Message from the ADCA Board of Directors

Dear ADCA members and friends,
Thank you all for your words of encouragement and your efforts to try and overturn the Commonwealth Government’s decision to defund ADCA. While the decision and the process by which it occurred has come under great scrutiny, the decision remains, and your support has been much appreciated during this difficult time.

As ADCA Board Directors, we appreciate that members have received only very limited communication while the organisation has been in the hands of the Administrator. No doubt you would have recently received the report from the Administrator highlighting that full payments to all creditors will be made, and that control of ADCA will soon be handed back to Board Directors under a Deed of Company Arrangement. We expect this to occur in the coming week or so. The Administrator’s main remaining task will then be to sell the portion of the building owned by ADCA and return any surplus funds back to ADCA.

Once control of ADCA is handed back to the Board, it is our intention to hold a meeting of members to consult with you and to answer your questions. This will also give us the opportunity to provide you with an update on our efforts to ensure the long-term future of ADCA, and to gain an understanding of your views. At this stage we are looking to hold the meeting in Canberra, with dial in options for those of us who are interstate. We will circulate a date shortly.

In brief, the ADCA Board are looking to establish a short-term holding arrangement for ADCA with some basic activities that can be achieved without any financial resources or staff. This arrangement will be in place until ADCA’s surplus funds are returned (in approximately 6 to 12 months’ time). In the medium term, we would then be looking to re-secure our membership base, to further consult with you about the priorities for the sector in the next 12 months, and to identify the most appropriate role that ADCA can play on behalf of the AOD sector. In addition we would also seek to identify the most appropriate governance arrangements and constitution to achieve these goals with limited resources.

Our long-term aim is to seek and obtain a sustainable funding base to continue the ongoing mission of ADCA in a more substantial way. This may entail applying for grants through both government and non-government bodies, maintaining membership registrations, and conducting other income generation activities as recommended by our members.

We look forward to speaking with you shortly.