Family Focus Australia Limited was first founded in 2001 by a group of Brisbane parents and business people concerned about the increasing incidence of Australian children living in impoverishment and the apparent lack of local community understanding and appropriate response to meeting their needs. "Giving Aussie kids a fair go!" became the rally cry for this early band of volunteers who gave of their time and own resources to find effective ways in which children living in impoverishment could be provided with assistance that would enable them to change the focus of their lives towards self improvement and positive life outcomes. Central to the development of the organization responses to children in need has been the core belief that the most effective means of changing a persons life direction is by providing them with the skills and abilities that enable them to create their own strategies and solutions for life success. Accordingly, Family Focus Australia, its members and supporters, see themselves in the business of giving people a "hand-up" and not a "hand out". In response to the needs of Australian children, this philosophy often requires intensive support of the child's family as a whole. In order to alleviate the impoverished conditions which impact on the child it is often necessary to provide the child's parents with the skills and abilities that enable the family as a whole to escape the bondages of impoverishment. In this way a positive focus is provided for all family members and creates a family foundation upon which the children are more appropriately able to access the many opportunities provided by Australian society. In 2005, due to the growth of demand for and the nature of the services required, Family Focus Australia undertook a series of external reviews to determine the best means by which the organization could proceed into the future. As a result of these reviews Family Focus Australia restructured to become a registered public company limited by guarantee, and has established additional service administrative centres in New South Wales and Victoria to better enable increased service response in 2006-2007 Whilst this has increased the legal compliance and liability requirements of the organization, the Board of Directors of Family Focus Australia Limited, ably supported by its Community Advisory Committees (composed of interested and qualified members of the public) in each geographic region served, remains committed to the core values and focus of the founding members. Furthermore, while the expansion of service response has necessitated the employment of staff and a more "corporate" style approach to matters of funding and finances, both salaried personnel and volunteers remain focused on the founding vision and mission that is the purpose of Family Focus Australia Limited.
