South Australia’s not-for-profits are an economic and social powerhouse
InDaily’s annual South Australian Business Index has always excluded not-for-profit organisations, but the sector is increasingly significant as an employer, a driver of economic activity and social change. This year we list the state’s largest not-for-profits for the first time and examine the size of the sector as a whole.
After six years of producing the South Australian Business Index – a list of the top 100 for-profit companies in the state – we wanted to start to take stock of the huge role of not-for-profit organisations operating here.
Using public data on South Australian organisations listed on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register, we contacted the top bracket of them, using the imperfect but still useful guide of total income. Some came back to us with more information and up-to-date data.
We wanted to focus on the social service sector, so excluded a range of organisations that, nevertheless, have a huge impact on our community: the multi-billion-dollar universities, the huge private school sector, and the substantially publicly-funded local health networks.
This left us with a collection of service providers in aged care, a dominant sector here, disability services, broad-based community and family services (the likes of Anglicare and Uniting Communities), housing, youth, training, research and health care providers. Some, like Zoos SA, are in a category pretty much of their own.
Together, these organisations make up much of the community fabric of South Australia. In addition, as this list and the data below shows, they are very significant employers and drivers of economic activity in the state.
The top 50 listed below covers a huge range of activities and sectors, from disability services, aged care and community housing, to training and placement services, health care, research and youth development.
This collection of organisations:
- Employs about 30,000 South Australians
- Provides community connections for more than 8000 volunteers
- Generates a combined total annual income of more than $3 billion.
If you take a broader view of the community sector, the impact is even greater.
The South Australian Council of Social Service, in its “Here for SA” campaign, assessed that the community sector in South Australia includes 37,000 employees across 765 organisations and more than 54,000 volunteers.
While this list doesn’t scratch the surface, comparisons with this year’s South Australian Business Index – while based on the different measure of market capitalisation and assessing organisations with different priorities – shows the significance of the sector.
We consciously decided not to make this a qualitative ranking: while we have listed the biggest not-for-profits in descending order, a relatively simple exercise like this cannot reveal the full impact of each organisation on the people they support.
For example, Novita – 21st on this list in terms of income – has a network of more than 35 sites in South Australia and across the border in Broken Hill. It has been around for more than 80 years and supports more than 5000 clients. While its total income was $60 million in the 2020 financial year, it had a surplus of $5 million which is reinvested to support people living with disability.
In a different sector, the Hospital Research Foundation is a network of 10 charitable entities which support research and patient care in more than 60 different areas of health and wellbeing. It also provides grants to smaller charities that it judges as being high impact.
Uniting Communities, one of a number of organisations on this list that provides a broad range of social services, supports more than 80,000 clients with a workforce of more than 1000 people.
There are many smaller charities outside of this list which, although their revenue might be less significant, have a particularly high impact in the areas in which they work.
Some are unique and, therefore, their absence would be felt keenly throughout the state.
For example, Meals on Wheels just missed out on this list, with a total income of $20.5 million, but it’s hard to imagine South Australia’s social fabric without its services. It has more than 6300 volunteers, with a claim to being SA’s largest community-based volunteer organisation. It provides not only 4500 nourishing meals daily to older South Australians, but also a sense of community connection.
A more sophisticated assessment of the sector – looking at social impact as well as the raw numbers – is on InDaily’s agenda for next year, but this is a start.
Resthaven
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 2746 (total staff)
Volunteers: 346
Total income: $203 million
Source: Updated information supplied by organisation
Southern Cross Care (SA, NT & Victoria)
Sector: Aged care (headquartered in SA)
Employees: 1774 (FTE)
Volunteers: 436
Total income: $193 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Anglicare SA
Sector: Social services
Employees: 1275 (FTE)
Volunteers: 589
Total income: $182 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
ACH Group
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 1837 (1130 FTE)
Volunteers: 234 (24 FTE)
Total income: $129 million
Source: Supplied by organisation
St Andrew’s Hospital
Sector: Health
Employees: 800 (420 FTE)
Volunteers: 100
Total income: $120 million
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
Eldercare Australia
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 780 (FTE)
Volunteers: 250
Total income: $109 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Helping Hand Aged Care Inc
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 983 (FTE)
Volunteers: 275
Total income: $107 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register and annual report.
Minda Incorporated
Sector: Disability services
Employees: 2000 (total people)
Volunteers: 257
Total income: $103 million
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Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register and annual report.
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)
Sector: Medical research
Employees: 443 (total people) plus 465 employees of partners (universities or hospitals) who work at SAHMRI at least part-time
Volunteers: 24
Total income: $92.3 million
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
CARA
Sector: Disability support
Employees: 1126 (total people)
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $91 million
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
Bedford Group
Sector: Disability services
Employees: 1148 supported employees and 452 staff
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $89.8 million (revenue)
Source: Supplied by organisation
UnitingSA Ltd
Sector: Aged care, community services, housing, social enterprise
Employees: 1003
Volunteers: 93
Total income: $88.7 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register and annual report.
Uniting Communities
Sector: Community support; aged care; disability services; homelessness.
Employees: 1022 (total people), 641.82 (FTE)
Volunteers: 407
Total income: $85.9 million
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
SYC
Sector: Health, employment, housing, education
Employees: 632 (557.4 FTE)
Volunteers: 23
Total income: $82.8 million
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
Workskil
Sector: Employment services
Employees: 387 in SA head office
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: Not supplied.
