As a result of serious misconduct on the part of particular GC Services’ Board members the organisation, which for many years has fulfilled a vital recreational and respite service for members of the community with a disability, will soon cease to operate.

The majority of staff have had their employment with GC Services cancelled abruptly following Board members’ negligence and mismanagement, impacting the delivery of key community programs. Staff have reported extensive wage theft on the part of the organisation, pressure to undertake excessive unpaid work and frequent verbal abuse and threats of violence against staff. These immoral acts on the part of the Board are made worse by the fact that many of these support workers, already working for low wages, now face uncertain futures.

The dedicated staff have worked alongside their clients to deliver a variety of programs otherwise absent in the local community, including the highly successful Holiday Respite Program and the Recreational Social Club Program. With the organisation now being audited in light of its insolvency there is uncertainty surrounding how its programs will continue to operate in the future and whether staff owed wages will be paid.

HACSU welcomes the recent involvement of Glenhaven Family Care, which has now taken on a number of former GC Services employees, and looks forward to working with local organisations to see the continuation of several of these vital services while ensuring the responsible parties are held to account for their inexcusable misconduct. HACSU calls on the state government, as the primary funder of these services, to ensure that all former GC services staff are offered continued employment as services transition to new providers.