language, in order to learn to talk. Our focus is on teaching parents, so they can teach their child.

Our outstanding results are testament to our investment in our staff: our expert Clinical team – made up of Listening & Spoken Language Specialists, Child & Family Counsellors and Audiologists – works closely with families to give them both the practical knowledge and confidence they need to continue the development of their child’s listening and spoken language in their home environment. As an organisation, we are proud to boast among the highest number of certified Listening & Spoken Language Specialists within Australia and internationally.

During 2012, we invested heavily into our future operations, with significant expenditure into recruiting new donors and supporters, into our centres and their refurbishment, and into our staff. This had a consequential one-off impact on our financial results, as presented later in this Annual Report.

We also continue to invest significantly in a sustainable research program which continues to guide our clinical excellence. Our ground-breaking research outcomes have allowed us to contribute to the growing body of evidence for the importance of Early Intervention being presented locally, and around the world.

To complement our investment in people and programs; 2013 will see us invest in purpose-built spaces to ensure we can continue to meet the growing demand for our services. Our presence at the Australian Hearing Hub confirms for us the excellence that The Shepherd Centre is achieving in the field of paediatric hearing loss, and puts us side-by-side with leading hearing organisations such as Cochlear, Australian Hearing, the National Acoustic Laboratory, the Hearing CRC and the very best researchers from Macquarie University making breakthroughs in the field of hearing health.

We will also relocate our flagship centre to new cutting-edge facilities in Newtown, allowing us to expand our services to meet increasing demand from the community, and to create purpose-built, future-proof facilities.

As always, 2013 looks set to be another milestone year for The Shepherd Centre, and I sincerely hope we will continue to benefit from your support as we embark on an exciting new year, and into the future.

Michael Shepherd,Chairman

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2012 in Review

CEO’s Reflection

Throughout the course of each year, I am so privileged to witness the incredible progress of our children and families as they embark on a life-changing journey – the first steps of which are taken here at The Shepherd Centre. It’s heartwarming to see the transformation our families experience along the way, as our children meet – and often, exceed! – speech, language and vocabulary milestones that may have once been thought out of reach.

Thanks to the establishment of two brand-new centres in 2013, we are so thrilled to say that next year will see The Shepherd Centre witness even more transformations than ever before; more incredible family stories, such as those of this year’s Graduates, and more of those magic moments for the children and families our dedicated team see every week.

Those who know me, know that I’ll happily tell anyone who’ll listen that I have “the best job in the world”. When anyone asks me, “So, what do you do?”, that’s generally the response they receive! Just walking through the door of The Shepherd Centre provides me with inspiration – not just for the day ahead – but for revelling in life’s magic moments and milestones, and making the most of each day.

That we can look forward to a presence in such innovative new facilities is all thanks to the kindness, generosity and compassion of a number of wonderful donors, who are committed to ensuring a very bright future for The Shepherd Centre in 2013, and beyond.

The cost of preparing for these two new centres, along with the considerable investments we have made into recruiting new donors, enhancing our other centres and growing our team, took a significant toll on our financial result for 2012. Whilst the cost of these activities is very significant for a charity of our size, these investments are critical for our future. With more and more children joining our service, we have an ongoing need to enlarge and enhance our capabilities. The investment into donor acquisition comes with a significant short-term cost but a massive long-term payoff, which will ensure that The Shepherd Centre is able to support increasing numbers of children in the years ahead.

Finally, we are so lucky to have a group of friends who feel as passionately as we do about providing a future for every child, and so, as we prepare for what promises to be an incredible year ahead, I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the instrumental impact your friendship and support has made, and dedicate the magic of 2013 to you.

Jim Hungerford,Chief Executive Officer

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2012 in Review

Our Past Graduate of the Year

Shannon has moderate-severe bilateral microtia – she has no ears or ear canals, and was deaf from birth. Shannon wears two Baha devices to assist her hearing.

Eighteen-year-old Shannon remembers her Graduation Day at The Shepherd Centre as if it were yesterday. “I was really excited and a bit hyped up and just feeling really proud,” Shannon said. After taking to the podium to receive her Graduation certificate, Shannon remembers having lots of talks with her Dad about attending ‘big school’, and feeling anxious and somewhat scared.

Shannon says her fears were unfounded and the transition to school was actually much better than she expected. She soon made friends and settled in well, however, she found her teachers’ awareness of her condition was an issue at times, as they didn’t know about her hearing loss and would sometimes get short of patience about having to repeat themselves.

Shannon’s family advocated on her behalf, organising a chat with her school to resolve the issue. A new process was established, whereby Shannon would sit at the front of the classroom and her teachers limited their dictation for Shannon’s benefit.

Shannon has always enjoyed school and an active social life - she’s a member of the Surf Life Saving Club and plays for the NSW hearing-impaired soccer team. Having just completed her HSC, Shannon now has her sights firmly set on University, and is hoping to study Hearing and Speech Science, and go on to be an Audiologist.

Congratulations to our 2012 Past Graduate of the Year, Shannon Fox

Reflecting on the end of her school years, Shannon says building strong relationships and maintaining open communication with the school is key to assisting children’s journey through their school years.

Shannon’s advice to parents? “It does work, it’s not as hard as it may seem and you will get there. Use the resources you can access and don’t be afraid to ask for help.” And to our Graduating children – “Don’t try and hide anything about who you are - be yourself.”

Shannon is an incredibly accomplished young woman, who inspired many of our current families with her eloquent Graduation speech and her ‘go-getter’ attitude.

Wishing you our most heartfelt congratulations, Shannon! We’re so proud of your achievements.

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2012 in Review

Our Junior Past Graduate of the Year

Seven year old Thomas graduated from The Shepherd Centre in 2010, and will commence Year Two of primary school in 2013. He first joined The Shepherd Centre in 2005 after he was diagnosed with mild to moderate-severe hearing loss, and wears hearing aids in both ears.

Thomas’ mum Jodi says he absolutely loves school and is up and dressed before she is, as he just can’t wait to get there.

Thomas loves sport and visual arts, and like most children his age, he isn’t too keen on mathematics! He’s also a member of various extra-curricular activities including the gardening club and the school choir where he sings lots of pop songs, although his Mum says his favourite song to belt out around the house is the National Anthem!

Recently, Thomas came home from school and told Jodi that if he can’t read the words on the song sheet, he just listens to see what the words are – this was a really lovely moment for Jodi, who says she’s pleased that the transition to ‘big school’ wasn’t as difficult as she thought it was going to be.

“It was much easier than I expected. I actually took five weeks long-service leave to help him settle in, but he didn’t need it! On the first day he kissed us goodbye and didn’t look back.”

Jodi feels The Shepherd Centre was instrumental in preparing Thomas for the journey to big school, as he learned to be himself even without mum being there. She says Thomas is a confident boy – The Shepherd Centre taught him to become independent and to be an active learner, as a teacher, something she feels is important for all adults.

Congratulations to our 2012 Junior Past Graduate of the Year,Thomas

Jodi still uses some of the techniques she learned during Thomas’ sessions at The Shepherd Centre – and even uses them on her Year 1 class!

When Thomas graduated from The Shepherd Centre, she was worried their family would be alone, but she soon realised that the relationship with The Shepherd Centre was far from over.

In tricky times, Jodi also felt very able to help Thomas herself, as all the theory she had learnt in therapy sessions had been well established. In Jodi’s own words, ‘the journey never stops’.

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Meet our graduating class

Mohamad came to The Shepherd Centre when he was 18 months old, and received his first cochlear implant through the First Sounds Cochlear Implant program when he was 2 years old, and the second one at 3. He always has wonderful stories to tell about his weekend activities - whether attending a family party or going to the park or shopping with his family.

Rakin started at The Shepherd Centre in June 2010 and received bilateral cochlear implants through the First Sounds Cochlear Implants Program in June 2012. With his new implants Rakin is making good progress with his listening skills and is learning to use 2 languages – English and Bengali. He is continuing to amaze his parents by learning new words every day.

Ethan turned five years old in October 2012. Ethan loves music and singing and the first thing he asks when arriving for his AVT session is “What song will we be singing today?” Ethan enjoys swimming too and loves talking about his swimming pool at home.

Lea will soon turn five years old. She is bilingual, speaking Russian and English with her family. She loves her therapy sessions, which she attends with both her mum and dad. Lea’s time at The Shepherd Centre has been a family affair – her two sisters also come to sessions, and Lea loved getting to play with her cousins at Pre-School!

The Class of 2012Each year, we’re so privileged to be able to share in the celebrations of our children and families as they graduate from our Early Intervention program. Our annual Graduation ceremony is a much-anticipated event, with staff, parents and supporters alike enjoying the opportunity to reflect on the inspiring achievements of our graduating children, and wish them well as they embark on their journey off to school!

2012 in Review

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The Class of 20122012 in Review

Alexander is such a friendly boy who is always happy to talk to others about his day or his favourite toys – trains, which he enjoys playing with and building tracks for with his little brother and parents. Alexander is incredibly excited to be going to school this year and is always happy to give things a go and he is determined to do his best.

Kaelan is four and a half years old. He is a warm and friendly child who loves spending time with his family. He is very chatty and really has “the gift of the gab”. He loves playing with the “marble run” during his lessons and enjoys book sharing too.

Cohen is five years old and is active and full of life. His favourite colour is Yoda green and he would like to be an audiologist/puppet master when he grows up. Since joining The Shepherd Centre, Cohen’s most memorable moment has been getting his first cochlear implant and hearing a light sabre.

Emily is five years old. She loves playing teachers with her dolls and little sister Claire, as well as giving swimming lessons in the living room. When she grows up she wants to be a doctor, a scientist or a nurse, but hasn’t decided which one just yet.

Daniel is excited about turning five. He loves going camping with his dad and brother. He is so happy to be heading off to school each day with his big brother this year.

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Fynnbar is five years old and is a very kind and thoughtful boy. He has a wild imagination and tells detailed make believe stories! He also enjoys listening to stories made up by others and loves drawing.

Jack is known for his snappy dressing and great sense of humour. His favourite colour is whatever works best for that day’s outfit. He loves to keep his twin sister on her toes and enjoys having a chat with any interested party. When he grows up, Jack is hoping to become part of the Police force, like his mummy. Jack is best known at The Shepherd Centre for his imagination and wild story telling.

Murphy has a profound loss in his left ear but it has never held him back in anyway. From very early on, Murphy has shown his love of books and reading, something that grows stronger as he grows older. He also started talking quite early on and hasn’t stopped! Murphy loves listening to music, dancing, making up silly songs and rhymes and his favourite colour is pink.

Tabitha is five years old, and loves riding bikes, going to the park with her mum and dad, and being creative. Her favourite colour is pink. When she grows up, Tabitha says she’d like be a nurse. Tabitha likes to tell everyone about her recent trip to America - she loved it, and would like to go back to visit Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

Ellie Rose is five years old and is excited about being at school. Ellie Rose loves reading stories with her mum and doing craft.

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Alice is five, and loves art – she’s incredibly creative and artistic, with great talent. She enjoys fantasy stories and her favourite animal is a unicorn! At home, Alice has one little brother, and prides herself on being a big helper for her mum.

Millicent is five years old. She loves swimming at home with her brother Ted and sister Isla or at the beach on a Sunday morning at Nippers. Millicent can now hear her mum whisper ‘I love you’ before she goes to sleep at night.

Ethan is a very cheeky boy – he was able to wink before he was two years old! He loves his family, enjoys being active and absolutely adores cars.

Max is five years old. Max wears a lot of maroon because he loves the Manly Sea Eagles. Max also loves doing Tic Tacs on his skateboard and hanging out with his twin sister Natalija and listening to music with his Dad.

Kristian came to The Shepherd Centre’s Annual Residential Workshop in Sydney in 2008, when he was six months old. Kristian is a country boy who loves the great outdoors. His favourite thing to listen to is the sounds of the bulls at rodeos, and he has an abundance of stories to tell any willing listener about his experiences of growing up in the country.

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Saja is five years old. She is an energetic, social and confident girl and has loved coming to The Shepherd Centre. She is always willing to try new things and attempts to do her very best at all activities. She loves the colour pink and playing lots of fun games with her friends and her older brother.

Casey is five years old, and he absolutely loves wrestling! At home, Casey likes playing with his big sister, and enjoys listening to the music made by his dad, who is a musician. Casey’s language skills are coming along very well.

Dylan is now five years old and has been attending The Annette Shepherd Centre in Casula since he was 1 month old. Dylan’s favourite thing to do in sessions is build complicated machines out of blocks and also playing with the iPad! Dylan’s favourite thing to do at home is ride his bike with his brothers. Dylan’s brothers have taught him how to dance to Gangnam Style while they play in the pool! They have lots of fun with this.

Angus is a happy and very friendly boy and has grown so much confidence during his time at The Shepherd Centre and has also made some very special friends. He enjoys teaching his little sister all about the world as well as showing her how to play fun games. Angus’ favourite things to play with are toy cars.

Atticus loves socialising with his friends and solving maths problems. He is five and his favorite colour is green. Atticus hasn’t stopped talking since first getting his hearing aids and has plans to be a master builder when he is older.

