Carinity Incorporation

At the Annual Queensland Baptist Assembly on Thursday 3 April, delegates voted in favour of Carinity changing from being a part of the Queensland Baptists (QB) corporate structure to being a separate incorporated charity owned by Queensland Baptists.

Some important things for you to know about our incorporation changes are:

  • The change in legal structure won’t impact the care Carinity provides to our service users. The changes relate to our Board and governance rather than our day-to-day operations.
  • In simple terms, our legal structure will change from Carinity being a part of QB’s corporate structure, to a separate company that is wholly owned by QB.
  • We’ll still be very much part of the broader QB movement – QB will be our owners and appoint our Board of Directors.
  • While our legal structure may change, we will remain closely connected to and aligned with the greater QB movement.
  • The process of establishing Carinity as an incorporated charity will take time – we estimate it may take about two years or so.

Becoming an incorporated charity is an exciting step forward for both Carinity and QB. It will give Carinity a level of independence that will help make us stronger, without diminishing our special connection to the Queensland Baptist movement. A list of FAQs regarding the change have been included below.

What is happening?

Carinity is changing from being a part of the Queensland Baptists corporate structure to being a separate incorporated charity owned by Queensland Baptists.

What will the changes mean for staff and clients?

The changes are focused on ensuring Carinity’s corporate structure supports our day-to-day activities. In the initial stages, we anticipate no impact for staff or service users.

In the longer term, the changes will make Carinity a stronger organisation that is better equipped to make a real difference to the lives of those we are called to care for.

Are we the only organisation to do this?

Within Queensland, many faith-based care providers have gone through a similar process.  For example, within the Uniting Church both Wesley Mission Queensland and Uniting Care Queensland have already incorporated, and Lutheran Services have already commenced the journey towards Incorporation.

Why is the change happening?

The idea of Carinity becoming a separate incorporated company is not new and has been discussed for many years. We are making the change now for a number of reasons:

Regulatory reforms:

  • Carinity operates in complex and highly regulated industries.
  • The Carinity Council has traditionally supported the QB Board to govern Carinity’s operations. However, recent changes to legislation in aged care, community care, and home care have placed greater governance responsibilities on the QB Board.
  • The QB Board has made changes to ensure Carinity remains compliant with the regulations, however continuing to do so would impact the Board’s focus on other areas of the QB
  • As such, it was agreed that it is in the best interests of both Carinity and QB for Carinity to become a separate incorporated charity so that these requirements rest with Carinity’s Board.
  • As an incorporated charity, Carinity will have a dedicated Board comprised of people with specialist skills in the service areas that Carinity delivers.
  • The change has been structured so QB is the owner of the new charity. This will ensure Carinity remains a committed member of the QB movement.

Risk Management

  • Carinity is in a sound financial condition. However, by the nature of the services we provide, Carinity is largely dependent on Government funding.
  • The separate incorporation of Carinity will ensure that, should Carinity’s financial position change in the future due to unforeseen regulatory or funding changes, the rest of the QB movement would not be impacted.
  • The way the changes have been structured ensure Carinity remains closely connected to the movement through QB’s ownership of the incorporated charity.

What will the incorporated charity be called?

To reflect our commitment to remaining part of the QB movement, the legal name of the incorporated company will be Baptist Care Queensland Ltd (BCQ).

The new legal entity will keep Carinity as a registered trading name and all our services will continue to trade as Carinity.

This is similar to the current situation where our full name is Baptist Union of Queensland – Carinity but we simply trade as Carinity.

Will agreements between Carinity and members of the QB movement be affected by this change?

No.

Carinity has committed to honour all leases, service agreements, and indemnities that are already in place.

This includes programs such as Collaborative Community Projects, which makes up to $500,000 available to QB churches and service groups each year for projects that relieve and mitigate disadvantage; promote connectivity for vulnerable people; and increase the strength of local communities against disadvantage.