SERVICES OFFERED

ARC is able to assist you in a number of different ways including:

• Counselling and support for survivors and their families
• Telephone counseling and support
• Assistance with educational opportunities including literacy and numeracy programs
• Assistance with family re-unions
• Help with records searches
• Opportunities for being involved with support groups and other community resources that may be of help

ARC is totally funded by the Department of Communities (Qld State Government). For this reason all the services provided are free of charge to you. In order to be able to provide these various services to you ARC uses this funding in the following ways:-

• Paying rent.
• Paying bills for electricity, photocopying, stationery and catering.
• Paying the wages of the staff who available to assist you.
• Paying for the 1800 telephone calls you make to ARC and other telephone charges.
• Provision and servicing of office equipment.

Once all of the above has been budgeted for the remaining money is used for:-

• Paying for counselling, education, family re-unions and records searches.

As you can see there are quite a lot of things that we need to spend money on in order to be able to provide you with the type of services you have come to value. It is often very difficult to provide all of these services within the budget allocated to ARC and it is for this reason that we have had to introduce guidelines to help us manage these funds in a way that is as fair as possible to all concerned. We try to make these funds available to all people who may contact ARC.

Anyone wanting assistance that involves the direct use of ARC funds (counselling, education, re-unions, reports and searches) will need to complete an application form requesting assistance (we can help you do this if you like) The decision to provide financial assistance is based upon factors like eligibility, level of need, amount requested, previous assistance received and whether the request is within the guidelines.

Some things you need to consider when thinking of making an application for assistance are as follows:-

• You have to have been a state ward or former resident in Qld.
• External counsellors have to meet various criteria to ensure reputable levels of service.
• Any study that attracts a HECS contribution is not covered.
• Financial limits apply to all requests.
• These services are available to applicants but are not entitlements.

All guidelines and amounts available are subject to review and change depending upon the needs of the service.