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Amelia is excited about being a ‘big girl’ at school. She’s a very sweet little girl and a real giggler – her laughs are infectious. At home, she loves to go shopping with her mum, and at The Shepherd Centre, she always tries very, very hard in sessions – she will no doubt be a wonderful student at big school.

Sion has a love for all things alphabet and he loves reading books. Sion loves to sing – especially “incy wincy spider” and “chicka boom boom”. He has an awesome vocabulary in both English and Japanese.

Jacob is six years old. Jacob is known as “cub” to his loved ones due to his beautiful cuddly disposition. He loves singing and is always ready to sing “row your boat” and “the washer woman” songs.

Dylan is a happy boy who enjoys playing all kinds of games with his mum and dad. Dylan likes watching other children and copying the fun games and activities that they do. During Dylan’s time at The Shepherd Centre he has made many friends and has enjoyed his therapy sessions. He is particularly interested in practicing his writing with mum’s help and loves naming and playing with all different shapes and colours!

Luke is seven years old. He loves talking about all things “transport” and has a wonderful understanding about how machines operate. Luke has lovely social skills and can often be found chatting to The Shepherd Centre staff about tips on food preparation and when the garbage is collected.

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Phoebe has been so impressive in building her listening skills and language in her three years at The Shepherd Centre. Now she has a huge vocabulary and is able to use increasingly longer sentences. She follows musical tunes and likes to sing along to the radio while in the car.

Layla loves reading princess stories and playing with her friends. Her favourite colour is purple, and her favourite things to do with her family are shopping with mum, and reading books with dad. When Layla grows up, she’d like to become a vet.

Liam turned five in February. He has a passion for learning and loves socialising with his friends. Liam has an active imagination and enjoys creating his own play scenes especially involving dinosaurs.

Brian is really active and has lots of energy. He likes to spend time with his dad and brothers riding motorbikes and doing ‘boy’ things. He also loves technology and has lots of favourite DVD’s. His favourite thing is anything to do with his iPad.

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Our Clinical ProgramsHelping children & families

Our programs and services focus on training parents to seize every opportunity in day-to-day life to teach their child to listen and speak. We know from experience that the most effective therapy takes place at home, every day, through the constant interactions with mum and dad, doing everyday activities such as cooking, washing, going to the shops or for a walk outdoors. The Shepherd Centre works with families to involve their child in these everyday experiences, and use them to develop their skills in listening, speech and language, in order to learn to talk. Our focus is on working with parents, to be the best teachers they can, so they can teach their child.

The best-practice Early Intervention model for optimal outcomes for deaf children developing spoken language is to combine highly individualised Auditory-Verbal Therapy programs that are designed to suit a child and family’s particular needs, with an interdisciplinary team of therapists, audiologists, counsellors and early education specialists to work with and support each family. This is the service The Shepherd Centre provides to over 370 children each year.

At The Shepherd Centre we work with the family, not just with the hearing loss.

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As with all skills, there will be individual variation in abilities but language and vocabulary scores between 85 and 115 are considered to be typical. Scores below 85 are considered delayed and scores above 115 are considered advanced.

We are delighted to announce the median language score for all graduates (including those with additional disabilities or other complicating factors) was 95 and the median vocabulary score was 99. This means that as a group, The Shepherd Centre Graduates would commence primary school in 2013 with language skills and word knowledge comparable to those of their ‘typical-hearing’ classmates.

2012 Clinical and Research OutcomesHelping children & families

2012 Clinical Outcomes

At The Shepherd Centre, we measure the achievements of each year’s Graduating Class using standardised tests that measure language and vocabulary levels.

These tests have been used to measure the language and vocabulary levels of many typically-hearing children (ie: children without hearing loss), and enable us to compare the performance of our graduates with their hearing peers.

The Class of 2012 consisted of 35 children from across our five centres in Darlington, Roseville, Wollongong, Liverpool and Canberra.

2012 Graduates by Centre

Sydney 3

Roseville 16

Canberra 7

Liverpool 6

Wollongong 3

Language and vocabulary results 2007 - 2012

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

120

100

80

60

40

0

20

Stan

dard

sco

re (1

00 =

ave

rage

)

Normal range for children

Median Language (standard graduates) Median Language (all graduates)Median Vocabulary (standard graduates) Median Vocabulary (all graduates)

* ‘Standard’ graduates are children who entered Early Intervention within 6 months of diagnosis, do not have additional needs and are exposed predominantly to English (at least 50% of their waking time)

** Assessed using the Pre-Schools Language Scales-4 and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4.

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‘Standard’ Graduate outcomes

When looking at the outcomes for those children who, (a) entered our Early Intervention Program within six months of being diagnosed with a hearing loss, (b) do not have additional needs, and (c) are exposed predominantly to English (at least 50 per cent of the time); the median language score was 100 (range 63-122) and the median vocabulary score was 99 (range 85-117).

‘Non-standard’ Graduate outcomes

Graduates who have diagnosed needs in addition to hearing loss and/or were late to enter Early Intervention (after than 6 months); and/or are exposed predominantly to a language other than English (English exposure less than 50 per cent), achieved a median language score of 91 (range 50-109) and a median vocabulary score of 99 (range 64-103).

These results are particularly pleasing as these children and families face additional challenges and still achieve outstanding results.

2012 Graduate Outcomes

The graphs below illustrate the range of outcomes achieved by individual children graduating from The Shepherd Centre in 2012, providing more in-depth information, such as devices used, presence of additional needs, and language exposure for graduates.

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Spoken language outcome for 2012 ‘Standard’ graduates

140

Stan

dard

lang

uage

sco

re 120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Normal range

Total Language score

Vocabulary score

Median Language

Median Vocabulary

Results Device

BC or BAHA

CI

HA

None

Normal range

Total Language score

Vocabulary score

Median Language

Median Vocabulary

Results Device

BC or BAHA

CI

HA

None

Spoken language outcome for 2012 ‘Non-standard’ graduates

Additional disabilities

Combination Exposed to English <50%

of waking hours

Late entry to inter-vention

140

Stan

dard

lang

uage

sco

re 120

100

80

60

40

20

0

** Assessed using the Pre-Schools Language Scales-4 and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4.

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2012 Clinical and Research OutcomesHelping children & families

2012 Research Group Outcomes

Research guides evidence-based clinical practice, and The Shepherd Centre is currently one of only a few clinical services that has a focus on gathering reliable evidence to drive change in practice.

Over the past several years, we have published outcomes for our graduating children, our children who received a cochlear implant under 12 months, and our children who were screened by the Statewide Infant Screening of Hearing program (SWISH).

Looking at overall group outcomes provides The Shepherd Centre with information that guides our overall strategic direction and service provision, and also with individualised assessments of how each child is performing.

When looking at trajectories of progress for individual children, there is a higher degree of variability in outcomes, some children make rapid progress and close the gap on their hearing peers, even overtaking many of them, while others make slower progress.

A closer examination of the individual factors impacting on the variability included:

• Challenges intrinsic to the child and to the family situation;

• Consistent access to sound;

• Exposure to the test language (English);

• Significant change in learning environment, and

• Diagnosed additional needs

Individual Children’s Language Outcomes

CA3 CA5

110

100

90

80

70

50

60

PLS

4 st

anda

rd s

core

Assessment point

130

120

Typical range

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In 2012, The Shepherd Centre’s interdisciplinary clinical team worked individually with each family to help them meet their own goals.

More than ever before, the importance of the family context has been recognised and addressed, with an increased involvement by the Child and Family Counselling team ensuring the foundations for family learning are solid.

In addition, the implementation of our new database, CDIS 4, has standardised and quantified our reporting, and allowed our team to provide data collaboratively to paint a more accurate picture of each child and family’s individual progress and ongoing needs. CDIS allows us to closely monitor each child’s progress in a range of areas including speech, language, cognition, self-help and social skills, so any areas that may require further support are identified and addressed early.

By identifying factors that impact on an individual’s progress and addressing these through interdisciplinary intervention, we aim to maximise the outcomes for all children and families at The Shepherd Centre.

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateHelping children & families

In 2012, 334 children received services at The Shepherd Centre, including those on our Little Listeners Introductory Program, Early Intervention Program, First Sounds Cochlear Implant Program, Residential Workshop Program and School Age Clear Speech Clinic.

Clinical services provided at The Shepherd Centre

This year, 223 children were enrolled in our Early Intervention Program - the largest number to ever receive this service.

The Shepherd Centre

Total children (NSW & ACT)

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Total children (End of Year)Total children (Start of Year)

72

100

223

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Meet the teamHelping children & families

In 2012, we were pleased to welcome 16 new staff to the Clinical team; • Kristan Abela joined the team as a Paediatric

Audiologist, • Renee Bennett, Anna Huber and Sara Luscombe

joined the Child and Family Counselling team, • Katherine Saunders, Ann Wright, Kate O’Meara, Rosa

Rossano, Aurelie Perla, Victoria White, Heather Berlee and Marlene Aoun joined the Clinical Administration team,

• Victoria McKinnon and Kristin Bayley joined the Listening and Spoken Language team, Victoria at the Liverpool centre and Kristin specialising in School Age services,

• Niamh O’Reilly joined us as in the new role of Manager of Group Programs, and

• Patsy Costello joined the Assessments team.

New staff in The Shepherd Centre’s Clinical team in 2012

We also welcomed Samantha Arnison, Ali Corlette, Amber Monk and Jenni Harvey back from maternity leave.

We were pleased to appoint Rashmi Hiriyur, Ingrid Steyns, Michelle Southgate and Katie Neal to Manager Positions within their disciplines, joining Danielle Slack and supporting each Principal team member in providing the highest quality clinical services to families and children across our five centres.

The Shepherd Centre’s interdisciplinary team of therapists, audiologists, counsellors and early education specialists provided a range of essential services to families enrolled in our program in 2012, as detailed on the following pages.

Interdisciplinary services at The Shepherd Centre

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Senior Clinical TeamHelping children & families

Aleisha Davis – Director of Clinical Programs BA/Bas; MPhil; MSLP; LSLS Cert AVT

Aleisha is a Certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist and a practicing Speech Pathologist. She completed her Masters in Applied Linguistics at Cambridge University UK researching the nature of pediatric language acquisition and child speech and language disorders before returning to Australia to complete her Masters in Speech Language Pathology at Macquarie University.

She joined The Shepherd Centre in 2003 and now leads the Clinical Team to implement the early intervention, cochlear implant, residential workshop and school age clinical programs across the centres, through the interdisciplinary team of Listening and Spoken Language Specialists, Audiologists, Child and Family Counsellors and Research and Assessments team. She lectures in Aural Habiltiation, speech and language development and is currently undertaking her PhD in the area of language acquisition and outcomes in children with hearing loss through Macquarie University and the HEARing CRC.

Donna Sperandio – Principal Listening & Spoken Language Specialist Dip Tch (Early Childhood); Dip EOD, MEd; LSLS Cert AVT

Since 1997, Donna has delivered therapy to children with hearing impairment throughout New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Donna completed her Masters in Education (Hearing Impairment) at the University of Melbourne in 2002 and shortly afterwards attained her Auditory-Verbal Therapy Certification. Donna joined The Shepherd Centre as Principal LSLS in 2011 and her key roles are clinical coordination and the training and mentoring of our Therapists. Her particular interests are in habilitation following cochlear implantation, the development of theory of mind in children with a hearing loss, and mentoring of Auditory-Verbal therapists.

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Sara Beresford – Principal Child & Family Counsellor BA (Applied Social Studies); Grad. Cert. Social Work & M Counselling

Sara started at The Shepherd Centre in October 2010 and has over 25 years of experience working with children and families. Sara works with families at our Liverpool Centre and occasionally at our other Centres. Her role is to manage our Child & Family Counsellors and further develop the team’s support services for children and families. Sara and the CFC team offer support through individual and family counselling sessions, parent groups and by working closely with the rest of The Shepherd Centre interdisciplinary team, so families can achieve the best outcomes for their child.

Tracy Hopkins – Principal of Research and Assessments BSc., Dip Ed., MSLP, LSLS Cert AVT

Tracy is a Certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist and Certified Practising Speech Pathologist. After deciding on a career change from medical research and teaching, Tracy joined The Shepherd Centre in 2003 on completing her Masters in Speech and Language Pathology at Macquarie University. Since then, she has had several roles and worked across all centres. Tracy is currently involved in coordinating research and assessments and is passionate about improving outcomes for children and their families.

Yetta Abrahams – Principal Audiologist BA (Linguistics); BHlthSc (Hg&Sp); MClinAud; MAudSA (CCP)

Yetta’s career as an Audiologist started at The Sydney Children’s Hospital in 2000 working in a diagnostic setting and assisting with the pilot-project that preceded Universal Newborn Hearing Screening. Yetta joined The Shepherd Centre in 2008 as the Principal Audiologist and oversees the audiological management of children in the early intervention and school-aged cochlear implant programs. She is also very proud to manage the Centre’s First Sounds Cochlear Implant Program, which celebrated its 10 year anniversary in 2012.

