Two of Queensland’s largest disability services will join forces in a bid to boost the quality and number of services available across the state.
Members of Cootharinga North Queensland voted to merge with Choice, Passion, Life (CPL), in a move they said would ensure the viability of the organisation for years into the future.
“The comprehensive due diligence process has clearly demonstrated that a merger between these two disability service providers will be in the best interests of all customers, staff and communities, and will deliver a boost in governance and training and will enhance the services available,” chair of Cootharinga Rob Grant said.
Grant said that both disability service providers were looking forward to working together to deliver the services that their customers relied upon, as well as influence perceptions and change behaviours towards people with disabilities in the community.
“With both disability service providers consistently delivering industry leading services, we look forward to working together to give our customers the best opportunity to live their full lives and for our employees to achieve the best outcomes possible for our customers,” he said.
CPL chairman Bruce Cowley added that the cultural similarities of the two organisations was a large and important part of the successful merger, and they would now focus on bridging the service gap that much of rural Queensland still experienced.
“As leading providers of disability services and supports, we recognise the importance of continuing to evolve to meet the changing needs of people living with disability in regional and remote communities,” Cowley said.
“Despite having more than 80 locations throughout Queensland, we know there are still many Queensland communities without adequate disability support services and are looking forward to how we can address these needs in partnership with Cootharinga.”
Under the proposed merger, Cootharinga will become a subsidiary of CPL, operating with its own board and leadership team.
Under the new organisation, Cootharinga and CPL will continue to operate under their existing brand names, and customers will be supported by the same staff in the same services.
The merger will take effect on 1 July 2020, but Grant said little would change in the day-to-day for customers and staff of each organisation once the merger was finalised.