2021 in Review
At the end of the year 2020, we said no-one was going to be able to envisage a clear year ahead. And boy were we right. It felt like then, more than ever, predictability was uneasy at best. 2021 did not disappoint on this matter, with so many ups and downs, both internally within Maple, and externally within the broader community.
Ensuring we acknowledge the downs, and celebrate the ups is vital to enabling us as individuals, and more broadly as a business, to strive forward with resilience, selflessness, strength, and a sense of community. We are comfortable in saying we have done exactly this in 2021, and feel like we are in a fantastic position to propel forward into 2022 stronger than ever.
Maple celebrated its 3rd birthday in August, recognising 1095 days since our first support shift was delivered here in the heart of Western Sydney. Reflecting on this time, it makes us immensely proud to look at this now team of 300+ individuals and how we have grown from a mere 2 at the business’s inception all those days ago.
As we as an industry continue to face the political turmoil that engulfs the Australian disability sector, and the ensuing cycle of proposed, rejected, and recommended reforms, we must continue to focus on the pivotal role we play as a service provider within the community and put our people – our clients – at the forefront of our attention. It is safe however to say that 2022 and the proceeding years will continue to provide scrutiny and reforms to the NDIA and NDIS. This is a matter we must get used to, and as a business, continuously adapt and evolve with, to ensure we continue to offer best practice, consumer centric, and justly sustained supports.
Earmarked as a year of growth, 2021 also saw Maple solidify the spread of our wings beyond the 4 walls of our home state of NSW and actively pursue our potential in other regions. Fully servicing in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and now Queensland is testament to the hard work and tenacity of each member of the Maple Team, and what we call our family.
Looking at ‘the now’, it is crazy to say Maple is present and making differences in people’s lives across all four corners of the country.
Our stakeholders, workforce, and participants are all integral parts of the Maple Community, and have all had to change and adapt quickly to ensure continued provision of essential services. For this, we would like to sincerely thank each and every one of our stakeholders for their dedication, commitment, and professionalism over such a trying and unprecedented period of time. The challenges, unexpected changes and continued introduction of new protocols and procedures has seen us all navigate through new territory. We are so proud of how quickly and tolerably our community adapted to meet the fluctuating requirements placed on the Disability Support Services Industry. We say confidently that we would not be where we are today without your hard work, dedication, and passion.
With this, there feels like no better time to also take a moment to sincerely thank each and every person that has chosen to call Maple their employer, service provider, business partner and family. Without you all, there is no Maple, and hence there is no difference we are making in society.
We are beyond excited to tackle and conquer a bigger, better, and more exciting 2022 with the Maple Community and Family.
With sincere thanks,
Abdul Razak and Samira Razak
Directors