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2012 Clinical Programs Update Auditory-Verbal Therapy

Helping children & families

Auditory-Verbal Therapy guides and coaches parents to teach their children to talk through listening. Parents are encouraged to use every day routines as opportunities for their child to learn spoken language.

The core of the program for families at The Shepherd Centre is regular sessions for parents working with a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist. Parent sessions are structured, often play-based but always goal directed, and focus on teaching skills in the area of listening, speech, language and cognition.

This approach facilitates natural speech and language development and listening becomes an integral part of their child’s life, and is provided by speech pathologists and teachers of the deaf that have undergone extensive training towards international AVT certification.

Approximately 5,120 Listening and Spoken Language sessions were provided by The Shepherd Centre in 2012.

To continue to be leaders in our field, The Shepherd Centre invests in the best staff, with one of the highest numbers of certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialists in Australia. This internationally-recognised qualification granted by the Alexander Graham Bell Academy is gained through a three-year program of study and an independently assessed examination.

In 2012, 10 of The Shepherd Centre’s 18 specialists have received their certification, making up part of an elite group of only 600 therapists in the world.

Speech and Language Assessments

The Shepherd Centre carries out speech and language assessments at various ‘checkpoints’ in a child’s life. The assessments have a number of benefits including: • Ensuring every child’s speech and language

development is progressing as expected for their age,• Providing parents with an opportunity to reflect on their

family’s journey,• Checking a child is able to transfer the skills they have

learnt at home and in sessions to other settings and activities,

• Identifying areas a child’s speech and language development can be targeted at home and in therapy.

In total, 175 Speech and Language Assessments were completed by The Shepherd Centre this year.

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2012 Clinical Programs Update Audiology


Audiology Services

Our specialist paediatric Audiologists provide a range of services including hearing assessments, speech perception testing, monitoring children’s middle ear and complete Cochlear Implant services. Our Audiologists monitor a child’s access to sound to ensure their hearing devices are set optimally at all times.

We now have equipment at each of our centres to measure the children’s detection of sound at their brain level (using ‘cortical testing’ via ‘HearLab’ equipment). This is an objective measure well regarded as a good indicator of functional listening performance with and without hearing aids. This measure is regularly used by Australian Hearing audiologists working with infants, and in 2013 will be further used across all of our centres to ensure all children have optimal access to sound.

Over 1000 Audiology assessments and consultations with families and children in our program were conducted by our paediatric Audiology team in 2012.

Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialists

The Shepherd Centre works with Specialist ENT surgeons to provide families with medical consultations in relation to their child’s hearing loss. Our ENT surgeons are highly experienced in grommet, tonsil, adenoid and Cochlear Implant surgery in children.

These services are provided at both public and private hospitals including the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, Liverpool, Norwest and Macquarie Hospitals.

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateFirst Sounds Cochlear Implant Program


Our First Sounds Cochlear Implant Program is a joint initiative between The Shepherd Centre and Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick. The program provides integrated medical, audiological and therapy services required to support both child and family prior to and following cochlear implant surgery.

Under the First Sounds Program, The Shepherd Centre is responsible for the audiological management of 133 people with 234 cochlear implants, and seven people with 11 Baha devices.

In 2012, 54 cochlear implants and five Bahas were implanted as part of the First Sounds Program.

Dr Phillip Chang and Dr Thomas Kertesz are our cochlear implant surgeons and ENT specialists, and Dr Simon Greenberg and Dr Nigel Biggs are ENT specialists who provide consultant services for children and families in our programs.

The Shepherd Centre is expecting to provide 60 cochlear implants as part of this program in 2013.

“Choosing The First Sounds program offered by The Shepherd Centre was an easy decision for us… It just made sense to continue with the same people who knew our son and us as a family. Having all the services available under one roof also made things much more simple in those early days with a new baby. The many trips we were already making from Wollongong to Sydney were exhausting enough, so having facilities locally available made things that much easier for us. We had every confidence in the surgeon and it was comforting to be accompanied to all of our appointments with him by the people from The Shepherd Centre. The Shepherd Centre’s holistic approach to the services being offered was both very professional and very family oriented”. – Jo Williams, mother of Felix

250

200

150

100

50

0 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

246

192

155

5437

133

101

726240

27 223229

1022137794 4 13 20

First Cochlear Implants (per year)

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateChild & Family Counselling Services


The Shepherd Centre’s Child and Family Counsellors all have graduate or post graduate qualifications in Social Work, Psychology and/or Counselling and Family Therapy, and a wealth of experience in working with children and families.

They work in partnerships with families to enable and empower them families to solve problems, meet needs and achieve their aspirations. Their role is critical to supporting the wellbeing of the carer-child relationships, pivotal in parent coaching and Auditory-Verbal Therapy.

In 2012, for the first time ever, Child and Family Counselling services were available to families in all of our centres, allowing The Shepherd Centre to further enhance its interdisciplinary work and focus on family-centred service.

In 2012, our Child and Family Counselling team were able to provide more case consultations than ever before to other disciplines encouraging the best support for children and families. The team have also enjoyed playing a key role our rural and remote residential workshops across regional New South Wales, providing family counselling, and offering Parent and Sibling Groups for rural and remote families.

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateChild & Family Counselling Services

2012 Clinical Programs UpdateGroup Programs


Group Learning Programs

The Shepherd Centre offers a variety of group learning programs designed for parents and children to attend together in a social setting. Although children can develop their listening, speech and language skills in a quiet therapy room, they need opportunities to practice and improve these skills in more ‘real world’ situations, and learn from each other.

KidscapeKidcape playgroup is the cornerstone of the group programs on offer at The Shepherd Centre. It provides a listening and language landscape for our families.

Kidscape is more than just a fun time for the children to play; it’s an opportunity for them to practice listening and speaking while developing their socialisation, communication and self-regulation skills with other children.

Parents have the opportunity to participate in an ongoing parent education program delivered by our Child and Family Counselling team, which focuses on a variety of parenting issues and provides an opportunity to learn from parents with similar experiences. This year, groups enjoyed visits from the Fire Brigade, the Reptile Man, and excursions to Wildlife World and the Botanical Gardens.

“Kidscape has been an essential part of our week since Emerson was just a baby, and provides a chance for Emerson to interact with other children with hearing loss to see just how ‘normal’ he is. It’s also a great chance for me, as a parent, to relate to other parents having gone through or going through the same challenges as we are.” – Vanessa, mum of Emerson, on the Kidscape program

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School Readiness

Our School Readiness group provided 25 children – including those with hearing loss and their siblings – with an introduction to common school language and a head start learning skills they will need for school. The children’s group covered topics such as independent management of their own devices, pre-literacy and pre-numeracy concepts, classroom etiquette, talking in front of a group, and asking for assistance or clarification from their teachers as required.

Parents of children attending the School Readiness group were offered a parallel group, School Readiness for Parents. This group provided an opportunity for parents to discuss some of the challenges associated with the transition to ‘big school’ with our clinical team, past parents and guests, as well as ways to advocate for their child in the school environment and build resilience.

“The School Readiness program was a great help in teaching Layla about how a mainstream classroom operates, from having to raise her hand to speak, to taking her turn at ‘Show & tell’ where she gained more confidence talking before a group of her peers. I feel it really did add in her transition to kindergarten. The parent groups were just as helpful in building my confidence too! The information on audiology, advocacy and itinerant support was very useful” – Mother of Layla, 2012 Graduate

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Sing and Grow Music Program

Singing and music is an integral part of the therapy program at The Shepherd Centre, and is proven in developing children’s listening skills. Music facilitates the development of pitch, intonation and rhythm in the speech of children with hearing loss.

The Sing and Grow program was delivered at each of our five centres in 2012. Integrating the use of percussion instruments and props, along with singing known and new songs to develop listening and language skills, the program aims to increase positive interactions between parents and their children, enhance children’s development, build social support networks and increase parents’ confidence to use music as play and for language development at home.

In 2013, The Shepherd Centre will continue to offer our Group Programs series, including all of the programs outlined previously, plus: • Little Laughs - Babies’ language group for children

aged 0-18 months,• Talk Time - Language group for children aged 18

months to 4 years,• Mother Goose - Parent and child program to develop

family relationships and communication experiences using rhymes, songs, and stories,

• Parent connectedness groups, and• In-house workshops.

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateCollaborative Research, Presentations & Publications


Collaborative Research

The staff and families at The Shepherd Centre were involved in a number of collaborative research projects in 2012, including:• An ARC Linkage Project with Dr Julia Sarant titled:

Bilateral Cochlear Implants for Children: Does a Second Implant Improve Language, Psychosocial and Other Outcomes?

• The National Acoustic Laboratory (NAL) project with Dr Teresa Ching titled: Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI)

• The ‘Sound Connections Project’ with First Voice centres across Australia and New Zealand, investigating the social inclusion and speech and language outcomes of children with hearing loss in Early Intervention programs focused on spoken language development.

• An ARC linkage Project with Professor Edith L. Bavin titled: Pathways to early language: The communicative environment prior to and following cochlear implants: impact on children’s early communicative and cognitive development.

• A HEARing CRC/Taralye project with Pauline Nott titled: The Young Learners’ Project: The impact of family literacy practices

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Presentations and Publications

Clinical staff at The Shepherd Centre showcased the work practices and research-based outcomes of The Shepherd Centre at a range of local and international conferences in 2012.

For further information our research presentations and publications, please email [email protected], or visit our website, shepherdcentre.org.au.

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateCollaborative Research, Presentations & Publications (cont.)


Morethan30oralpapersandposterswerepresentedatconferencesin2012,nineofwhichwereinvitedpresentations.Fulldetailsofpresentationsandpublicationsin2012areasfollows.

Conference Location

CI2012-12thInternationalConferenceonCochlearImplantsandOtherImplantableAuditoryTechnologies Baltimore,USA

FCEI2012-1stInternationalCongressonFamily-CentredEarlyInterventionforchildrenwhoaredeaforhard of hearing

BadIschl,Austria

NHS2012-BeyondNewbornHearingScreening.InfantandChildhoodHearinginScienceand ClinicalPractice

LakeComo,Italy

SpeechPathologyAustraliaAnnualConference Hobart,Australia

AudiologySocietyofAustraliaAnnualConference Adelaide,Australia

APCD2012-11thAsiaPacificCongressonDeafness Singapore

7thAnnualEmergingHealthPolicyResearchConference Sydney

Invited presentations Location

CochlearWebinar-ProgrammingPediatrics online

CochlearTechnologyandResearchLabforHabilitationistsCochlearHQ,SydneyAustralia

CochlearGlobalSymposiumCochlearHQSydneyAustralia

JapanAudiologyCongress KyotoJapan

CochlearImplantGroupofIndia AhmedabadIndia

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Publications in 2012

Davis, A., Hopkins, T., & Abrahams, Y. (2012). Maximizing the Impact of Telepractice Through a Multifaceted Service Delivery Model at The Shepherd Centre, Australia. [Article]. Volta Review, 112(3), 383-391.

Fulcher, A., Purcell, A. A., Baker, E., & Munro, N. (2012). Listen up: Children with early identified hearing loss achieve age-appropriate speech/language outcomes by 3years-of-age. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 76(12), 1785-1794.

Research Papers Presented in 2012

Abrahams, Y., Davis, A. and Hopkins, T. (2012, July). How early is too early? Cochlear Implantation in infants under 6 months, 7-9 months and 10-12 months old. Poster presented at Audiological Society of Australia Conference. Adelaide, South Australia.

Abrahams, Y. and Davis, A. (2012, July). Stuck in the Middle: Congenital Hearing Loss and Long term Middle Ear. Oral Poster presented at Audiological Society of Australia Conference. Adelaide, South Australia.

Abrahams, Y., Davis, A. and Hopkins, T. (presented by Lavery, S.) (2012, July). If at First you don’t succeed? The experience of device reimplantation for families and professionals. Paper presented at Audiological Society of Australia Conference. Adelaide, South Australia.

Abrahams, A., Harvey, J., Beresford, S., Davis, A. and Hopkins, T. (presented by Lavery, S.) (2012, July). Work with the family, not the audiogram. Oral Poster presented at Audiological Society of Australia Conference. Adelaide, South Australia.

Sperandio, D., Davis, A. and Abrahams, Y. (2012, August). Establishing a new tradition: the paediatric CI candidate with significant residual hearing.. Paper presented at 11th Asia Pacific Congress on Deafness, Singapore.

Sperandio, D., Davis, A. and Abrahams, Y. (2012, August). Clean, Crisp and Quick; Learnings from the Lean Approach in Early Intervention. Paper presented at 11th Asia Pacific Congress on Deafness, Singapore.

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Research Papers Presented in 2012

Sperandio,D.,Davis,A.andAbrahams,Y.(2012,August).Improving outcomes for children with hearing loss developing spoken language: looking beyond technology. Paper presented at 11th Asia Pacific Congress onDeafness,Singapore.

Fulcher, A. (2012, August). Can children with severe/ profound hearing loss achieve age-appropriate speech and language outcomes by 3 years?Paperpresentedat11thAsiaPacificCongressonDeafness,Singapore.

