About Encircle Ltd

On 30th March 1987, a public meeting was called to address the lack of government agencies in Pine Rivers. The turnout was impressive, with eighty-eight citizens attending.

The meeting agreed a centre was urgently needed. Most of the welfare, church and government agencies in the area were represented at that meeting.

Temporary steering committees of eleven people set out to explore what was required and establish a formal organisation. They served for several months. In June of 1987, the steering committee was dissolved, and the first Management Committee of the Pine Rivers Welfare Association was elected.

The mission of the Centre, at this time, was to contribute to the relief of poverty, sickness and other misfortune, and to the promotion of the wellbeing of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

The Management Committee employed its first social worker as Coordinator to establish the Information and Referral Service and to provide some limited counselling services.

In 2003, the Committee decided to change the name of the Association to “The Pine Rivers Neighbourhood Association”, which reflected more accurately its vision and avoided the negative and outdated implications of the term “welfare”.

Encircle moved to the new Neighbourhood Centre at Redcliffe which was officially opened on the 3rd September 2013.  The Pine Rivers Neighbourhood Centre was asked by the State Government to support its programs which had been operating out of Redcliffe Neighbourhood Centre.

This became permanent in 2015 after Encircle won the tender for the Redcliffe Neighbourhood Centre, including its Family Support, Counselling and Older Persons Action Program (OPAP).

The year following in 2014,  Encircle became a Company Limited by Guarantee and the Pine Rivers Neighbourhood Association Inc changed its name and status to Encircle Ltd to reflect that the organisation now had programs operating across the greater north Brisbane area.

Today, Encircle is working with other community agencies in the Consortium, growing Partnerships with government departments, business and educational and other institutions.

We are seeking opportunities for further development and expansion while continuing to be a vital part of our local communities which Encircle has served for the past 30 years.

The staff and volunteers continue to endeavour to look for ways to improve the service to the community, check whether community needs are matched by the services offered, and struggle with the ongoing challenges of obtaining sufficient funding, space and time to provide those services.

Encircle would like to sincerely thank our sponsors:

• Act for Kids
• Funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services
• Brisbane City Council
• Brisbaneremovalists.com.au
• Complete Property Service Australia
• Good Shepherd Microfinance
• Legal Aid Queensland
• Moreton Bay Regional Council
• Queensland Government

Where it is identified that there may be difficulty communicating with a client in English or who is deaf, or has a hearing or speech impairment, staff can arrange to access telephone interpreting services from the Commonwealth Government or the Auslan Interpreting Services.

How does Encircle look after the safety and wellbeing of children and youth accessing Encircle services and programs?

• All staff, volunteers and students at Encircle sign and adhere to a Code of Conduct for working with Children, Young People and Adults. The Code of Conduct provides clear guidelines on how staff, volunteers and students are to interact with children and young people and the consequences of not meeting these standards.
• All staff, volunteers and students working with children hold a valid Blue Card or exemption card.
• Encircle has procedures to ensure that its staff are committed to providing safe and supportive environments for children and young people.
• All staff, volunteers and students are provided with clear guidelines to follow if they have concerns about the safety and wellbeing of a child or young person.
• Staff, volunteers and students implement  risk management strategies for all activities that involve children and young people that are run by Encircle.

If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback on Encircle’s Child and Youth Risk Management Strategy, please let us know.

Encircle welcomes information and feedback which will help us improve the quality of our services.

You have the right to give feedback or make a complaint  about the service you are receiving without fear of retribution and can expect your feedback to be dealt with fairly, promptly and confidentially.

You can provide feedback verbally, in writing, via a feedback form or you can use an advocate.

As far as possible, the fact you have lodged a complaint, and the details of that complaint, will be kept confidential among the staff / volunteers directly concerned with its resolution. Your permission will be obtained before any information is given to other parties that may need to be involved in order to satisfactorily resolve the complaint.

Where a complaint relates to matters of an unlawful nature, this complaint will be passed on to the relevant authorities.

Encircle has policies and procedures in place to ensure that your personal and sensitive information is kept private and confidential in accordance with the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles.

All Board member, staff, volunteers, contractors and students are bound by a Declaration of Confidentiality.

When might Encircle breach confidentiality?

Only if Encircle reasonably believes that the disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent risk of harm to yourself or others, or if it is legally obligated to provide information (e.g. subpoena).

The Solicitors of our Pine Rivers Community Legal Service adhere to the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules, in particular Rule 9 regarding confidentially.

What information will be collected?

Only personal information that is necessary and directly related to the service being provided by Encircle will be collected from you. Encircle will collect sensitive information such as, health information, racial or ethnic origin only with your consent and if it is needed for the purpose of providing services to you.

How is my information stored?

All personal and sensitive information is securely stored in locked cabinets and/or password protected databases. Access to these records is restricted to those who require access to work with you and carry out the services of Encircle. Encircle will never disclose your personal or sensitive information to overseas recipients.

Can I access my own information?

Individuals have a general right of access to their own personal information after their identity is confirmed, and have the right to have that information corrected if it is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date. The request to access your personal and sensitive information is to be put in writing using the Client Request to Access Information Form.

The request will be considered by the Manager and, if there are no legitimate barriers to accessing the information, the information will be made available to you. If retrieval from archived material is required a cost may be incurred. If the request is denied, Encircle will provide a written reason for the refusal and advise of available complaint mechanisms.

What if I think my Privacy has been breached?

If you believe your privacy or confidentiality has been breached, please ask to speak to a manager. You can also complete a Complaints Form.

I would like to know more about Privacy and Confidentiality

Please ask if you would like a copy of our full Privacy Policy. Or read the Privacy Act and Australian Privacy Principles here.

For more information, contact us.