CEO Welcome

A word from our CEO

We continued to support our customers and communities by providing meaningful employment pathways, place-based community services and caring for Country. Our inspiring team continued to demonstrate their characteristic passion for delivering impactful outcomes.

Earlier this year, Marc Higgins finished up as CEO at Community Resources (CR). I would like to acknowledge Marc’s contribution to CR. Under Marc’s leadership in the last year alone, we created 960 job opportunities, diverted over 18,000 tons of waste from landfill and delivered more than 63,000 instances of community services. Consequently, I feel honoured and grateful to serve as CEO.

One of this year’s true highlights was Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, the Governor-General of Australia, becoming our patron. This significant endorsement further strengthens our ability to deliver on our mission and purpose.

Another highlight was the successful launch of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) on Worimi Country on Mabo Day. The RAP is an important milestone in our ongoing efforts to advance reconciliation and foster stronger relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It has marked real progress in our transition to becoming an Aboriginal-led organisation. Becoming an Aboriginal-led organisation represents the most significant milestone in our 37-year history, representing a natural extension of our cultural past. I am personally excited about this change and how it will lift impact across the communities we serve.

A strategic review of our purpose saw us make some thoughtful changes, most notable of which was supporting the Green Connect Farm’s transition to becoming an independent enterprise. We worked hard to position the Farm for success, gifting all Farm assets and novating the long-term Farm lease. The Farm continues to operate under its existing management, providing fair food, training and farm tours for the local community. We remain closely connected, partnering with the team to place work-ready participants with our Green Yakka Labour Hire and Zero Waste businesses.

In tough market conditions – including heightened competition, a decline in mattress sales and other challenges – revenue growth was constrained, which in turn impacted profitability. Moreover, cost-of-living challenges and flood disasters heavily impacted some of our communities, particularly along the Eastern seaboard.

Soft Landing (SL) experienced a reduction in mattress volume in NSW and WA. High right-of-use property insurance premiums and elevated disposal costs for pocket springs all contributed to financial challenges. That said, the team’s capable focus on operational effectiveness and process efficiency succeeded in softening the financial blow associated with falling mattress volumes. Particularly heartening was the extension of the major Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils contract.

This year, we completed projects for our customer relationship management system (CRM), risk and compliance management systems, and the Logiqc workflow application. These tools, processes and systems have placed us well to support our next stage of growth.

In line with this focus on operational excellence, we proudly achieved ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certification for RRA — proving we meet rigorous international standards for quality, sustainability and safety. This achievement is a strong endorsement of how we work and a clear signal to our partners, customers and communities that they can rely on us to deliver excellent services safely, responsibly and with a commitment to continuous improvement.

Changing markets require us to adapt to deliver on mission and purpose. In the coming financial year, we will: 

• Strengthen identity and culture by becoming Aboriginal-led and being ’values-driven’
• Grow by exceeding revenue targets and retaining our loyal customer base
• Create an ’always safe’ performance-based work environment
• Build financial sustainability

Our people continue to be our greatest strength, who live and breathe our values every day. Building a stronger future will require purposeful hard work, a culture grounded in collaboration and resilience, and the ability to embrace change – all in service of creating meaningful jobs and caring for our planet. 

CEO