Harvey, J., Crane, J., Arnison, S. and Davis, A. (2012,July). Clean, Crisp and Quick; Learnings from the Lean Approach. Paper presented at the Speech PathologyAustraliaConference.Hobart,Tasmania.

Davis,A.,Abrahams,Y.andHopkins,T.(2012,July).Stuck in the Middle: Congenital Hearing Loss and Long term Middle Ear. Poster presented at the Speech PathologyAustraliaConference.Hobart,Tasmania.

Crane, J., Abrahams, Y., Neal, K. and Davis, A. (2012,July).Put That Thing Back Where it Came From or So Help Me!’; Maximising Time and Reducing Clinical Frustration through Lean Room Standardisation. Poster presentedat theSpeechPathologyAustraliaConference.Hobart,Tasmania.

Harvey, J., Davis, A., Abrahams, Y. and Hopkins, T.(2012, May). What Makes a Difference: Outcomes of a Family Centred Auditory-Verbal Therapy Program.Posterpresentedat the1st InternationalCongressonFamily-CentredEarly InterventionConferenceforchildrenwhoaredeaforhardofhearing,BadIschlAustria.

Abrahams, Y., Harvey, J., Beresford, S., Davis, A. andHopkins, T. (2012, May). Work with the Family, Not the Audiogram. Poster presented at the 1st InternationalCongress on Family-Centred Early InterventionConference for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, BadIschlAustria.

Abrahams, Y., Davis, A., Hopkins, T. and Sperandio, D.(2012,June).How early is too early? Cochlear Implantation in infants under 6 months, 7-9 months and 10-12 months old.PaperpresentedattheNewbornHearingScreening2012Conference“BeyondNewbornHearingScreening.Infant and Childhood Hearing in Science and ClinicalPractice”.LakeComo,Italy.

Abrahams, Y., Davis, A., Hopkins, T., Sperandio,D. and Beresford, S. (2012, June). Improving outcomes for paediatric CI users: looking beyond the technology. Paper presented at the Newborn Hearing Screening 2012Conference “BeyondNewbornHearingScreening.InfantandChildhoodHearinginScienceandClinicalPractice”.LakeComo,Italy.

Abrahams, Y.,Davis,A.,Hopkins,T.,Sperandio,D. andBeresford, S. (2012, June). From Newborn Screening to School: Long term audiological, speech and language outcomes after early intervention. Paper presented at the Newborn Hearing Screening 2012 Conference“Beyond Newborn Hearing Screening. Infant andChildhood Hearing in Science and Clinical Practice”.LakeComo,Italy.

2012 Clinical Programs UpdateCollaborative Research, Presentations & Publications (cont.)


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Abrahams, Y., Davis, A. and Hopkins, T. (2012, May). How early is too early? Cochlear Implantation in infants under 6 months, 7-9 months and 10-12 months old. Paper presented at the 12th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and Other Implantable Auditory Technologies, Baltimore USA.

Abrahams, Y., Davis, A. and Hopkins, T. (2012, May). Improving outcomes for paediatric CI users: looking beyond the technology. Paper presented at the 12th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and Other Implantable Auditory Technologies, Baltimore USA.

Abrahams, Y., Davis, A. and Hopkins, T. (2012, May). Establishing a new tradition: the paediatric CI candidate with significant residual hearing. Paper presented at the 12th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and Other Implantable Auditory Technologies, Baltimore USA.

Abrahams, Y., Davis, A. and Hopkins, T. (2012, May). If at First you don’t succeed? The experience of device reimplantation for families and professionals. Poster presented at the 12th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and Other Implantable Auditory Technologies, Baltimore USA.

Hopkins, T., Beresford, S., Abrahams, Y., Harvey, J. and Davis, A. (May 2012). Reaching out to families: Service delivery through residential workshops. Poster presented at the 1st International Conference on Family-centred Early Intervention for Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Bad Ischl Austria.

Davis, A. (May 2012). With Increased Knowledge Comes Greater Challenges: Groups, Paths and Patterns. Paper presented at the Cochlear Technology and Research Lab for Habilitationists, Sydney Australia.

Davis, A. (August 2012). A Socio-Economic Investment: Maximising potential for children with hearing loss. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Emerging Health Policy Research Conference, Sydney Australia.

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateChild Development Information System 4


The Shepherd Centre launched the Child Development Information System (CDIS) database in 2012, in partnership with DRA Computing. A result of more than 12 months’ development, CDIS is a custom created software program that has changed the way The Shepherd Centre stores and accesses data for the children and families attending our five centres, and allows us to gain a more holistic view of each child’s progress and development.

CDIS is used to measure and report outcomes in ways we have never seen before. This industry-leading database program supports The Shepherd Centre in tracking the progress our children are making in a range of developmental areas, identifies if they are on par with their hearing peers with their acquisition of listening and spoken language; helps our staff and specialists identify children who may be falling behind and not making expected progress, and stores health information securely and in line with NSW Health legislation.

This innovative and one of a kind database:• Links the family’s goals from their Individual Family

Service Plan, to their clinical goals, which are the basis of each child and family’s lesson plan. Progress is tracked on these goals and reviewed against each family’s goals on a regular basis;

• Supports the collection of information in a clinical setting on the acquisition of children’s skills in the four domains: audition, language, speech and cognition;

• Provides snapshot and longitudinal rate of progress data for children in the program, with comparisons to normal development;

• Features an in-built flagging system indicating areas of concern to guide individual family intervention and key research areas;

• Allows for the bulk storage of multiple files, eliminating the need to use alternative data storage programs, creates consistency of data collection, enables data to be accessed quickly and easily, and is efficient and user-friendly.

As the interface between research and clinical practice, CDIS is contributing to optimising outcomes for all children with hearing loss and is becoming a critical piece in guiding prospective research directions.

Introducing CDIS 4 - supporting every child’s development

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateResidential Workshops


Our Residential Workshop Program series proved as popular as ever in 2012, with 36 families and three professionals attending the four workshops delivered across New South Wales throughout the year.

In addition to our week-long metropolitan workshop, this year we once again hit the road to take comprehensive, high quality, interdisciplinary services to Batemans Bay, Terrigal and Maitland. Participants came from as far afield as Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Tasmania, Maude, Griffith, Singapore and Japan.

The Residential Workshops offer a unique opportunity for families to work together with a team of highly skilled professionals from a variety of disciplines for between three and six full days.

The program offers multiple learning opportunities for parents, individual spoken language therapy, group language therapy, audiology consultations, child and family counselling sessions, sibling and parent-parent support, as well as a fun-filled time for all! The focus is to provide families with the confidence, tools and motivation to teach their child to listen and speak within the context of their own family and community.

Comments from families attending our 2012 Residential Workshops series:

“One of the most valuable things our family has done together…”

“Our tool belt has got much stronger and heavier with all the skills we have learnt…”

“This workshop helped me to re-focus on the auditory needs of my pre-schooler, re-establish the link between audition and speech and I really got a lot out of the group sessions with mums and dads and children – the interaction between the children was brilliant…” (Itinerant Teacher)

“Thank you for an amazing time. I learnt a lot, and it showed me the amount of time that needs to be put in. It doesn’t end once they reach school. Thank you for putting me back on track…”

“I really enjoyed the strengths-based workshop activity which I found encouraging and affirming. We came away from the workshop feeling that we are doing well and all that we can. It was lovely to feel empowered…”

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateVidKids


In early 2012, the Australian Government undertook a rigorous tendering process to select a suitable service provider to receive more than $4.1 million in funding to deliver hearing and vision services for children living in rural and remote locations across Australia via video conferencing technology.

An Australia-wide expert consortium made up of Vision Australia, Deaf Children Australia and members of the First Voice national service network formed the VidKids Alliance, which was announced in May 2012 as being the alliance selected to deliver specialist services through the Remote Hearing and Vision Services for Children initiative.

VidKids is a pilot project funded by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) to provide services using video conferencing to children with vision or hearing loss in remote and outer regional Australia.

As part of the VidKids Alliance, The Shepherd Centre is providing hearing services to children and their families living in rural and remote locations across New South Wales and Tasmania. Children with hearing loss are able to access regular specialist hearing services from the interdisciplinary team of Listening and Spoken Language Specialists, Audiologists and Child and Family Counsellors at The Shepherd Centre.

Supplementary to the ongoing diagnostic monitoring of children’s progress via regular videoconferencing, professionals from The Shepherd Centre have been providing ongoing coaching and guidance to families, with the consistent focus on families being the main facilitators for the development of their child’s the listening and spoken language skills.

“The VidKids program has allowed our family to access specialist services for Samuel in our home. This means that we don’t have to travel to Sydney or to other cities where the services are, as it can be hard to find specialist services out here close to us. We have been able to use the specialist services provided by The Shepherd Centre and are happy for our family to be able to access them for Samuel through the VidKids program.” – Larissa and Jason, VidKids Family

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As part of the VidKids program, The Shepherd Centre’s interdisciplinary team have been connecting with local services such as itinerant hearing support teachers, speech and language pathologists, hearing services and early intervention agencies that are supporting children with hearing loss in their local areas. This professional collaboration allows for children with hearing loss and their families to receive a well-rounded service with specialist involvement, accessed from their local community, supporting the individual needs of their child.

Videoconferencing equipment will be utilised across the centres of The Shepherd Centre in NSW and the ACT, providing the VidKids services. Videoconferencing through the VidKids program encourages families to utilise home based equipment and resources, which assists in skill generalisation and the integration of listening and spoken language skills into the whole personality of their child.

Children and families on the VidKids program will have up to two face to face visits per year, where they have the opportunity to take part in The Shepherd Centre’s specialist group programs, Kidscape and our rural and remote Residential Workshops across New South Wales.

For enquiries regarding the VidKids program, please phone 1800 020 030 or email [email protected].

2012 Clinical Programs UpdateVidKids

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2012 Clinical Programs UpdateThe Clear Speech Clinic


Following numerous enquiries and feedback from graduated parents, The Shepherd Centre developed and implemented a pilot program in 2012 designed specifically for children who had recently graduated from our programs, and had since gone on to attend primary school.

The Clear Speech Clinic focused on listening and parent training as a basis for developing children’s clear speech, as research has shown overwhelmingly that good speech and articulation skills contribute to increased levels of children’s overall communication, literacy development and social confidence.

Children attended the program to work on particular speech sounds they were having difficulty with, and how they were understood by others.

Using The Shepherd Centre’s model of family-centred therapy, each 30 minute session taught parents the strategies and techniques needed to improve their child’s speech through the use of listening-based strategies that could be implemented at home. Sessions were designed to be fun and motivating, and parents were shown activities to help practice the new and improved sounds; as well as ways to incorporate good speech practice into day-to-day activities. The aim was to work collaboratively with parents and their children to develop therapy strategies that fit within their daily routines and schedules.

In 2012, 16 children aged between five and nine years completed the intake assessment process (speech assessment and aided hearing screen) following referrals from parents, and of those, 13 were enrolled into the program. These families attended between five and 10 clinic sessions based on need, either in person or remotely via Skype.

All children who attended the Clinic with their family regularly made significant progress in their speech production, and met their speech goals. This means that they are now using their ‘new’ sound across all conversation contexts.

As speech is only one area of communication in which school-aged children with hearing loss have ongoing needs, we will be addressing other areas of listening for language, and social skill development in 2013.

The Clear Speech Clinic - A pilot program for school-age children

“Without the Clear Speech Clinic, Rory could have continued to pronounce his name as “Wory”. He was enjoying school, but he had trouble saying ‘R’ properly. It was heartbreaking – he would say his name, and people would say, “What?”. Working at the Clear Speech Clinic, the therapist concentrated on specific letters – like ‘R’ – and within two weeks his speech had improved and he was saying ‘Rory’ properly. We love the Clear Speech Clinic; I think it’s a great initiative. My husband and I want to make sure Rory has every opportunity available to him”. – Alex, mother of six year old Rory

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2012 Centre UpdatesWollongong


Our Wollongong Centre

“A wonderful facelift with new office and therapy spaces, fresh paint and improved security systems”

Following a complete renovation in 2012, our Wollongong centre’s staff and families benefited from a refresh of therapy resources, which made sessions far more efficient and enjoyable for everyone. In addition, the introduction of clinical administrative assistance at the centre in 2012 provided enormous support, resulting in significant savings of staff time, providing more time to spend on children and families.

Thirteen new families joined the Wollongong centre in 2012 bringing our total to 45 families – nearly a centre record!

Our Kidscape parenting group was a huge success with our ‘Bringing up Great Kids’ parenting program and creative activities for children and parents. Families and therapists loved the learning experiences with Matilda’s Farmyard and Captain Compost programs at The Botanic Gardens throughout the year.

Local NAB Business banking volunteers provided great assistance and support in the running of our Kidscape group program and providing Holiday learning Workshops for families and children.

Our fantastic volunteer, Bob Ross continues to keep our grounds immaculate and well cared for, and we wish our graduates Cohen, Jack and Atticus all the best at big school in 2013 and look forward to hearing their tales.

