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R-062 · Theme 3

Rotary Care Contact System

Members receive timely contact and coordinated care during absence or difficulty.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry
R-062 · Rotary Care Contact System
Theme
Theme 3: Retention & Member Support · Subtheme 5: Member Care & Life Transitions
Source material
Current playbook index title and category plus an internally authored detailed-guide draft

Initiative-specific development wave

How this draft was developed

These sources support general principles for member care and life transitions, accessibility, privacy, safety and responsible governance; they are not an endorsement of the named Rotary Care Contact System, a finding that it suits any club or approval of its local design.

Primary references consulted

  • Enhancing Belonging and Engagement at Rotary (Rotary International)
    Used for: Rotary identifies belonging, respect, accessibility and equitable access to opportunities, networks and support as central to participation and thriving.
  • Club experience - the key to member satisfaction (Rotary International - Rotary 360)
    Used for: Rotary's member survey connected satisfaction and retention with service, friendship, meeting enjoyment, confidence in leadership and an inclusive club experience.
  • How to talk about your mental health concerns (Healthdirect Australia)
    Used for: Supportive mental-health conversations should be chosen and paced by the person, and community supporters should connect people with appropriate professional help rather than diagnose or treat.
  • Chapter 3: APP 3 Collection of solicited personal information (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner)
    Used for: Personal-information collection should be lawful, fair, proportionate and minimised, with additional controls for sensitive information; clubs must confirm how privacy law applies to them.
  • Mental health crisis support - where to get help (Healthdirect Australia)
    Used for: Immediate danger requires emergency help through triple zero, while crisis and clinical assessment belong with qualified services rather than club volunteers.

Candidate District material

No candidate local guide was used for this version. The current initiative identity and the attributed primary references remain separate.

Theme 3 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

  • 5 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
  • 5 attributed source claim(s) were mapped to their bounded use in this initiative.
  • Candidate District material remains separate and does not establish this result.
See each source's scope and limit
  • Enhancing Belonging and Engagement at Rotary
    Supports: Belonging, accessibility, respectful participation and equitable access principles for retention and member support.
    Does not establish: That a particular support pathway, meeting format, relationship or club culture is inclusive without testing with affected people.
  • Club experience - the key to member satisfaction
    Supports: Evidence-informed prompts for discussing member satisfaction, expectations, service, friendship, leadership confidence, conflict and club experience.
    Does not establish: Current District 9510 results, a diagnosis of a particular club, causation, an individual member's reasons or that the 2022 survey findings remain unchanged.
  • How to talk about your mental health concerns
    Supports: Person-led conversation, privacy, choice, pacing and professional-referral principles when a member raises a mental-health concern.
    Does not establish: That a member should disclose, that a club volunteer can assess or treat mental illness, that confidentiality can be guaranteed or that peer support replaces professional or crisis care.
  • Chapter 3: APP 3 Collection of solicited personal information
    Supports: Data-minimisation, collection-purpose, proportionality and consent safeguards where the Privacy Act and APP 3 apply.
    Does not establish: Whether a club is an APP entity or whether a proposed check-in, wellbeing conversation, survey or member record is lawful in its actual circumstances.
  • Mental health crisis support
    Supports: A clear boundary between ordinary peer support and urgent referral to emergency, crisis and professional mental-health services in Australia.
    Does not establish: A diagnosis, a club member's risk, a treatment plan, the currency of every contact at the moment of use or that a club volunteer is qualified to provide crisis care.

What still needs a person to confirm

  • Confirm person-led consent, privacy, scope and referral boundaries before the club collects personal information or offers support.
  • Confirm which incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, privacy, safeguarding and other duties apply to the club and this local design.
  • Test accessibility, belonging and participation with affected members rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
  • Confirm every local fact, starting point, measure, owner, current service contact and stopping condition before the club decides to proceed.
  • Resolve any candidate District-source provenance and approval decision without treating the candidate as controlled authority.

The source-verification release gate remains closed.

Checks still on hold

Still an internal draft: source interpretation, local suitability, accessibility, governance and editorial approval remain open checks.

What could this idea change?

It makes follow-up more caring and consistent, while leaving people in control of how they respond.

It may suit: Members who may welcome support or renewed contact, and the trusted club members following up.

Could this work in our club?

  • Consider Rotary Care Contact System when the club wants to care well without intruding, gossiping or relying on one person to notice every concern.
  • A club where several people may notice a member's absence or changed circumstances and one consent-based contact would prevent repeated or conflicting approaches.
  • A club able to appoint and supervise a small pool of contact people, keep a restricted assignment register and close contact when the member asks or the agreed purpose is complete.
  • A 90-day trial that tests whether one named contact, one permitted purpose and one review date create a more respectful member experience.

Before you start

  • A board-approved contact policy defining who may propose contact, who may assign it, what consent is required and which matters must move immediately to an emergency, safeguarding, complaint or professional route.
  • A restricted assignment register that records only the member's permission, chosen contact person, channel, purpose, timing and closure date.
  • A trained contact pool with conflicts checked, a supervisor, a backup and explicit limits on repeated contact, advice, transport, money and personal-information handling.
  • Current emergency and referral information plus a no-response rule that does not treat silence as consent, distress or disengagement.

At the end: At the 90-day review, compare the recorded measures with the starting point, resolve the listed governance holds and tell participants whether Rotary Care Contact System will change, continue or stop.

Made for this initiative

Tailored supporting documents

These working documents use the decisions, safeguards and evidence needs of this initiative. Complete them with the people affected and keep the agreed version with the club's project record.

01

Rotary Care Contact System Care Role and Boundary Brief

Define what club volunteers may and may not do.

Open supporting document
02

Rotary Care Contact System Contact Preference and Consent Card

Let the member control contact and information use.

Open supporting document
03

Rotary Care Contact System Permission-Led Conversation Script

Support a humane, bounded contact without diagnosis.

Open supporting document
04

Rotary Care Contact System Emergency and Referral Card

Give volunteers a current route for urgent and specialist needs.

Open supporting document
05

Rotary Care Contact System Minimal Contact Log

Record only what is needed for safe coordination and closure.

Open supporting document
06

Rotary Care Contact System Practical Support Plan

Coordinate a member-chosen, time-bounded form of help.

Open supporting document
07

Rotary Care Contact System Volunteer Debrief and Supervision Note

Protect the member and the volunteer without spreading sensitive detail.

Open supporting document
08

Rotary Care Contact System Closure and Information Review

End or transfer support respectfully and minimise retained information.

Open supporting document

Before your club says yes

Does the idea fit?

Talk with the people it is meant to serve and check that the need is real.

Who can say yes?

Name the person or group that can approve the work, spending and any safety arrangements.

Are people protected?

Check privacy, consent and safety. Collect only the information you genuinely need.

Can everyone take part?

Check the language, format, place, technology and cost for barriers.

Are the facts and permissions right?

Check names, claims, images, quotations, partner references and Rotary branding.

How will we learn?

Note where things stand now, check in at 30, 60 and 90 days, and decide what to do next.

Worksheets for your club

Open them online, print them or change them to suit the way your club works.

01

Safety and approval check

Use this worksheet to notice problems early, make the idea safer and know who needs to say yes or help.

Open worksheet
02

Contact register

Use this worksheet to map each step and keep only the information the club genuinely needs.

Open worksheet
03

Are we ready to try this?

Use this worksheet to decide whether a small first try is realistic and what the club must settle before it starts.

Open worksheet