HOME BUILDING ADVOCACY
SERVICE
Expression of Interest - 2012-2015
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1. INTRODUCTION
This document provides information on the requirements for submitting an Expression of Interest to auspice the Home Building Advocacy Service (HoBAS).
The HoBAS Guidelines provide a description of the intended operational framework of the service, including budgetary processes and reporting requirements.
Organisations interested in submitting an Expression of Interest for operation of the service should read this document in conjunction with the HoBAS Guidelines.
1.1 Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply for funding to operate the HoBAS an organisation must:
· be financially viable and incorporated or registered in NSW;
· be consumer focused with a demonstrated track record in managing effective service delivery to the general public;
· be willing to operate the HoBAS on a ‘not for profit’ basis. (This does not preclude profit making organisations from applying, providing they are prepared to operate the HoBAS on a ‘not for profit’ basis);
· be able to demonstrate a proven track record in effective staff, financial and organisational management;
· be able to demonstrate sound clerical and administrative experience;
· have current access to, or be able to satisfactorily demonstrate how it will access, the essential expertise areas of:
Ø law, with particular reference to home building legislation;
Ø experience of working in or with the home building industry;
Ø dispute resolution experience.
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· be independent of government; and
· be committed to principles of effective dispute resolution.
It should be noted that a joint expression of interest from two or more organisations wishing to pool their expertise is welcomed.
2. COMPLIANCE
It will be a condition of funding that the organisation(s) funded to operate the HoBAS will comply with all provisions of the HoBAS Guidelines. The approved applicant(s) must enter into a funding agreement which requires compliance with the Guidelines. A breach of the Guidelines will represent a breach of the funding agreement.
3. TERM OF FUNDING AGREEMENT
The funding agreement for the service will be for a period of 3 years subject to a satisfactory review of performance at the conclusion of the first year.
4. EXPRESSION OF INTEREST REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must comply with the 5 requirements below. The requirements are individually explained in detail in the next section.
4.1 Provide a brief history of the applicant organisation(s);
4.2 Provide evidence of the capacity of the organisation to manage the HoBAS in compliance with Guidelines;
4.3 Provide a draft workplan / timetable for development and delivery of the service using the template provided as a guide (Appendix 1);
4.4 Submit a detailed budget using the template provided (Appendix 2);
4.5 Provide identified additional information.
ADDITIONAL NOTES TO ABOVE REQUIREMENTS
4.1 Provide a brief history of their organisation(s)
This should include background on the reasons for the establishment of the organisation(s); the date of the organisation’s incorporation; its growth history; and details of any current and past operational affiliations with other organisations.
4.2 Provide evidence of the capacity of their organisation to manage the HoBAS in compliance with the Guidelines
Applicants must:
· Describe their experience in delivering effective, customer focussed services;
· Provide copies of any customer service and management policies and protocols their organisation currently has in place, including complaints handling policies, casework protocols (if they currently exist), access and equity policies (if they currently exist);
· Describe the current organisational structure;
· Outline the proposed staffing structure for the service and give details of the planned numbers and respective roles of service personnel, specifying the expertise and experience which will be brought to / sought for each of the roles;
· Describe how the organisation’s experience and expertise will enable it to effectively operate the and do so within the Guidelines; and
· Provide details of their proposed representation guidelines for hearings at the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.
4.3 Provide a draft workplan / timetable for development and delivery of the service
Applicants should use the template at Appendix 1 as a guide in the preparation of their workplan. The areas covered by the template match the expected service areas discussed in the HoBAS Guidelines. Organisations will need to expand on these by identifying the various proposed strategies which they will implement to achieve these aims.
Some examples of strategies which could be included in a workplan might be to:
· contact builders to organise meetings on-site to establish nature and scope of the issues in dispute;
· hold casework meetings to devise strategies for dealing with more complex home building disputes;
· hold meetings with consumers to provide them with advice on the presentation of evidence in a Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal hearing to which they are a party.
With respect to performance measures, applicants are encouraged to provide rough estimate targets for client numbers for each service type they include in the workplan.
The workplan of the organisation approved to operate the HoBAS will become a schedule to the funding agreement between the organisation and the Commissioner for Fair Trading.
4.4 Submit a detailed budget using the template at Appendix 2
As a guide, it is anticipated that approximately 65% of the total grant will be allocated to salaries and salary on-costs, with the balance being utilised for operational costs. Applicants may wish to propose different ratios, and providing these are accompanied by explanatory notes, this is acceptable.
The budget should be submitted using the template provided. The types of costs to be included against each budget line item are detailed in the budget category notes accompanying the budget template. Applicants may include additional line items if necessary.
Under the ‘income’ section of the budget applicants are asked to include an estimate of income from activities for which they intend charging fees. Fair Trading appreciates that this will merely be an estimate, and not an accurate representation of potential income.
The grant funds will be paid as follows:
· payment of first instalment of grant following Ministerial approval and signing of funding agreement; and
· payment of subsequent instalments following submission to Fair Trading satisfactory work and financial reports.
Payment of GST
It is State Government policy to pay a 10% GST allowance on all grants. This is additional to the grant amount, but must not be applied to the service’s costs, but is to be remitted by the organisation to the Australian Taxation Office as GST collected.
4.5 Provide identified additional information
Applicants should provide copies of:
· their most recent audited financial statements; and
· their annual report for the last two years.
5. PROPOSED SERVICE PROMOTION STRATEGIES
Applicants should include details with their Expression of Interest of their proposed initial strategies for promoting the existence and nature of the HoBAS and possible follow up promotional strategies to be utilised after the has been operating for 2-3 months.
