Annual ReportYear ended 30 June 2019

Annual Report 2019

The year at A Start in Life, 2018/19

2018/19 was the year A Start in Life began measuring what its support changes for each student, across six areas from personal growth and friendships to school results.

A tailored support plan was built every year for every student, with parents, carers and teachers, and new grants carried tertiary students through 104 weeks of compulsory work placements.

From the reports of Allan Elliott, President, Neil Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, and Joe Hansell, Treasurer

Everything below comes from the 20-page report, written out here so it works with screen readers and search.

Cover of the A Start in Life Annual Report 2019
20 pages, PDF 6.8 MB
A father playfully lifting his young child at home

In families' words

A school report worth sitting down for

Every year we ask families how the support is going. Some of the most telling replies are the ones we never expected, like a parent who sat down with her daughter to read a school report together for the first time.

It is the first report we have sat down to read together... We sat and chatted for half an hour about it!

The year at a glance

given directly to students as assistance
$884,789
weeks of tertiary work placement supported by new grants
104
students at a specialist school took part in a partnership program
46
of students completely agreed they have people in their life who care about them
85%

Source: A Start in Life Annual Report 2019, pages 9, 11, 13 and 17.

Our six Measures of Effectiveness

  • Personal: attributes that support a more fulfilling life
  • Social: networks across school, family and community
  • Environmental and basic financial: easing barriers and building parent engagement
  • Academic engagement: attitudes and learning habits
  • Educational progression: progress on tailored learning goals
  • Academic attainment: results as reported by schools

Work placements funded for tertiary students

  • Human resources, radiology, veterinary practice and paediatrics
  • Speech pathology, aviation and dentistry

Financials

A Start in Life receives no government funding. Support for students is sustained by donors, partners and income from investments built up over a century.

Statement of profit or loss, year ended 30 June ($)
Item20192018
Revenue1,608,4201,495,119
Student assistance(884,789)(956,778)
Fundraising(136,758)(144,922)
Marketing(86,715)(76,372)
Banking, investment and accounting(128,312)(120,856)
Depreciation and amortisation(6,286)(19,320)
Office and administration(88,447)(58,338)
Profit for the year277,113118,533
Other comprehensive income158,849150,382
Total comprehensive income before allocations435,962268,915
Allocations from capital funds61,38618,785
Allocations to capital funds(480,000)(110,000)
Total comprehensive income after allocations17,348177,700
Financial position at 30 June ($)
Item20192018
Total assets10,875,61010,297,712
Total liabilities408,586266,651
Net assets10,467,02310,031,061
66 cents in every dollar we spent in 2018/19 went straight to students.
  • Student assistance66%
  • Fundraising10%
  • Banking, investment and accounting10%
  • Office and administration7%
  • Marketing7%
  • Depreciation and amortisation0%

Share of total expenses of $1,331,307, from the statement of profit or loss.

2018 comparatives were restated in this report under accounting standards that began on 1 July 2018.

Registered charity

ABN 21 871 881 074. Deductible Gift Recipient. We report to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission every year.

Help the next student start strong

Every figure on this page began with a donor. A gift today helps a student from a family doing it tough stay at school and reach their goals.

Make a donation

30 December 2019