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
Maxima Training Group (Aust)
Sector: Employment and training
Employees: 263 in South Australia, 161 interstate
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $79.6
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register and annual report.
The Hospital Research Foundation
Sector: Medical research
Employees: 76
Volunteers: 143
Total income: $66 million
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
ECH Group
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 674
Volunteers: 124
Total income: $63 million (2019/20)
Source: Supplied by organisation
Baptist Care (SA)
Sector: Out of home care, disability care, youth education, employment, homelessness, therapeutic support services
Employees: 877
Volunteers: 299
Total income: $62.1 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register and annual report.
Novita
Sector: Disability services
Employees: 900 (approx total people)
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $60 million
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
Centacare Catholic Family Services
Sector: Disability, homelessness, domestic violence, children’s, relationship support, youth, community, training and intervention services
Employees: 565
Volunteers: 63 (active)
Total income: $50 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register and annual report.
The Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of South Australia (also known as Paraquad SA)
Sector: Disability services
Employees: 423 (FTE)
Volunteers: 51
Total income: $40.9 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register and annual report.
Community Living Options
Sector: Disability services
Employees: 373.88 (FTE)
Volunteers: 10
Total income: $39.2 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Burnside War Memorial Hospital
Sector: Health care
Employees: 232 (FTE)
Volunteers: 40
Total income: $38.9 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
HenderCare Foundation
Sector: Children’s services, disability services
Employees: 269.16 (FTE)
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $37.3 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
The Trustee for James Brown Memorial Trust (known as Kalyra)
Sector: Aged care, housing, in-home aid
Employees: 255 (FTE)
Volunteers: 210
Total income: $36.4 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Clayton Church Homes
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 267.61 (FTE)
Volunteers: 55
Total income: $35.3 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Italian Benevolent Foundation (SA Incorporated)
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 286 (FTE)
Volunteers: 100
Total income: $34 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Unity Housing Company
Sector: Community housing
Employees: 97 (FTE)
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $33 million
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Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
The Scout Association of Australia, South Australian Branch
Sector: Youth
Employees: 104.97 (FTE)
Volunteers: 2550
Total income: $32.9 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Orana Australia
Sector: Disability services
Employees: 377 (FTE)
Volunteers: 90
Total income: $32.7 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Lutheran Homes
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 295 (FTE)
Volunteers: 250
Total income: $32.6 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
MTA
Sector: Workplace relations and training
Employees: 78
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $31.4 million
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
Uniting Country SA
Sector: Community aid
Employees: 197.5 (FTE)
Volunteers: 100
Total income: $31.1 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Lighthouse Disability
Sector: Disability services
Employees: 154.8 (FTE)
Volunteers: 60
Total income: $30.2 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Zoos SA
Sector: Conservation
Employees: 250 (total people)
Volunteers: 420
Total income: $29 million
Source: Updated data supplied by organisation
Autism Association of South Australia
Sector: Disability services
Employees: 101 full-time employees; 166 part-time employees; 157 casual employees
Volunteers: 22
Total income: $28.5 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Relationships Australia (South Australia)
Sector: Family services
Employees: 224 (FTE)
Volunteers: 270
Total income: $27.4 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Legal Services Commission of SA
Sector: Legal aid
Employees: 172.59 (FTE)
Volunteers: 1
Total income: $26 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Boandik Lodge
Sector: Aged care, Disability services
Employees: 260 (FTE)
Volunteers: 110
Total income: $25.9 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
PEER (Formerly Plumbing Electrical Electronic and Refrigeration Vocational Education Employment and Training Incorporated)
Sector: Training
Employees: 46.4 (FTE)
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $25.2
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Aboriginal Family Support Services
Sector: Family services
Employees: 225.88 (FTE)
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $24.6 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Inner Western Workskills
Sector: Training
Employees: 249 (FTE)
Volunteers: 42
Total income: $24 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in SA (Vasileias)
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 240
Volunteers: 38
Total income: $23.6 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Trainee & Apprentice Placement Service
Sector: Recruitment and placement
Employees: 397 (FTE)
Volunteers: 7
Total income: $22.7 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Calvary Mary MacKillop Care SA
Sector: Aged care
Employees: Not provided
Volunteers: Not provided
Total income: $22.5 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Alwyndor Aged Care – City of Holdfast Bay
Sector: Aged care
Employees: 165.60 (FTE)
Volunteers: 35
Total income: $22.2 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Anglicare SA Housing
Sector: Housing
Employees: N/A
Volunteers: N/A
Total income: $21.8 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
North Eastern Community Hospital
Sector: Health
Employees: 163 (FTE)
Volunteers: 60
Total income: $21.5 million
Source: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission register
Construction Industry Training Board
Sector: Training
Employees: 17.14 (FTE)
Volunteers: 19
Total income: $21.1 million
Correction: Due to an editorial production error, HCO Disability and Community Services was mistakenly included in the top 50. The Hills-based disability services provider has a total income of $18.2 million, with 34 full-time staff, 155 part-time and 42 casual employees. It has been replaced in the top 50 by the Construction Industry Training Board.
After publication, Uniting Communities updated its employee figures.
