On Sunday 4th December 2016, ACCA held its 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Parramatta Town Hall, Parramatta which was attended by 145 members.
After a quorum of 170 (voting members plus proxies) was registered, the AGM was declared opened. ACCA President Ms Shirley Chan presented her report for the year 2015-2016. She touched on aged care reforms initiated by the government and acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead for ACCA’s aged and community care services. She expressed her confidence that ACCA will continue to succeed when the Home Care program market is deregulated beginning next year. She highlighted the key activities organized by ACCA and the major achievements, including the establishment of ACCA’s Southern Sydney Service Centre during the year. She acknowledged and thanked members, clients, volunteers, staff, and directors for their ongoing contributions, and the Federal and State government agencies for their continuing funding and support. In addition, she also thanked the Consulate-General of China in Sydney for their generous annual grant to support ACCA’s Chinese Language School.
Thereafter, ACCA’s Treasurer Ms Stephanie Chen presented her report. She stated that despite the introduction of consumer directed care (CDC) for the Home Care programs on 1 July 2015, ACCA still managed to achieve a modest surplus of $39,324 – this being the 7th consecutive year of surplus for ACCA thanks to its’ prudent financial management. With ample financial resources and debt free, ACCA is in a strong position to take advantage of any opportunities for future expansion.
In accordance with the ACCA Constitution, directors are elected at each AGM for a term of 2 years. The Returning Officer presented his report to the meeting. He reported that he had received 9 valid nominations for the election of directors but one candidate subsequently withdrew his nomination leaving 8 candidates to fill the 8 positions available. Therefore, all 8 candidates were automatically elected without the need for an election. The new directors elected were (in alphabetical order): Shirley Chan, Franklin Choi, Tim Feng, Daniel Kwan, Felix Lam, Maria Wang, Julie Yen, and Xia Li Zhu.
After the AGM was declared closed, a party was held to give an opportunity for the members to interact with the directors and staff as well as to celebrate the coming Christmas and New Year. State MP for Granville Ms Julia Finn attended the party as a special guest and being a popular Member of Parliament many ACCA members were seen talking, laughing, and taking photos with her. Many members also complimented the high quality of food on this occasion.
The 42nd AGM was well attended and given the positive feedback from our members it is considered as one of the most successful in recent years.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !
Editorial Team
ACCA