IFRC/Stephen Ryan

This was the first year of realigning our work under Strategy 2020, the five-year organisational plan adopted in July 2015.

The strategy was developed in close consultation with Red Cross people – volunteers, members and staff – as well as our supporters and the broader community. We want our movement to grow to include roughly twice as many people, so we recognise that meaningful stakeholder engagement needs to be a priority.

The development of Strategy 2020 was an opportunity to build a more diverse, active and entrepreneurial organisation, responsive to changing community needs. While our principles as a Red Cross Society are fundamental to who we are and will always remain the same, the world around us is changing; we’re taking stock of the impact of climate change, increasing mass migration, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the rise of internet-enabled peer-to-peer networks which are challenging traditional business models. We looked to these outward challenges while developing our strategy, but we also looked inwards, fuelled by the knowledge that our supporters expect and deserve transparency, accountability and value for money.

The Red Cross leadership team met face-to-face in May 2016 to pin down a number of specific and measurable targets, feeding into the major goals agreed upon the previous year. Our revised outcomes and targets present a much sharper focus for our services and internal operations over the coming years, and we look forward to reporting against them in detail in next year’s report.

Our vision

Human dignity, peace, safety and wellbeing for all.

Our purpose

We support and empower people and communities in times of vulnerability. Our purpose is to reduce suffering across Australia and internationally through mobilising the power of humanity.

Our goals