Making people the priority

Making people
the priority

Caraniche has been delivering innovative psychological and behavioural health services for over 30 years.

We work with government departments, community agencies, private organisations and individuals around the country, across all aspects of mental and behavioural health.

In March 2023, we became part of the WISE Employment Group, a national, values aligned not-for-profit that works with a wide range of clients addressing the barriers they experience in finding employment.

Being part of WISE means Caraniche also now has not-for-profit status. While we still provide some programs as a fee-for-service model, all revenue is re-invested into the organisation to help further improve and expand our services.

Ultimately, this will enable Caraniche to increase the number of people we can support, to achieve positive outcomes for more and more people.

“At the heart of everything we do are connections that better lives”.

Our Purpose and Values

Our values guide us every day to ensure we deliver on our purpose

Purpose

Connections that better lives.

Caraniche Values

Integrity
We are committed to ethical, reliable & transparent service delivery.

Excellence
We strive to provide professional service of the highest quality.

Innovation
We develop creative solutions that facilitate leadership and realise individual and collective potential.

Partnership
We pursue collaborative and supportive partnerships.

Our Story

From strong foundations Caraniche continues to grow

Caraniche was formed in Melbourne in 1993 by a group of women committed to making high quality, independent psychological services accessible to disadvantaged and at-risk clients.

We began by designing and delivering rehabilitation programs in the prison system. Soon after, we extended our services into the community with the aim of helping people get their lives back in control. Before long, and still to this day, our combination of evidence-based program design and skilled, authentic clinicians was in demand across the community, government and corporate sectors.

“We are proud to have grown our Melbourne based service to a national organisation, supporting diverse clients across a wide range of challenging situations”.

Reconciliation Action Plan

Caraniche makes a commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to support self-determination in the work we do.

Caraniche acknowledges the past and continuing harms of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, families, and communities as well as resilience in the face of systemic disempowerment. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work and live, and sovereignty to that land has never been ceded.

We make a commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: our partners, clients, staff, and friends. We will listen to, learn from and work with, always aiming to support self-determination in the ways we work and the work we do. This commitment is formalised in our second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan. Progress on our plan can be found in the 2024 RAP Progress Report.

We acknowledge and work to reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the justice system as well as high rates of mental illness, substance use and suicidality.

Corporate and Social Responsibility

Caraniche works to improve the lives of vulnerable and marginalised members of our community.

Caraniche was founded to improve the lives of vulnerable and marginalised members of our community, including people who have offended, those with mental health issues, people with drug and alcohol addiction, and young people.

Our focus is helping people create positive life change. As we grow, we continue to support disadvantaged people and extend our impact through our pro bono, fundraising and corporate responsibility initiatives.

We have provided pro bono support to the following agencies: STREAT, Worawa College, McAuley Services for Women, Melbourne Indigenous Transition School, the APS.

Gender Pay Gap

Our performance

Caraniche was founded by women and is an ongoing exemplar of women’s leadership. We are committed to fostering a workplace that values diversity, inclusion, and equality for all people.

As part of our ongoing commitment to gender equality, we participate in the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) reporting process to ensure transparency and continuous improvement in our remuneration and workplace policies.

Gender Pay Gap Overview

Based on our 2023-24 WGEA reporting, Caraniche Pty Ltd’s average total remuneration gender pay gap (GPG) is 2.0%, which compares favourably to similar organisations (5.4%). Our median total remuneration gender pay gap which reflects the overall difference in earnings between male and female employees within our organisation stands at 7.6%.

Analysis of Contributing Factors

We believe that structural factors within our sector, that are mirrored in our workforce, have contributed to median gender pay gap rather than systemic pay inequity.

Our workforce is 85% women
The distribution of male and female employees across job levels and roles is different
We have strong female representation in managerial roles and at the management level our GPG favours women
We have a low representation of male employees in administrative positions
Across all non managerial roles the GPG slightly favours men

We remain committed to ensuring equitable pay, career progression and opportunities for all employees.

Future Commitments

We recognise that achieving full gender pay equity is an ongoing process. In the coming year, we are committed to:

Conducting annual pay equity audits to identify and address any disparities.
Further analysing the factors contributing to our gender pay gap and addressing any structural barriers.
Reviewing of our board composition – we are actively looking for female board members.

Caraniche Pty Ltd remains dedicated to creating an equitable workplace where all employees have equal opportunities to succeed. We will continue to monitor our gender pay gap and uphold our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Child Safety policy

Caraniche’s commitment to safeguarding young people

Caraniche is committed to safety and wellbeing of all children and young people.
We want young people to be safe, happy and empowered.
We support and respect all young people, clients, staff, and volunteers.
We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all young people.
Caraniche has zero tolerance for child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures.
We will fulfill our legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are concerned about a young person’s safety.
Caraniche is committed to preventing child abuse, identifying risks early, and removing and reducing these risks.
Caraniche has robust human resources and recruitment practices to reduce the risk of harm to young people by new and existing board members, staff and volunteers.
Caraniche is committed to training and educating our board members, staff and volunteers on child abuse risks.
We are committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, the cultural safety of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children with a disability.
We have specific policies and procedures in place that support our board members, staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments.