2025 CEO Annual Report

I want to start firstly by acknowledging our residents and their whānau, without them Hawksbury would not have the privilege of providing the amazing support and care to our wonderful residents. We feel a huge sense of gratitude. Thank you for your ”Trust, Confidence and Mana”. We truly value and appreciate that this is the mahi that we are so fortunate to offer.

Alongside our residents and whānau, we recognise our staff who are dedicated, committed and bring manaakitanga to their roles. We acknowledge what they contribute on a daily basis; it is you that ensure we are able to continue to thrive and provide quality support in what can be a challenging and often uncertain sector. For that we are truly thankful. You are appreciated and valued for what you influence.

Hawksbury and the sector have been privy to ongoing uncertainty as we have navigated the changing landscape of the Disability Sector. As an Organisation we have been hopeful and mostly felt convinced that the new Community Group Home (CGH) Pricing model would encourage positive change. In June we received communication of the estimated % uplift and we were encouraged with this. As they say never count your chickens before they hatch.

We have now had a confirmed funding increase which is not what was originally communicated. This has required Hawksbury Trust to consider future financial commitments that we had envisaged we could have committed to, including potential wage increases. Until we have an understanding and clarification of the impact of the funding increase, we are not able to commit to an increase in staff wages.

We truly value the mahi that our team do and are committed to considering this in the near future once we have a comprehensive understanding of our financial position.

Welcome to Hawksbury

Over the past 12 months we have had no appropriate new referrals that we felt comfortable and confident to have entering our service and join our Hawksbury whānau. This again is a reflection of the changes within the sector and the implementation of the recommendation of the Disability Support Services Review. We are hopeful that once things have settled and our new contracts are implemented as 1 December 2025 that this will change, and we will once again see referrals coming through.

There is a lot to consider when we receive a referral and the process is extensive to ensure that the person coming into Hawksbury is an appropriate addition for the residents who reside in the home. The transition and consultation process is well considered and supported by the team including the Manager, Regional Manager and Staff Team, alongside ensuring residents are consulted.

Passing

The whānau at the Centre Street, Mosgiel lost a very dear friend in January 2025. Christine Burns joined Hawksbury initially in Christchurch and then transferred to our Mosgiel home to be closer to family. Christine was a real character and had the most infectious laugh/giggle. We felt blessed and privileged to support Christine for many years. Christine’s name is often mentioned as we remember a delightful lady with a charming demeanour.

Resident Health and Wellbeing

Hawksbury remain committed to providing quality health and wellbeing support and this is reflected in the exceptional support and care that is provided to our residents. We continue to see that our residents are living longer and are predominantly keeping well. As you would expect we are supporting an increasing number of elderly residents. Hawksbury continue to upskill staff; this is often specific to the needs of residents and or homes. Vicki (Clinical Quality Lead) and Sarah and Emma (Regional Managers) oversee this is to ensure that the training is applicable and appropriate.

We acknowledge and appreciate the support of our Allied Health Professional and Medical Teams who work closely and diligently with Hawksbury. Our relationship and networking with these teams is vital in supporting the holistic wellbeing of our residents.

Thank you also to our wider Hawksbury Team, your loyalty supporting our residents is truly appreciated, and we acknowledge the mahi you contribute.

Resident Advisory Group (RAG):

We are heading into our third year of the Resident Advisory Group and are so incredibly proud of the initiatives that they have engaged in since its implementation. We continue to see meetings thrive, the ownership and pride is evident and if they could be facilitated weekly, the residents would have them happening weekly.

The banter and topics are always very interesting and often entertaining as they all vie to be chairing the meeting. Sarah Brennan (Regional Manager) has initiated a system that automatically chooses who will chair the meeting, so it is a fair process, the anticipation is high as we wait for the wheel to stop on a name and then there is cheering and lots of clapping as the chosen resident moves to chair the meeting. 

This year has seen two significant outcomes initiated by our Resident Advisory Group. In 2023 Hawksbury received a very generous donation from Howard Brand who sadly passed away. We wanted to ensure that our residents and whānau benefited from this gracious donation. We asked the Resident Advisory Group to put forward some suggestions. The outcome being a 30+ Year Hawksbury Hollywood Themed Ball, an event to remember and that it was – Glitz, Glamour and Red-Carpet attire were just a few of the highlights of the evening.

It was an opportunity to see everyone looking fabulous and the immense pride was very evident. The commitment required for such an event was a truly commendable. We seen our residents in a totally different light and it was delightful to see the sense of excitement and joy in the build up to the event. Such an incredibly proud moment for us all.

Another initiative was the Resident Survey which was led and by Natalya Wastney (resident) supported by Sarah Brennan (Regional Manager), again another initiative from the Residents Advisory Group, that has added such value to how we support our residents and understanding what we can do better.

The Resident Advisory Group continue to provide feedback to both the ELT and Board and also attended the Managers Conference to provide feedback directly to the Managers on the Resident Survey.

People for Us 

Hawksbury were recently approached by Richard Buchanan from “People for Us”. This was an opportunity for Hawksbury to be a pilot provider which we were thrilled to be part of.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that there hasn’t been enough support or checks on disabled people in residential care.     

