This report once again highlights the many and expanding activities of Centacare. Through the enormous effort of over 3000 staff, the very positive impact of our commitment to quality care is directly enjoyed by over 50,000 residents of southeast Queensland each year. The various reports in this annual review outline our activities in more detail.

Our continuing partnerships with both Queensland and Australian governments strongly underpinned our efforts during the year and we are grateful for such a significant level of support. Increasing levels of compliance and accountability however along with decreased funding in real terms is placing pressure on our capacity to provide service quality to our clients. We continue to discuss this issue with all government agencies and we are hopeful that more suitable funding arrangements will develop in the near future.

While governments are important stakeholders, this is also the case with the Church and its many agencies. Archbishop Bathersby along with Auxiliary Bishops Finnegan and Oudemann take a keen interest in our work and the same can be said for many Parish Priests for whom we act on behalf of in areas such as childcare. Fr Peter Meneely the Moderator of the Archdiocese has a more direct involvement through senior management and the Centacare Council and the assistance and advice he provides proves to be invaluable. The management and staff of Brisbane Catholic Education have also assisted greatly in our childcare endeavours and their support is acknowledged with appreciation.

The role of the Centacare Council is complex – the balance between quality care and appropriate governance is difficult to find and subject to continual change. The Council has accepted this challenge readily and provided a very positive and forward looking approach to its decision making. We sincerely thank all Council members for their commitment. In addition it is the various Centacare Directors that ultimately carry day to day responsibility for service quality and it is clear that in each case our Directors contribute far beyond the bounds of any particular role description. Centacare could not function without these people and we commend to you their reports and acknowledge their work with sincere thanks.

In the end the involvement of all stakeholders must be distilled into a service delivery process that is both positive and rewarding for our clients. We thank all of our clients for their trust but most of all we convey our sincere appreciation to the staff of Centacare for ensuring that every day a quality service is provided in a spirit that so fully lives out the mission of the Church.