Name: Kate Reed

Position/hub: I am currently an Authorised Officer in the Quality Support Team and was previously in the Gumbaynggir Hub.

Where you are based: My office location is Armidale in the New England region. I live on a property half way between Tamworth and Armidale with my two year old son, husband, second child due in October, our corgi Pippi and lots of Poll Dorset sheep!

Why did you decide to become an AO: As the coordinator of an OSHC service for five years, prior to this role, I experienced the assessment and rating process, compliance visits and continually strived to create a high quality service for the children that attended. During those years I engaged with a couple of authorised officers in the region and aspired to move into a similar role. I really valued the knowledge, support and experience they brought to the service and sector and the difference their visits made to improve my practice and knowledge of the regulations!

What does an average day in the life look like in your role: It is certainly vast and varied! Working in the Gumbaynggir Hub has involved a lot of regional travel and engaging with rural and remote services, sometimes 100’s of kilometres apart. I really enjoy being a regional officer, growing up on a farm in the NSW Central West, I feel so at home in this space. The Quality Support Team has led me in a slightly different direction, where I spend a lot of time engaging and supporting services, colleagues and sector stakeholders (via phone and Zoom meetings) to share the self-assessment for quality improvement initiative. I wish the self-assessment process and resources were available when I was a coordinator! I’m very passionate about this project and view the initiative as a great step forward in responding to the needs and requests of the sector.

What is your favourite part about being an AO: I love engaging with people and hearing their stories. I also believe that I am a positive person that can find the silver lining of any cloud when it comes to regulatory requirements or issues identified! As a result, I feel I make a positive impact for both individual services and the sector through support, guidance, research, empathy, collaborative problem solving and having a chat about life in general!