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2012 Centre UpdatesCanberra


Our Canberra Centre

We have a superb new centre in Canberra following renovations in September 2012 with lovely fresh new office spaces, new audiology and therapy rooms; a spacious waiting area for families and child and family-friendly group spaces.

An enormous thank you to Mimmi Freebody for managing the project, but also to all the families and members of the Canberra community who helped us with providing their valuable time, equipment and resources and even helping out at the Sunday working bee to ensure our Centre could open on time. We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help.

We were wonderfully lucky to welcome the 2011 Australian Father of the Year, Angus Houston to our Centre in 2012, and to hold the national launch of the National Disability Insurance Scheme with Senator Jenny Macklin and Senator Jan McLucas in November.

This was followed up by a visit to Parliament House by some of our families and children in December to meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

A range of fantastic groups for families were held at the Centre, including the Rocking Horse music group, School Readiness (child and parenting) groups , Kidscape and the Building Bookworms workshop. These groups involved support from past graduates and parents from the Canberra Deaf Children’s Association.

An Innovative Technology Grant from the ACT Community Services Directorate provided us the opportunity to maximise children’s communication in their home environment using the Language Environment Analysis System (LENA); for which we are truly grateful.

We also continued to have wonderful support from local groups in 2012, such as Rotaract and volunteers from the Deafness Resource Centre, who volunteered their time to help out around the centre. The introduction of new roles at the Centre including Child and Family Counselling, and Clinical Administration added to the services and support for Canberra families in 2012.

“We are very proud that all six of our Graduates will be attending their local school with their hearing peers in 2013. All our best wishes to Murphy, Angus, Alexander, Fynnbarr, Saja and Dylan as they embark on their big school journey!”

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2012 Centre UpdatesLiverpool


Our Liverpool Centre

“Thirty-two new families joined our Early Intervention program in Liverpool and a record number of children enjoyed our weekly Wednesday Kidscape program in 2012”

With a fresh look including an open plan family room, new furniture, colourful rugs and a fresh lick of paint, The Liverpool Shepherd Centre welcomed over 90 families during 2012.

We started the year with the Sing and Grow music program that the children and the families enjoyed yet again, exploring various instruments, making music, singing and dancing.

We were very lucky to have the support of many wonderful volunteers at our Kidscape program on Wednesday mornings which is the busiest morning of the week. It’s always great to see both parents and children benefiting so much from the social interaction and parenting programs. We were sad to say good bye to Glenys, who had volunteered with us for over 20 years. We will miss her. A big thank you to all our volunteers for so generously dedicating their time and support to the Liverpool centre.

We were privileged to have the continued support of Liverpool Quota, who are our long term supporters and we love to see the members during our open days and at Kidscape. A big thank you is extended to Westfield Liverpool for their support. The Shepherd Centre was invited to participate in the Westfield Give Ability day and this proved once again a huge success in 2012.

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2012 Centre UpdatesDarlington


Our Darlington Centre

With 26 new families joining the Sydney centre in 2012 and a growing number of school age children visiting our centre for school age therapy programs and for First Sounds Cochlear Implant service, our Darlington centre was buzzing with children and families throughout 2012.

We welcomed several visitors from Cochlear Implant and Early Intervention Centres around the world, including Italy, Japan, Korea and the USA. All were very keen to learn about how we provide service to children and families, and were impressed and inspired by the outcomes we achieve at The Shepherd Centre.

In February, we were fortunate to welcome the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, to our Centre. Ms Bryce loved being part of a therapy session with one of our children, learning about what we do, joining in a group music session and meeting our children and families.

Kidscape in Darlington has been very well attended this year by families. This program is well supported by a team of fantastic, regular volunteers who have been enthusiastic, reliable and lots of fun to have around. The local fire service and face painters visited our playgroup, and we went on learning excursions to Wildlife World in the city. The Sing and Grow music program was held in term one, and the School Readiness Program ran in term three. Both were enjoyed by many Darlington children and families.

Workshops at our Darlington centre were held three times during the year, focusing on Building Bookworms (developing literacy), Brunch’n’Munch (incorporating therapy into everyday activities) and Experience Books (using Experience Books to develop listening and language skills).

“A buzzing centre for our 146 families, and a thriving head office for our administration, operations and fundraising teams”

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2012 Centre UpdatesRoseville


Our Roseville Centre

Our Roseville Centre enjoyed continued support from Westfield Chatswood and Deloitte, with volunteers raising much-needed funds and visiting our centre to transform our gardens and outdoor areas.

The Reptile Man visited our children at Roseville during the year with his collection of snakes, goannas, lizards and other slippery creatures. The children loved touching the reptiles, much more than the parents!

One of our long-standing staff members at our Roseville centre Anne Fulcher, co-authored a paper in the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology in October, publishing the outstanding outcomes for children in our service.

“Highest number of graduates on record! We wish all 16 Roseville graduates - Amelia, Emily, Sion, Alice, Casey, Ellie Rose, Ethan, Milli, Daniel, Phoebe, Max, Liam, Luke, Jacob, Kaelen & Brian - all the best for the school year ahead”

In December, we farewelled our long serving volunteers Jenny Tait and Teresa Spraggon who have been wonderful familiar faces for all our families over the years.

Our terms three and four were spent preparing for our exciting move to the Australian Hearing Hub at Macquarie University. Although we will miss our lovely centre, we are incredibly excited about our new centre, where we’ll be with many other leading organisations in the field including Cochlear and Australian Hearing.

Our move to Macquarie is set to take place in January 2013, with sessions and groups for all children and families commencing at the beginning of February.

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2012 Pre-Schools UpdateHelping children & families

Casula Pre-School

We were delighted to have yet another busy year at our Casula Pre-School centre, with so many fun-filled activities keeping our children busy throughout 2012.

We started our year by asking each family how they spent their holidays. Since most of them went to the beach, the zoo or camping, we decided to have a camping week!

We set up a tent inside our Centre, and each of the children brought their own sleeping bag and torches. We all built a pretend campfire and roasted marshmallows.

Our community of families were very involved in making our Pre-School year so much fun - one of the parents brought in his race car and all the children had a chance to sit in it. They thought it was fantastic!

11 children graduated from our Pre-School this year. We had our graduation afternoon tea, the children sang a special song for their parents, and few tears were shed. We wish them all well at big school.

The Shepherd Centre’s Pre-Schools, located in Casula and Wollongong, are open to all children and are dedicated to providing a quality early childhood learning experience in safe and caring environments.

Wollongong Pre-School

All the families at our Wollongong Pre-School were so grateful for the hard work of volunteer caretaker, Bob Ross, who made our gardens and surrounding areas look beautiful all throughout the year.

Our children enjoyed many activities in 2012, including nature walks, a trip to Matilda’s farmyard to visit the animals, art activities – making rainbows in a glass and concocting streaky paper experiments - and cooking up delicious cupcakes which each child decorated themselves.

The 2012 Olympics also gave our Wollongong Pre-School lots of inspiration – we baked lamingtons to barrack for the Aussies, hosted an ‘Italy’ day where we baked our own pizzas, made scones for the Queen and England, and topped it off with our own mini-Olympics at the Centre!

Our Educational Programs cater to the individual needs of each child and include a focus on socialisation skills, language and cognition, fine and gross motor skills and music, cooking and craft activities. All activities are designed to develop each child’s social, intellectual, emotional and physical skills, informed by the Government’s Early Years Learning Framework.

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Fundraising and CommunicationsConnecting our families with the community

During 2012, The Shepherd Centre raised $2,746,106 in gross fundraising revenue (including bequests). We continued to be overwhelmed by the generosity of our loyal supporters, and their ongoing commitment to our work. We were also especially touched by those who left a gift to The Shepherd Centre in their Will in 2012.

Throughout the year, we undertook a number of Direct Mail Appeals to broaden community awareness of our cause, and find new supporters to donate towards our programs.

We were delighted to welcome 9,246 new supporters on board in 2012; with their contributions making a marked difference to the lives of the children and families who learn to listen and speak at The Shepherd Centre.

This year also saw The Shepherd Centre launch our brand new website at www.shepherdcentre.org.au.

The new-look site is more visually appealing and family-friendly than ever before, and is aimed at providing new and current families, health professionals and supporters with everything they need to know about The Shepherd Centre.

We are very proud of the outstanding results achieved by our fundraising team in 2012 – results which have ensured more families than ever before are choosing The Shepherd Centre’s Early Intervention program for their child. However, with an increase in the number of children and families joining our program, comes the need to increase our funding to keep our programs running. We are incredibly grateful to the ongoing support of our donors and supporters, who have helped us ensure we can provide assistance to every family who turns to us for help.

37% Major gifts20% Appeals16% Bequests13% Acquisition 7% Events 7% Other

Fundraising Revenue Sources

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Next year is shaping up to be a milestone year for The Shepherd Centre. Many positive changes will be taking place, ones that will move us forward into an exciting new era as we continue to give the gift of sound and speech to children who are deaf or hearing impaired.

Our Darlington Centre will move to a new, purpose-built site, designed to accommodate more families and staff, and providing the latest technology in a state-of-the-art setting.

Our Roseville Centre staff and families will also relocate to cutting-edge new facilities at the Australian Hearing Hub, located at Macquarie University. This exciting move will see The Shepherd Centre take up residence alongside Australia’s best researchers in the field of hearing health.

New staff in the Fundraising and Communications team

In 2012, we were pleased to welcome two new members to our Fundraising and Communications team. Lia Gurciullo joined The Shepherd Centre in July 2012 as Communications Manager; and Nicole Jervis joined The Shepherd Centre in November 2012 as Events and Sponsorship Manager.

Looking ahead: Overview of 2013 Fundraising strategy and key goals

Our fundraising focus in 2013 will be to bridge our current funding gap – making up ground between what we receive from the NSW and Federal Government, from our fundraising campaigns, and what we require to continue operations into the future.

We are committed to doing all we can to ensure we won’t have to implement a waiting list, and that we can continue to achieve our vision of providing world class programs to ensure all children who are deaf and hearing impaired have the opportunity to learn to listen and speak.

Our fundraising activities will include further engaging individual supporters in our work, reaching out to new supporters via Direct Mail, pursuing funding opportunities with Trust and Foundations, and building a solid events program that is mutually beneficial to our corporate sponsors.

Fundraising and CommunicationsConnecting our families with the community

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Bequests and Major GiftsConnecting our families with the community

Just as important are the people who have made us aware that we will be beneficiaries in their Will. Knowing this helps us make plans and will ensure our services can continue for future generations of children with hearing loss.

These supporters become a part of a special group called “Friends of The Shepherd Centre”. This group is regularly invited to attend our Centres, where they have the chance to tour the facilities and meet the children, families and staff.

In 2012, $430,061 funding was provided to The Shepherd Centre from the generosity of individual supporters who left a donation The Shepherd Centre in their Will. Their legacy has enabled us to continue to provide our life changing programs to many children in NSW and ACT. We will forever be grateful for the miracles that have been made possible by these generous gifts.

We have also been fortunate to secure $346,047 from generous individuals throughout 2012 which have assisted the continued availability and success of many of our programs and services for the children and families who attend our centres.

Additionally, these gifts have helped provide furnishings and equipment at our new Centre at The Australian Hearing Hub, located at Macquarie University. Without the kind support of these generous donors our beautiful new centre simply would not have been possible.

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Direct Mail AppealsConnecting our families with the community

During the year The Shepherd Centre sent various mail appeals to supporters, sharing with them the heart-wrenching journey and insights from families with a child with hearing loss.

The year began with the Back to School campaign which featured Lucas’ story and his successful transition from graduating from our program to his first day at ‘big school’ with age appropriate skills and language.

In April, donors and supporters were especially moved by our appeal featuring two-year old Amelia, whose parents felt at a loss when they arrived home from hospital with a deaf baby. Today, they glow as Amelia makes a cuppa with her play tea set and narrates along the way. This appeal raised an amazing $275,000.

During the year The Shepherd Centre sent various mail appeals to supporters, sharing with them the heart-wrenching journey and insights from families with a child with hearing loss.

The last appeal of the year told Lily’s story through her mother’s eyes with a creative baby diary piece and highlighted the importance of sound at Christmas time.

There were also mailings throughout the year to members of the public who never supported The Shepherd Centre in the past – appealing to them to make their first donation to help our children.

The success of these mailings has taken the number of donors from 1,479 at the start of the year to 2,268 by year’s end. We welcome our new donors on-board.

In 2012, Direct Mail contributed 20 per cent of fundraising revenue. The Direct Mail program is vital in supporting our programs and services, and our families. As only 30 per cent of our funding comes from government grants, The Shepherd Centre relies heavily on donations received through our direct mail program. We had so many generous supporters sending in donations to help open a world of sound and speech for children with hearing loss in 2012.

Thank you for making it possible for kids to learn to listen and speak – it makes a real difference to us and their families.

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Loud Shirt DayConnecting our families with the community

In October, Loud Shirt Day supporters stepped into their most colourful and outrageous outfits once again to organise events and wear their support of children with hearing loss.

