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Report on performanceThe Governor-General meets members of the Bhutanese community at the SydWestMulticultural Services Centre in Sydney on 8 July 2011Through the normal course of her duties,as well as in her interaction with charities,patronage organisations and othercommunity groups, the Governor-General is exposedto a broad cross-section of Australian society: awardsrecipients, veterans, school children, Indigenousstudents, members of the Australian Defence Force,scholarship winners, local government representatives,athletes, volunteers, scientists, carers, farmers —thousands of people who share their stories.In 2011–12, the Office organised intensive programsin Australia’s two largest cities to enable theGovernor-General to spend time with some ofthe nation’s least advantaged people.Western Sydney is home to 10 per cent ofAustralia’s total population, and one-third of itsresidents are migrants. During a visit there in July2011, the Governor-General met staff and clients ofTechnical Aid to the Disabled (NSW) in Northmead,assisted with service of lunch at the ParramattaMission, discussed local issues with academics at theUniversity of Western Sydney, spent time at SydWestMulticultural Services in Blacktown, and met withparticipants of the Butucarbin Aboriginal CorporationYouth Leadership Program, who belong to Australia’slargest urban community of Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander people.In May 2012, the Governor-General visited17 organisations and services that supportmarginalised or vulnerable people in Melbourne.These included two Citymission programs providingcrisis accommodation and support for children witha disability; Yooralla’s UCAN café in Altona North,which provides employment opportunities foryoung disabled people; and the St Vincent de Paulsoup van meal service in North Melbourne andFitzroy. She met with women employed under theWomen’s Subscription Enterprise run by The BigIssue. During a visit to the Asylum Seeker ResourceCentre, she was briefed on the centre’s programsand met with clients, staff and volunteers. Othervisits included the Salvation Army’s Bridgehavenfamily program and the Collingwood AlternativeSchool, which runs a Hands on Learning programfor teenagers at risk.Annual Report 2011–201231