AGY-2045 | Home Care Service of New South Wales [I]

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The Community Services Act, 1982 (Act No 76, 1982) (s.29) provided for the incorporation of the Home Help Service of New South Wales to become the Home Care Service of New South Wales. The Act provided that upon lodgement of the Constitution with the Corporate Affairs Commission the constitution of the Home Help Service of New South Wales became that of the Home Care Service of New South Wales, and the Executive Committee of the Home Help Service became the Executive Committee of the Home Care Service of New South Wales. The previous decisions of the Home Help Service became the decisions of the Home Care Service. The Home Care Service of New South Wales was established on 31 August, 1984 (1) In 1984-5 the aims of the service were identified as follows. (i) to assist the family and individual to live as independently as possible in the home by providing assistance in times of illness, incapacity, crisis and stress; and (ii) to provide an alternative to institutional care which is guaranteed of high quality, comprehensive, co-ordinated and flexible. (2) The service was managed by a Board of 20 members who were approximately equally elected by branches, nominated by community groups and appointed by the minister. (3) The agency became autonomous providing its own support services The Home and Community Care Program which the Commonwealth and all State Governments implemented in 1986 profoundly affected the workings of the Home Care Service. The service also received grants from the Commonwealth Government for special projects particularly those related to Aboriginal people and migrants. (4) Under the new structure the functional responsibilities included Research and Planning , Policy and Projects, and the Co-Ordination of Regional Services. The six regional offices were responsible for (a) ensuring that organisation-wide strategies were incorporated into branch-level plans (b) efficient service provision (c) support services in the region (5) In addition to its core work with the elderly and disabled the Service also assisted in disaster relief operations such as floods, bushfires and earthquakes. (6) The Home Care Service of New South Wales [I] was abolished on 18 July, 1988 when the Home Care Service of New South Wales (a statutory body) was established. (1) (NSW Government Gazette 31 August, 1984 p. 4398. (2) Department of Youth and Community Services Annual Report for the year ended 30 June, 1985 p. 73 (3) Loc. Cit. (4) Home Care Service of New South Wales Annual Report for the year ended 30 June, 1990 p. 76 (5) Ibid. p. 14-15 (6) Ibid p. 17, 23-25