The event is run by First Voice – a national alliance including The Shepherd Centre, and other organisations teaching young children with hearing loss to listen and speak. Everyone involved had a wonderful time raising money to give children life-changing listening and language services.

Loud Shirt Day is our biggest fundraising event of the year, and 2012 was no exception. In fact, The Shepherd Centre raised an incredible $139,000 from an overwhelming number of participating schools and organisations. The number of hosts was up from 2011, making it a very successful Loud Shirt Day.

The next Loud Shirt Day will take place on 18 October 2013. If your school or organisation would like to ‘get loud’ and be part of the excitement of Loud Shirt Day - and we really hope you will! - you can find out more and sign up at www.loudshirtday.com.au

Every Loud Shirt Day, like-minded people all over Australia get together to raise national awareness and funds to give children who are deaf or hearing impaired the gift of sound and speech.

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Trusts and FoundationsConnecting our families with the community

Residential Workshop Programs• Westfield Community supported our outreach

workshop programs on the New South Wales North and South Coasts, and in Wagga Wagga.

• These programs were also supported by the Gandel Foundation, Commonwealth Bank, The Marian and E. H Flack Trust for Sydney.

Upgrading our Audiology Booths• This was made possible by the generous support of the

Sargents Pies Charitable Foundation, and the Cecilia Kilkeary Foundation.

Yet again in 2012, The Shepherd Centre benefited from the support of a number of trusts and foundations, who gave generously to ensure we can continue to provide speech and language to children who are deaf or hearing-impaired. In addition to ongoing support for our core services, such as our Early Intervention program, the contribution from trusts and foundations assisted us in developing new programs and services, such as the Clear Speech Clinic and the implementation of LENA devices for our families.

Below is a list of programs and initiatives funded by trusts and foundations in 2012.

Introducing LENA technologyThe ACT Department of Community Services provided our Rivett Centre with an innovation grant, allowing our clinicians to purchase and implement the use of LENA devices with families currently on our program. The LENA devices allow our clinicians to easily collect, process, and analyse language environment data for children aged two to 48 months. This information can give us more insights into childrens speech and language development at home, which we can then use to guide their education program.

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Supporting our school-aged program through Clear Speech Clinic

Various trusts and foundations supported our vision to introduce a Clear Speech Clinic in 2012, a new service which helps correct speech errors of school-aged children, while also reinforcing their social skills.

Tablet Computer TechnologyThanks to Perpetual, Wilson HTM Investment Group, Commonwealth Bank and other trusts and foundations, The Shepherd Centre was able to adopt tablet computer technology in 2012. This has tremendously enhanced our service delivery not only for the children attending our Centres but also for families receiving service in rural and remote areas.

In particular, tablet technology has also assisted us with recording sessions with our children and families, helping them to practise and assess sounds and words, and develop spoken language structures, as well as allowing us to educate and respond to parent enquiries promptly. This technology has also provided increased working flexibility for travelling staff and ease of work in mainstream settings.

The Shepherd Centre would like to thank the following Trusts and Foundations who helped us transform the lives of children enrolled in our programs in 2012:

Westfield Community

Sargents Pies Charitable Foundation

ASX Thomson Reuters Charity Foundation

Cecilia Kilkeary Foundation Ltd

Bedwell Endowment

May And Stanley Smith Charitable Trust

Perpetual

Wilson HTM Investment Group

BBM Limited

Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation

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Corporate VolunteeringConnecting our families with the community

The Shepherd Centre is very grateful for the volunteer support received from a number of caring organisations and their employees in 2012, including:

Westfield Give Ability DaysThrough the Westfield Give Ability community program, Westfield centres at Chatswood and Liverpool partnered with our Roseville and Casula centres to provide support to our Early Intervention Program.

Deloitte Impact DayDeloitte employees again volunteered their time in 2012 to help brighten our outdoor playground in Roseville on their Staff Impact Day. Thanks to all their hard work, the children were able to learn and discover in a lovely landscaped garden!

By working in partnership with The Shepherd Centre, companies can make a lasting impression on both the public and their employees, invigorating their organisation and changing children’s futures.

For more information on how your organisation can partner with The Shepherd Centre, please call us on 02 9351 7888.

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Australian Father of the Year AwardsConnecting our families with the community

Most children think their father is the best dad in the world – and rightly so. The vital role fathers play in the development and wellbeing of their children is certainly something to celebrate.

Since 1957, The Australian Father’s Day Council has presented the Australian Father of the Year award to distinguished Australian fathers who are known to be devoted dads and who have also gained considerable acknowledgement for their career and leadership.

After almost 40 years, the Father’s Day Council decided to cease activities in 1996, due to time and administrative constraints. Dr Bruce Shepherd, the proud Australian Father of the Year 1991, learned of the intent and intervened.

Since then, The Shepherd Centre along with The Australian Father’s Day Council, present two distinguished awards to two outstanding fathers in recognition of their achievements and contribution to family and community life.

In 2012, ‘Aussie’ John Symond was named the 2012 Australian Father of the Year and Gary Sillett was named the 2012 NSW Community Father of the Year at the annual Australian Father of the Year Awards Luncheon held on Tuesday August 28th, 2012 at Parliament House, Sydney.

(L-R) Gary Sillett, 2012 NSW Community Father of the Year and John Symond, 2012 Australian Father of the Year.

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2012 Australian Father of the Year, John Symond

Aussie Home Loans Executive Chairman John Symond was named the 2012 Australian Father of the Year in recognition of his ongoing commitment to his children and to the wider community.

The father of two children, Stephen and Deborah, is best known as the face of mortgage broker and lender, Aussie. However, it’s Symond’s lesser known dedication to parenting and commitment to philanthropy and the Arts, particularly with organisations supporting disadvantaged children, which cemented his place as the 2012 Award winner.

Symond was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2002, and has been involved with numerous organisations such as Jeans for Genes, Sydney Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Medical Research Institute and Friends of St Vincent’s Private.

“I believe all children need a fair start in life, which is why a lot of my philanthropy work is focused on organisations that assist disadvantaged children,” said Symond.

The son of Lebanese immigrant greengrocers, Symond attributes his strong sense of family and work ethic to a childhood spent helping his parents in their fruit shops. Despite attending 11 schools and two universities, Symond credits his working class background and his parents as providing his best education.

2012 NSW Community Father of the Year, Gary Sillett

Gary is a bereaved dad who lost his son Isaac after two days in the NICU at RNS Hospital in December 2010. From this experience, Gary set up an Australian-first charity Pillars of Strength, in 2011 to provide Timeout and support for dads while their baby is sick and also to bereaved dads after the loss of their baby. Gary is currently a Director for the organisation and volunteers his spare time to help run the charity.

He is currently also the General Manager of ICARE an International Aid and Development organisation.

Gary is married to his wife Amy and has another son Callum, 3 years old, who loves the Wallabies and Lightning McQueen.

“My parents demonstrated the importance of prioritising their children. I’m fortunate that this was instilled in me. I am honoured to be recognised in this way. It’s a complete surprise. Really unexpected.”– John Symond, 2012 Australian Father of the Year

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How you can helpConnecting our families with the community

Every year, one in 1,000 Australian children is born with a significant hearing impairment. That’s one child almost every day.

With your support, The Shepherd Centre can help these children to learn how to listen and speak and fully participate in the hearing world. More than 90 per cent of our graduates go on to attend a mainstream primary school, the vast majority with communication skills on par with typical hearing children.

However, this success comes at a significant cost - $18,041 for a child to attend one year of an intensive Early Intervention Program, over $10,000 of which The Shepherd Centre must cover through fundraising.

Make a DonationHelp us continue our work supporting deaf and hearing impaired children by making a much-needed donation. Donations can be made over the phone or through our website, at www.shepherdcentre.org.au. Cheque donations are welcomed, please make payable to:

The Shepherd CentrePO Box 871Strawberry Hills NSW 2012

Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible

Become a Corporate Partner/SponsorThere are many ways your organisation can support The Shepherd Centre. For example, sponsor one of our national events, donate a percentage of your product sales or services and encourage your staff to hold fundraising events or volunteer their help in other ways. You could also choose to nominate The Shepherd Centre as the recipient of proceeds from industry golf days or fundraising dinners.

Support us through payroll givingDonating through payroll giving is efficient and tax effective. It eliminates the need to collect receipts and the wait to claim tax refunds. Through this program, the sum an employee wishes to donate to The Shepherd Centre is deducted from their wage each time they are paid.

Take part in our EventsThe Shepherd Centre holds a number of fundraising events each year including our annual Loud Shirt Day national fundraiser. You can get involved and help raise funds by participating in our events or by planning your own – visit our website for ideas and further information.

Leave a BequestThere is no better way to make a difference than to help give children the gift of speech. By leaving a gift in your Will to The Shepherd Centre, you are helping to ensure that hearing impaired children today and in the future, will have the opportunity to live a full and rewarding life and be able to reach their full potential in the hearing world.

VolunteerDonate your time and make a difference! Volunteer at one of our five centres – in our office or at one of our fundraising events.

For more information about any of the above:

Please contact The Shepherd Centre on 1800 020 030, email us at [email protected], visit our website - www.shepherdcentre.org.au, or ‘Like’ us on Facebook.

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Our Operations

Governance

A Board of Directors governs The Shepherd Centre and is comprised of one Chairman and five Directors whose knowledge and expertise ensures that The Shepherd Centre:• Achieves objectives in line with the organisation’s

Strategic Plan• Complies to all relevant laws and regulations• Continues to meet financial and management

performance expectations

For biographical profiles of our Board Members, please turn to page 75.

The Shepherd Centre uses the guidelines as set out in the Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations established by the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) Corporate Governance Council as a basis for its governance arrangements. The Shepherd Centre is not a listed company and has no obligation to adopt these principles but is committed to good corporate governance and transparency.

Operations Team

The Shepherd Centre formally established an Operations Team in 2011, consolidating the key services areas of Finance & Administration, Facilities, Human Resources, Information Technology and Workplace Health & Safety, led by Director of Operations, Bernard Ho.

Workplace Health & Safety

In 2012, our WHS Committee continued to address and improve Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) practices to ensure continued safety for The Shepherd Centre’s employees, families and visitors.

Investing for the future

During 2012 The Shepherd Centre commenced a major investment program into our programs. This incorporated three major elements:

Clinical team – we significantly expanded the size and scope of the clinical programs team to reflect the increased number of children turning to us for help, and the broader nature of their needs. The expenditure in our clinical programs area rose in 2012, and this ongoing expense will be funded by increased government and philanthropic income.

Our facilities – we invested significantly in improving our current centres, our equipment and our systems. This investment has allowed us to update our centres for the first time in more than a decade, to provide our clinical teams with advanced equipment in all areas, and to develop an innovative interdisciplinary clinical database that will enable us to continue to provide outstanding services.

Recruitment of new donors – to support our increased level of clinical activity we need many more financial supporters and donors. As a result we commenced an active donor recruitment program in late 2011. During 2012 we invested more than $600,000 in this program and the results already have been very pleasing, with positive returns already coming from the initial campaigns.

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Our Patrons

Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO - Official PatronHer Excellency Professor Marie Bashir, Companion of the Order of Australia, Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Governor of the State of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia.

Dr Brendan NelsonDr Nelson is currently the Director of the Australian War Memorial, having returned from his post as Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and NATO in December 2012. A general practitioner by training and a graduate of Flinders University in South Australia, Dr Nelson served as President of the Australian Medical Association from 1993 to 1995; served in the Australian Parliament as the Member for Bradfield since March 1996 and was the Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party from November 2007 until September 2008. He was Australian Minister for Defence from 2006 to 2007; Minister for Education, Science and Training from November 2001 to 2006; and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence from December 2000 to 2001.

The Board of Patrons was established by the Board of Directors to give The Shepherd Centre access to a group of individuals who would publicly endorse the work of the Centre and offer advice on specific issues. This group has no statutory or governance responsibility.

Mr Maurice Newman ACMr Newman is formerly Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He is an Advisor to the Marsh Group of Companies; a Director of the Queensland Investment Corporation; Honorary Chair of the Macquarie University Foundation; Chairman of The Australian Fathers’ Day Council; Chairman of the Taronga Foundation; and Director of The Bradman Foundation.

Mr John FraserMr Fraser was appointed as chairman and chief executive officer of the Global Asset Management Business Group of UBS in late 2001. Prior to that, he was president and chief operating officer of UBS Asset Management and head of Asia Pacific; Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SBC Australia Funds Management Ltd from 1994 to 1998.

The Charter of the Board of Patrons is: “To assist and support the work of The Shepherd Centre through the endorsement of the Centre in the general community, with potential benefactors and with government. At times it may be asked to assist with introductions to people and organisations that may in turn support The Shepherd Centre.”

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Associate Professor Jim PatrickAssociate Professor Jim Patrick is the Chief Scientist of Cochlear Ltd, was one of the original engineers pioneering the development of the multi-channel cochlear implant and is recognised as a world authority on cochlear implants. He led the successful development of “UMDOLEE”, the ten channel cochlear implant developed by the Departments of Otolaryngology and Electrical Engineering.