7. RECORDING OF STATISTICAL INFORMATION
The successful HoBAS applicant will be required to record statistical information about client contact numbers, client profile, types of service sought from HoBAS, types of home building issues, and outcomes following HoBAS input. These statistics will form part of the work reports submitted to Fair Trading as part of the accountability requirements.
8. ASSESSMENT AND APPROVAL PROCESS
Expressions of Interest to operate the HoBAS will be assessed on the basis of meeting the Eligibility Criteria at 1.1 of this document; fulfilment of the requirements of sections 4, 5 & 6 of this document, and compliance with the ranked Selection Criteria at section 9 of this document.
An initial assessment of all EOIs will be undertaken by a Grants Assessment Team to ensure that they all meet the Eligibility Criteria and that all information required under sections 4, 5 and 6 has been provided. To assist the HoBAS Grants Committee in its deliberations, the Assessment Team will then rank the applications in terms of their assessed compliance with the HoBAS Selection Criteria.
A Grants Committee will then consider all applications and undertake a competitive analysis of each application in relation to eligibility, the information provided for sections 4, 5 and 6, and the extent to which each application meets the selection criteria at section 9.
Finally, the Grants Committee will make funding recommendations to the Minister for Fair Trading who has the final decision making authority.
Applicants will be notified in writing of the decision regarding their application.
9. RANKED SELECTION CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF HOBAS
1. Applicant organisation(s) is financially viable, as demonstrated by the audited statements provided;
2. Applicant organisation(s) has staffing expertise or demonstrated capacity to access staffing expertise in law, home building and dispute resolution;
3. Demonstrated achievements in planning, development, delivery & evaluation of customer focused services;
4. Proven track record in effective financial, staff and organisational management;
5. Demonstrable commitment to accountability, including demonstrated capacity to implement and maintain monitoring and evaluation mechanisms;
6. Applicant’s Expression of Interest demonstrates a commitment to effective dispute resolution;
7. Applicant(s) has submitted a comprehensive workplan which complies with the HoBAS Guidelines;
8. Applicant(s) has submitted a budget which demonstrates a commitment to sound financial management and an appropriate allocation of resources to a professional service utilising legal, building and dispute resolution expertise;
10. EOI ACCEPTANCE
Fair Trading is not bound to accept any Expression of Interest and reserves the right to negotiate with any applicant on the proposed budget and / or proposed service delivery arrangements, or to seek clarification of any of the contents of an Expression of Interest.
11. Lodging an application
Applications must be lodged by the closing date and time via email as follows:
Email:
Email applications must be transmitted in full before the closing time and date. The Application Form should be submitted in both PDF and Word formats where possible. Supporting documents (see section 4.4 below) may be submitted in either format.
Inquiries: Kathy Townsend A/Manager, Community & Industry Grants
Phone: 5525 3413
© State of New South Wales through NSW Fair Trading, 2012
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Appendix 1 - Workplan
WORKPLAN TEMPLATE FOR HoBAS
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
ROLES of the HoBAS as set out in the GUIDELINES / STRATEGIES –(What we will do to achieve HoBAS operational objectives, incorporating face to face, telephone, and written strategies.) / TIMEFRAME
(When / how often we will implement our strategies.) / PERFORMANCE MEASURE/ TARGET
(How we will measure our achievements.) /
ADVOCACY
· In terms of seeking progress updates (see 4.2 of Guidelines)
· In terms of seeking to resolve a home building dispute by negotiating & advocating on a consumer’s behalf – (see 4.3-4.4 of Guidelines)
· In terms of providing assistance to a consumer on preparing for a Tribunal hearing – (see 4.5 of Guidelines)
· In terms of representing a consumer in the Tribunal – (see 4.6 of Guidelines)
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APPENDIX 2 – BUDGET FOR HoBAS
INCOME / $HoBAS Core Funding
EXPENDITURE / $
Salaries and wages
On-costs
2 / TOTAL SALARIES & ON-COSTS
Operating Expenses
Rent
Utilities and outgoings
Staff related expenses
Office overheads
Communications
Printing and Stationery
Financial accountability
Office equipment
Travel
Motor vehicle
Fuel
Program management
Sundry
3 / TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES
TOTAL All Expenses 2 and 3
BUDGET CATEGORIES
The following provides examples of items which may be included under budget categories for the HoBAS.
Salaries and Wages: permanent, casual and locum salaries, annual leave
On-costs – superannuation, leave loading, workers compensation, long service leave, parental leave, redundancy provision, professional indemnity insurance
Rent – Rental costs of premises
Utilities and outgoings: utilities, repairs and maintenance, cleaning, waste removal, security
Staff related expenses: training, professional development, recruitment costs
Office overheads: public liability insurance, building & contents insurance, courier, postage, DX, software, equipment leasing/repairs and maintenance, computer support, staff/client/amenities, subscriptions, resource materials
Communication expenses: telephone, fax, internet, mobile phones, pagers, voice mail.
Printing and Stationery- printing of letterhead, brochures promoting the service, envelopes, photocopy & fax paper
Financial accountability: bookkeeping, accounting, audit, bank fees
Office equipment:-purchased equipment and furniture
Travel – overnight accommodation, expenses incurred during work - related travel, including transportation costs related to train, taxi or private vehicle travel
Motor vehicle: costs related to a work motor vehicle leased for use by staff including leasing charges, mechanical repairs, registration, insurance, car wash
Fuel: Petrol used for work-related travel
Program management: fees charged by the auspice organisation to provide program management and staff supervision.
Sundry: items which do not fit into any of the above headings – amounts in excess of $1,000 should be accompanied by an itemised breakdown.
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