People for Us is a peer visiting service that visits disabled adults and tāngata whaikaha Māori who live in Disability Support Services - contracted residential services to find out if they are:

• Safe

• Living their good life

• Experiencing high quality support and services

People for Us have attended Hawksbury Resident Hui to explain the process and the purpose of the service and are now initiating speaking to residents. 

Properties:

Harakeke – Cunliffe Road, Redwood Christchurch

Hawksbury Property Trust has recently purchased four sections at the Harakeke Subdivision on Cunliffe Road in Redwood. This is identified as part of our Strategic Plan/Direction as we continue to commit to providing high quality comfortable homes for our residents that are owned by Hawksbury Property Trust.

We are able to commit to this because of the Hawksbury Property Trust. The rent from our Hawksbury owned homes provides an income that can be reinvested into providing homes like our Jamell Place homes that were completed in February 2024. We are now in a position to move onto the next development which will likely see the opportunity for up to 16 residents to move into newly built homes.

As a Disability Provider who pride themselves in providing homes that blend into the local community and are environmentally friendly, we look forward to offering more of our residents lovely new homes.

We are currently in the process of meeting with our Project Manager and Team to develop floor plans, costings and timelines. We will be providing updates as we progress.

Exciting times ahead.

Gladstone Road, Mosgiel

As the years have passed and the sector has changed we have found ourselves with a large home that could be seen now as a mini-institution due to the size of the home and number of bedrooms. Currently we have five residents residing in a 10-bedroom home that is old and no longer meets the needs and or requirements of our residents and organisation. It is our intention after considerable thought that we will sell the property at 321 Gladstone Road North, Mosgiel. We are fortunate that we are in a position to be able to consider options including, building, buying or renting as a replacement. This process will take time and we are at a very early stage of the process. Again, we will keep you updated as we progress with this development.

Recruitment and Retention:

2025 has continued to be challenging on the recruitment and retention front. This is being experienced sector wide and has been impacted by Pay Equity being taken off the table. We do not see that the mahi in the sector is valued financially compared to other sectors, this is unfortunate and does not encourage enough young people to see working in this sector as a career.

We continue to focus on recruiting and increasing staffing levels, with our staffing levels sitting at an average of 105% in both regions. It would be preferable that we were sitting at 115% staffing which would be a comfortable position for Hawksbury to be covering the majority of leave and vacant hours.

We have seen a decrease in the use of bureau staff and that is reassuring but it only takes a few resignations and that can change at any time.  

We continue to work proactively and in a responsive manner, reflecting on the changing dynamics of the sector and adjusting our focus as required as the challenges arise.

Welcome to our New Managers

We have welcomed three new Managers in 2025 and are delighted to have had them as valued additions to the Management and wider Hawksbury Team:

• Katie Faithful – Ranginui Drive homes

• Rachell Lucero – Oxley Avenue home

• Aidan Laby – Gainford Street home

It is always a pleasure to see our Managers settle into their managers roles and the homes. They all bring with them and contribute different skillsets to Hawksbury and the wider Management Team which is always appreciated and adds value to our developing Management Team.

Recently Annette Murphy Manager at Jamell Place homes resigned and has reduced to a part time role continuing with Hawksbury. Annette is looking forward to spending quality time with her family and prioritising herself

Culture/Community Involvement

We have had a focus on Culture at Hawksbury over the past few months and this has seen us engage in numerous community initiatives and events.

We had a fabulous turn out for the October Pink Ribbon Walk at Hagley Park, 59 residents and staff walked the 5km circuit and we were so incredibly proud of the effort that everyone went to wear and or dress in PINK !

Thank you to Findex and Copeland Macallister for their generous contribution to the Entry Fees for the Pink Ribbon Walk

Alongside that we also had an in-house competition, it became a very serious challenge and each week we seen homes up the ante, in the end we had four homes vying for the win, it was so wonderful to see the level of engagement and the inspiring entries. Please go to our website to see the wonderful photos and competition entries and winners.

We were also very excited and proud to see a number of our residents out in the community collecting for the Pink Ribbon Appeal.

Some of the other events we have acknowledged this year are:

• Matariki

• Mental Health Awareness Week

• Daffodil Day

• Māori Language Week: Celebrating 50 years of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

• Samoan Language Week

• Pink Shirt Day – Acknowledging Bullying and Exclusion

• Mother’s day

• Father’s day

• Diwali

A great start, we continue to commit to recognising others. Matthew (Resident Advisory Group) reminded us that we needed to acknowledge Prostate Cancer which focuses on men’s health and the colour BLUE. This has been added to the 2026 calendar. Watch out for the sea of BLUE next year initiated by Matthew. Great advocating Matthew, that’s what we love to see.

Closing Comment:

It has been a very busy year with an event filled calendar which has seen so many achievements and accolades.

We are incredibly proud of Hawksbury as an inclusive Organisation, we celebrate and embrace diversity with mana and manaakitanga,  ensuring that we engage in as many Cultural and Community Events as we can.

These are mostly lead by our Residents and the Hawksbury Team. If you have not already seen some of the stories and photos head to our Hawksbury Website to share the celebrations  

Website: https://www.hawksbury.co.nz

Wishing you all a fabulous end to 2025 and a Safe and Happy Christmas and New Year

Best Wishes Kim (CEO) and the wider Hawksbury Team