Ms Cathy Harris AO PSMMs Harris currently holds the positions of Director of The National Gallery Foundation; Director of the Australian School of Business UNSW; and Commissioner of the Australian Rugby League and Honorary Consul General for Bhutan. Previously held positions include the Deputy Chancellor of UNSW; the Federal Director of the Affirmative Action Agency; Board Member to the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, The Museum of Contemporary Art, the Australian Defence Force Academy and The Australia Japan Foundation.

Mr John MangosPopular television newsman John Mangos has been a familiar face on Australian television screens for 33 years. A veteran newscaster, Mangos is currently a news presenter for the Seven Network and is a regular guest on Sunrise and The Morning Show programs. He is also one of Australia’s leading media trainers. He is the Director of Interview and Presentation Training for global strategic communications group FTI.”

Mr Paul RoosAFL premiership-winning coach Paul Roos is one of Australia’s most admired sporting personalities. A former coach of the Sydney Swans and current Head Coach of the Swans Academy, Roos is a newspaper columnist and professional speaker, and is regarded as one of Australia’s leading motivational keynote presenters.

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The Shepherd Centre’s commitment to high standards of performance in Environment, Social and Governance dimensions

The Shepherd Centre

Environment

Overall environmental impact

Efficiency of use of environmental resources

Implementation of new initiatives to improve environmental impact

Practices to prevent and mitigate environmental incidents

Waste material processing and recycling

Management of supply chain environmental impact

The Shepherd Centre is committed to excellence. Our commitment is not limited to the service we provide to the children that we assist, but also includes excellence across the range of our operations.

During 2012, we conducted an internal audit of our performance, compared to the performance of our industry peers, across a range of measures in the Environment, Social and Governance dimensions.

The following table depicts the result of that audit, and our ratings of Excellent, Average, or Below Average across 21 distinct areas of these dimensions.

a

b

E

a

a

a

Excellent Below averageAverage

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Social

Labour standards and employment culture

Staff engagement and satisfaction

Workplace health and safety performance

Community engagement and social license to operate

Company code of conduct

Data privacy systems and policies

Management of social impact of investments

Management of supply chain social impact

E

a

a

a

E

E

E

E

Governance

Independent directors on the board

Separation of executive and board functions

Global Reporting Initiative reporting

alignment of management goals with corporate governance and stakeholder interests

breadth and expertise of the board

Extent of stakeholder communication and corporate disclosure

Internal risk and control mechanisms

a

a

E

E

E

b

E

Excellent Below averageAverage

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Concise Financial StatementsThe Shepherd Centre

ContentsFor the year ended 31 December 2012

Financial Statements Page

Director’s Report 74

Auditor’s Independence Declaration 78

Statement of Comprehensive Income 79

Statement of Financial Position 80

Statement of Changes in Equity 81

Cash Flow Statement 82

Notes to the Financial Statements 83

Director’s Declaration 94

Independent Auditor’s Report 95

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Directors' Report

For the Year Ended 31 December 2012

Your directors present their report on the company for the financial year ended 31 December 2012.

Directors

The names of each person who has been a director during the year and to the date of this report are:

Mr Michael H Shepherd

Dr Hugh W Torode

Hon. Robert J Webster

Mr Philip Rossi

Mr Chris Ladas

Mr Peter W Mattick

Directors have been in office since the start of the financial year to the date of this report unless otherwise

stated.

Principal Activity

The principal activities of The Shepherd Centre during the financial year was to help deaf and hearing

impaired children reach their language, listening and speech potential and integrate into their local

community, school and the hearing world.

No significant change in the nature of these activities occurred during the financial year.

Short term objectives

The company's short term objectives are to:

The short-term objectives of The Shepherd Centre are to further enhance our clinical programs (in

terms of both scope and access), along with improvements to our fundraising and overall financial

results. In the longer term our objective is to continue to improve the range, quantity and quality of

our clinical services so that we can work toward our vision of every child with hearing loss achieving

the best spoken language they are capable of, whilst maintaining the financial viability of the charity

through balancing continued clinical expansion with the maintenance of prudent financial reserves.

Long term objectives

The company's long term objectives are to:

The vision of The Shepherd Centre is that every child with hearing loss is able to achieve the best

spoken language they are capable of, so they can achieve their full potential in the world. We work

to achieve this vision by helping these children with a multidisciplinary program of Auditory-Verbal

Therapy, audiological services including a cochlear implantation program, and counselling support.

Our aim is to be the best in the world in terms of the standard of our programs and the outcomes

being achieved by the children.

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Directors' Report


Strategy for achieving the objectives

To achieve these objectives, the company has adopted the following strategies:

To achieve these objectives we will continue to invest into the quality of our clinical programs (with a

strong focus on multidisciplinary practice to support our children developing their potential), and

communication programs (including cultivation of our supporters).

Members guarantee

The company incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 and is a company limited by guarantee. If the

company is wound up, the constitution states that each member is required to contribute a maximum of $ 20

each towards meeting any outstanding obligations of the entity. At 31 December 2012, the total amount that

members of the company are liable to contribute if the company is wound up is $ 320 (2011: $140).

Information on Directors

Mr Michael H Shepherd Chairman (Non-executive)

Qualifications Senior Fellow and Life Member of Financial Services Institute

of Australasia

Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors

Experience First appointed November 1985; Chair Finance and Audit

Committee; Director HFA Holdings Ltd; Vice Chairman

Australian Stock Exchange Ltd (1988 2007); Chairman

Australian Hearing Services Authority (1998 2006); National

President of Financial Services Institute of Australasia (2005

2008); Member of Responsible Entity Compliance Committee

for UBS Global Asset Management (Australia) Ltd

Dr Hugh W Torode Director (Non-executive)

Qualifications Bachelor of Medicine (Melbourne University)

Bachelor of Surgery (Melbourne University)

Fellow Royal Australian and New Zealand College of

Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG)

Experience First appointed March 1994

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Directors' Report


Information on Directors continued

Hon. Robert J Webster Director (Non-executive)

Qualifications Member of the Australian Institute of Management

Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors

Experience First appointed 15 July 2005; Member of Finance and Audit

Committee; Senior Client Partner in the Sydney office of

Korn/Ferry International since 2001; Previously spent five years

as Executive Director of the International Banks and Securities

Association of Australia; Currently a Director of Allianz Australia

Ltd and Brickworks Ltd; Past Director of Investa Property

Group, Mirvac Group Ltd and Macquarie Generation; Past

Chairman of Questacon (The National Science and Technology

Centre); Elected National Party MP for Goulburn in 1984;

Former Minister in the Greiner Government 1989; Elected to

the Legislative Council of NSW in 1991

Mr Philip Rossi Director (Non-executive)

Qualifications UTS High Certificate Engineering

Experience First appointed May 2008; Member of Finance and Audit

Committee; Managing Director and Principle of Tapex Pty Ltd;

Managing Director of Agpac Ltd; Director of Boddingtons

Australasia Pty Ltd; Director of Empak Ltd; Director of

Hatbands Pty Ltd; Past Director of Mary Rossi Travel Pty Ltd;

Past Director of Australian Commercial Company Pty Ltd.

Mr Chris Ladas Director (Non-executive)

Qualifications Parent Representative to Board

Experience First appointed August 2008

Director of Melissa Confectionary Pty Ltd

Mr Peter W Mattick Director (Non-executive)

Qualifications Bachelor of Commerce

Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practising

Accountants

Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors

Experience First appointed February 2010; Co-founder and Director of

Salmat Ltd; Governor of Advisory Council for the Institute of

Neuromuscular Research; Trustee for the Fresh Tracks

Foundation; Past Chairman and Director of the Australian

Direct Marketing Association; Past member of the National

Aboriginal Sports Corporation.

3

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Directors' Report


Meetings of directors

During the financial year, 7 meetings of directors were held. Attendances by each director during the year

were as follows:

Directors' Meetings

Number eligible

to attend

Number

attended

Mr Michael H Shepherd 7 7

Dr Hugh W Torode 7 6

Hon. Robert J Webster 7 5

Mr Philip Rossi 7 6

Mr Chris Ladas 7 7

Mr Peter W Mattick 7 6

Auditors Independence Declaration

The lead auditor's independence declaration for the year ended 31 December 2012 has been received and

can be found on page 5.

Sign off details

Signed in accordance with a resolution of the Board of Directors:

Director: ............................................................... Director: .................................................

...............

Dated this day of March 2013

4

Dated this 9th day of April 2013

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Statement of Comprehensive Income


Note

2012

$

2011

$

Revenue2 5,493,933 4,784,787

Employee benefits expense(3,791,205) (2,870,900)

Depreciation, amortisation and impairments3 (321,928) (279,130)

Other expenses(2,268,513) (1,743,406)

Current year surplus before income tax(887,713) (108,649)

Income tax expense1(j) - -

Net current year surplus(887,713) (108,649)

Other comprehensive income:

Net gain on revaluation of land and buildings288,592 -

Other comprehensive income for the year288,592 -

Total comprehensive income for the year(599,121) (108,649)

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.6

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Statement of Financial Position

As At 31 December 2012

Note

2012

$

2011

$

ASSETS

CURRENT ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents4 438,227 1,239,195

Trade and other receivables5 235,784 406,894

Other assets7 215,064 48,166

TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS889,075 1,694,255

NON-CURRENT ASSETS

Property, plant and equipment6 5,559,202 5,040,979

Intangible assets8 129,893 112,458

TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS 5,689,095 5,153,437

TOTAL ASSETS6,578,170 6,847,692

LIABILITIES

CURRENT LIABILITIES

Trade and other payables9 863,515 505,674

Other Liabilities11 59,300 59,300

TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 922,815 564,974

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES

Long-term provisions10 85,788 54,730

Other Liabilities11 340,746 400,046

TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES 426,534 454,776

TOTAL LIABILITIES1,349,349 1,019,750

NET ASSETS5,228,821 5,827,942

EQUITY

Retained Surplus3,646,075 4,533,788

Reserves12 1,582,746 1,294,154

5,228,821 5,827,942

TOTAL EQUITY5,228,821 5,827,942


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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Statement of Changes in Equity


2012

Retained

Surplus

$

Asset

Revaluation

Surplus

$

Asset

Realisation

Reserve

$

Total

$

Balance at 1 January 20124,533,788 673,990 620,164 5,827,942

Surplus attributable to members of the entity (887,713) 288,592 - (599,121)

Balance at 31 December 2012 3,646,075 962,582 620,164 5,228,821

2011

Retained

Surplus

$

Asset

Revaluation

Surplus

$

Asset

Realisation

Reserve

$

Total

$

Balance at 1 January 20114,642,437 673,990 620,164 5,936,591

Surplus attributable to members of the entity (108,649) - - (108,649)

Balance at 31 December 2011 4,533,788 673,990 620,164 5,827,942


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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Cash Flow Statement


Note

2012

$

2011

$

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

Other income1,924,166 1,132,268

Operating grant receipts1,610,120 1,375,459

Payments to suppliers and employees(6,535,182) (5,233,375)

Interest received22,816 69,089

Gifts and donations received2,746,106 2,697,526

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 16 (231,974) 40,967

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

Payment for intangible asset(17,435) (73,747)

Purchase of property, plant and equipment(551,559) (65,223)

Net cash used by investing activities (568,994) (138,970)

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash

equivalents held(800,968) (98,003)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year1,239,195 1,337,198

Cash and cash equivalents at end of financial year 4 438,227 1,239,195


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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Notes to the Financial Statements


2 Revenue and Other Income 2012

$

2011

$

Operating activities

- Sale of Goods377 293

- Donations2,746,106 2,697,526

- Government subsidies1,669,420 1,434,759

- Interest received22,816 69,089

- Member subscriptions291 127

- Rental income8,356 -

- Sundry revenue1,046,567 582,993

Total operating activities revenue5,493,933 4,784,787

Other Income/Expenses

- Gain/(loss) on sale of property, plant

and equipment4,696 (2,283)

Total other income/expenses4,696 (2,283)

3 Surplus from ordinary activities

Surplus (deficit) from ordinary activities before income tax expense has been determined after:

Expenses:

Amortisation39,517 11,461

Depreciation of non-current assets:

Buildings158,864 158,863

Leasehold improvements23,513 2,017

Educational equipment3,653 2,348

Motor vehicles11,100 13,979

Office equipment50,784 64,173

Audiological equipment34,497 26,289

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment282,411 267,669

Remuneration of the auditors for:

- audit services12,504 17,945

17

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



4 Cash and Cash Equivalents 2012

$

2011

$

Cash on hand1,600 1,600

Cash at bank436,627 1,237,595

Total cash and cash equivalents438,227 1,239,195

5 Trade and Other Receivables

CURRENT

Trade receivables200,245 113,577

First Voice receivable11,855 269,623

ASTS receivable109 -

Other receivables23,575 23,694

Total current trade and other receivables235,784 406,894

Credit Risk - Trade and Other Receivables

The company does not have any material credit risk exposure to any single receivable or group of

receivables.

The following table details the company's trade and other receivables exposure to credit risk (prior to

collateral and other credit enhancements) with ageing analysis and impairment provided for thereon.

Amounts are considered as 'past due' when the debt has not been settled, within the terms and conditions

agreed between the company and the customer or counter party to the transaction. Receivables that are

past due are assessed for impairment by ascertaining solvency of the debtors and are provided for where

there is objective evidence indicating that the debt may not be fully repaid to the company. The balances of

receivables that remain within initial trade terms (as detailed in the table) are considered to be of high credit

quality. The company does not hold any financial assets with terms that have been renegotiated, but which

would otherwise be past due or impaired.Past due but not impaired

(days overdue)

Gross

amount

$

Past dueand

impaired

$

31-60

$

61-90

$

> 90

$

Within

initial trade

terms

$

2012

Trade and term receivables 200,245 - 33,819 - 1,257 165,169

Other receivables 35,541 - - - - 35,541

Total235,786 - 33,819 - 1,257 200,710

2011

Trade and term receivables 113,577 - 18 - 52,189 61,370

Other receivables 293,317 - - - - 293,317

Total 406,894 - 18 - 52,189 354,687

18

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



6 Property, Plant and Equipment2012

$

2011

$

LAND AND BUILDINGS

Freehold land

At independent valuation2,305,177 2,016,585

Total land2,305,177 2,016,585

Building

At independent valuation3,971,590 3,971,590

Accumulated depreciation(1,336,767) (1,177,903)

Total buildings2,634,823 2,793,687

Total land and buildings4,940,000 4,810,272

PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Motor vehicles

At cost72,253 93,195

Accumulated depreciation(52,429) (55,197)

Total motor vehicles19,824 37,998

Office equipment

At cost449,674 402,740


Total office equipment73,629 77,479

Leasehold improvements

At cost392,255 83,921

Accumulated amortisation(72,030) (48,518)

Total leasehold improvements320,225 35,403

Educational equipment

At cost190,235 123,362


Total educational equipment65,968 2,748

Audiological equipment

At cost475,362 378,389


Total audiological equipment139,556 77,079

Total plant and equipment619,202 230,707

5,559,202 5,040,979

19

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



6 Property, Plant and Equipment continued

Movements in Carrying Amounts

Movement in the carrying amounts for each class of property, plant and equipment between the beginning

and the end of the current financial year:

Land

$

Buildings

$

Motor

Vehicles

$

Office

Equipment

$

Balance at 31 December 2012

Balance at the beginning of year 2,016,585 2,793,687 37,998 77,479

Additions- - - 46,934

Disposals- - (7,074) -

Depreciation expense- (158,864) (11,100) (50,784)

Revaluation increase recognised in

income288,592 - - -

Balance at 31 December 20122,305,177 2,634,823 19,824 73,629


Balance at the beginning of year 2,016,585 2,952,550 51,977 111,649

Additions- - - 30,003

Depreciation expense- (158,863) (13,979) (64,173)

Balance at 31 December 20112,016,585 2,793,687 37,998 77,479

Improvements

$

Educational

equipment

$

Audiological

equipment

$

Total

$


Balance at the beginning of year35,403 2,748 77,079 5,040,979

Additions308,335 66,873 96,974 519,116

Disposals- - - (7,074)

Depreciation expense(23,513) (3,653) (34,497) (282,411)

Revaluation increase recognised in

income- - - 288,592

Balance at 31 December 2012320,225 65,968 139,556 5,559,202


Balance at the beginning of year37,420 5,095 68,149 5,243,425

Additions- - 35,220 65,223

Depreciation expense(2,017) (2,347) (26,290) (267,669)

Balance at 31 December 201135,403 2,748 77,079 5,040,979

20

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



7 Other Assets 2012

$

2011

$

CURRENT

Prepayments215,064 48,166

215,064 48,166

8 Intangible Assets

Trademarks

At cost

- 2,657

Accumulated amortisation and impairment- (647)

- 2,010

Computer software

At cost189,970 130,361

Accumulated amortisation and impairment (60,077) (19,913)

129,893 110,448

Total Intangibles129,893 112,458

9 Trade and other payables

CURRENT

Unsecured liabilities

Trade payables382,015 72,172

Accrued employee entitlements281,031 239,852

Sundry payables and accrued expenses200,469 193,650

863,515 505,674

(a) Financial liabilities at amortised cost classified as trade and other payables

Trade and other payables

- Total Current863,515 505,674

863,515 505,674

Less:

Accrued employee entitlements(281,031) (239,852)

Financial liabilities as trade and other payables 15 582,484 265,822

21

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



10 Provision

Analysis of total provisions 2012

$

2011

$

Current

- -

Non-current85,788 54,730

85,788 54,730

Provision for Long-term Employee Benefits

A provision has been recognised for employee entitlements relating to long service leave. Incalculating the

present value of future cash flows in respect of long service leave, the probability of long service leave being

taken is based on historical data. The measurement and recognition criteria relating to employee benefits

have been included in Note 1 to these financial statements.

11 Other liabilities

Current

Grants received in advance59,300 59,300

Non-Current

Grants received in advance340,746 400,046

400,046 459,346

12 Reserves

(a) Asset revaluation reserve

The asset revaluation reserve records realised gains on revaluation of property, plant and equipment

recorded at fair value.

(b) Asset realisation reserve

The asset realisation reserve records realised gains on sale of non-current assets.

13 Members' Guarantee

The company is incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 and is a company limited by guarantee. If the

company is wound up, the constitution states that each member is required to contribute a maximum of $ 20

each towards meeting any outstanding's and obligations of the company. At 31 December 2012 the number

of members was 320 (2011: 140).

22

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



14 Capital and Leasing Commitments

Operating lease commitments

Note

2012

$

2011

$

Payable - minimum lease payments:

- no later than 1 year21,159 22,262

- between 1 year and 5 years91,161 95,930

112,320 118,192

The property lease commitment is a non-cancelable operating lease paid for the use of the Canberra centre,

contracted for but not recognised in the financial statements with a five year term expiring 31 December

2016. Increase in lease commitments are annual increments of 3% per annum on 1 July of each year.

15 Financial Risk Management

The company's financial instruments consist mainly of deposits with banks, accounts receivable and

payable, leases.

The carrying amounts for each category of financial instruments, measured in accordance with AASB 139

as detailed in the accounting policies to these financial statements, are as follows:

Financial Assets

Cash and cash equivalents438,227 1,239,195

Trade and other receivables235,786 406,894

Total financial assets674,013 1,646,089

Financial Liabilities

Financial liabilities at amortised cost

- Trade and other payables9 863,515 505,674

Total financial liabilities863,515 505,674

23

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



16 Cash Flow Information

(a) Reconciliation of Cash Flow from Operations with Surplus after Income Tax

2012

$

2011

$

Surplus after income tax(887,713) (108,650)

Non-cash flows in surplus

Depreciation, amortisation and impairments321,928 279,130

- Net gain/loss on disposal of property, plant and

equipment- 2,284

Changes in assets and liabilities

- (Increase)/decrease in trade receivables and

other assets4,212 71,789

- Increase/(decrease) in trade payables and

accruals357,841 (152,936)

- Increase/(decrease) in grants in advance (59,300) (59,300)

- Increase/(decrease) in provisions31,058 8,650

Cashflow from operations(231,974) 40,967

17 Key Management Personnel Compensation

Short-term

benefits

$

Post

employment

benefit

$

Total

$

2012

Total compensation664,110 48,234 712,344

2011

Total compensation539,863 42,368 582,231

18 Remuneration and retirement benefits

No director has received or become entitled to receive a benefit since the end of the previous financial year.

The names of directors who have held office during the period are listed in the directors report.

26

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



19 Capital Management

Management controls the capital of the company in order to ensure that adequate cash flows are generated

to fund its programs and that returns from investments are maximised. The finance committee ensures that

the overall risk management strategy is in line with this objective.

The finance committee operates under policies approved by the Board of Directors. Risk management

policies are approved and reviewed by the Board on a regular basis. These include credit risk policies and

future cash flow requirements.

The company's capital consists of financial liabilities, supported by financial assets. Management effectively

manages the company's capital by assessing the company's financial risks and responding to changes in

these risks and in the market. These responses may include the consideration of debt levels.

There has been no changes to the strategy adopted by management to control the capital of the company

since the previous period.

20 Company Details

The registered office of the company is:

The Shepherd Centre

391-401 Abercrombie Street

Darlington NSW 2008

27

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



21 Information and Declarations to be Furnished under the Charitable Fundraising Act 1991

(a) Details of aggregate gross income and total expenses of fundraising appeals

2012

$

2011

$

Income

Major Gifts1,014,578 793,326

Events195,720 290,811

Appeals555,411 425,728

Bequests430,061 924,648

Acquisition369,503 100,961

Other180,833 162,052

2,746,106 2,697,526

Expenditure

Major Gifts- (23,468)

Events(245,772) (97,338)

Appeals(162,206) (200,325)

Bequests(7,969) (3,215)

Acquisition(649,554) (328,318)

Other(109,804) -

(1,175,305) (652,664)

Net Surplus obtained from fundraising appeals 1,570,801 2,044,862

(b) Fundraising appeals conducted during the financial year

Bequest mailing, Christmas, donor care, regular giving, Shepherd voice appeals, supporter survey, and tax

appeals.

(c) Statement showing how funds were applied for charitable purposes

Net surplus obtained from fundraising appeals 1,570,801 2,044,862

Applied to charitable purposes in the following manner:

Expenditure on direct services and administration (3,955,166) (3,357,881)

Expenditure on fundraising administration(1,020,980) (706,313)

Capital expenditure(576,065) (65,223)

(3,981,410) (2,084,555)

The shortfall was provided from the following sources

Government grants1,669,420 1,434,759

Other income1,078,407 649,796

Shortfall of current year funding(1,233,583) -

28

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927



21 Information and Declarations to be Furnished under the Charitable Fundraising Act 1991 continued

(d) Comparison of certain monetary figures and comparisons$ Ratio / %

Dollars of gross fundraising income generated from

each dollar of direct fundraising expenditure

2,746,106/

1,175,350 2.34

Dollars of net fundraising surplus generated from each

dollar of fundraising expenditure

(3,955,166 -

1,020,980) /

(1,175,350 +

1,020,980) 1.34

Fundraising administration costs as a percent of total

services and administration costs

1,020,980 /

(3,955,166 +

1,020,980) 20.52

(e) Government Funding

2012

$

2011

$

Ageing, Disability and Home Care Department - Existing 614,028 653,122

Ageing, Disability and Home Care Department - New 169,954 -

NSW Department of Community Services143,645 108,395

NSW Department of Education & Training - YCWD 302,367 319,983

NSW Department of Education & Training - NGO 76,550 78,010

DEETYA - Commonwealth Capital Grant169,300 59,300

SCAN Funding29,790 50,591

ACT Department of Education & Training163,636 163,637

AIS - NSW Schools Support150 1,721

Total1,669,420 1,434,759

29

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The Shepherd Centre

ABN 61 000 699 927

Directors' Declaration

The directors of the entity declare that:

1. The financial statements and notes, as set out on pages 7 to 29, are in accordance with the Corporations

Act 2001 and:

(a) comply with Australian Accounting Standards; and

(b) give a true and fair view of the financial position as at 31 December 2012 and of the performance for

the year ended on that date of the entity.

2. In the directors' opinion, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the entity will be able to pay its debts

as and when they become due and payable.

This declaration is made in accordance with a resolution of the Board of Directors.

Director .................................................................. Director ..................................................

................

Dated this day of March 2013

30

Dated this 9th day of April 2013

95


96


97

98

First Voice

Despite limited resources, First Voice has emerged as a strong, active and influential organisation within the early intervention sector. Its lobbying efforts were instrumental in securing recurrent federal government funding for early intervention services for not only hearing impaired children, but across a range of other disability areas.

The Shepherd Centre is a proud member of First Voice, a national alliance of member organisations whose primary focus is the provision of listening and spoken language for children who are deaf or hearing impaired.

Established in 2010, First Voice plays a leadership role in shaping public policy and funding decision-making relating to hearing impaired children. First Voice evolved from the former Alliance for Deaf Children, which was established in 2003.

There are five founding members of First Voice and an affiliated organisation in New Zealand:

For more information about First Voice, please visit www.firstvoice.org.au

99

100

1800 020 [email protected]

www.shepherdcentre.org.au • facebook.com/ShepherdCentre

DARLINGTON • 391 – 401 Abercrombie Street, Darlington NSW 2008 | 02 9351 7888CANBERRA • Nealie Place, Rivett ACT 2611 | 02 6288 5920

LIVERPOOL • 43 Graham Avenue, Casula NSW 2170 | 02 9822 2299MACQUARIE • The Australian Hearing Hub, Ground Floor, 16 University Ave, Macquarie University NSW 2109

02 8297 4700WOLLONGONG • 48 Dempster Street, West Wollongong NSW 2500 | 02 4226 4713

ABN: 61 000 699 927NSW Authority to Fundraise: CFN 11015

Documents

The Shepherd Centre - 2012 Annual Report