Hint of the Month  (and News Update) December 08/January09 
NEW
Connect With Your Couples

 
Archive of Past Hints 

PROCESSING FEE IS NOW $44.00 
As previously announced, we have reluctantly increased the cost of processing to $44 (including GST) from February 1st 2006. This is the first increase in the $35 base cost of processing since 1999. 
GST was added to this in June 2000, taking the GST inclusive charge to $38.50. 
Our aim is to maintain the new processing charge of $44 for a lengthy period of time. 

To Order Supplies 

Training Days 

Skills Development Opportunities 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Useful Links 
 
 

• Answer sheets (these are free and remember you receive 2 new sheets per processing)) 
• Item booklets (no charge for up to 6 item booklets; for more than 6 we charge 90 cents per book above the first 6.) 
• Information brochures (up to 20 are free and we charge $5 for every 20 brochures above that) 
• PREPARE-CC Packs ($15 per pack)
• MATE Packs ($15 per pack ) 
• GROWING TOGETHER ($45 per pack ) 
• Beyond Rivalry: Psychology and Theology as Complements a book for those interested in pastoral counselling by Dr. Alan Craddock ($24.95, includes GST and postage). 
• Origins: Family Experiences of Premarital Couples a booklet for Administrators dealing with ways of working with conflicted couples, based on research findings from a study of 525 Australian PREPARE couples, by Dr. Alan Craddock ($12, includes GST and postage).

• Your Name and Mailing Address… 
• Your USERCODE 
• Your list of supplies required in detail 
• Exactly which Inventory the answer sheets or item booklets are for (PREPARE; PREPARE-MC; ENRICH; MATE) 

We will invoice you if necessary when we mail the supplies to you. 

How quickly is my processing handled? 
Normally, whatever mail we receive on the morning of a working day is processed immediately and mailed out to you that afternoon. If you need your processing urgently, we can Express Post it back to you. If so please add $5.50 (1-2 processings) or $10.90 (3 or more processings - a 3kg pack) to your payment. 

Must the answer sheets be completed in pencil? 
Yes - a 2B pencil is most desirable. Biro and other pens cannot be read by the scanner. Also, please don't staple or use sticky tape on answer sheets or fold sheets vertically or use white-out. You may erase any mistakes. 

May I send photocopied answer sheets for processing? 
Preferably not! We appreciate that in an emergency you may need to use a photocopied Answer Sheet for your couple. However, we have recently been receiving numerous photocopies and this creates a lot of extra work for our processing staff! We would appreciate it if you could check your supplies of Answer Sheets well in advance of your session and if you need extra supplies phone the office and we will be only too happy to supply you with a sheet or two. Photocopied Answer Sheets will be processed after our normal work for the day, which may mean a delay in posting to you. 

How can I inform the office of a change of address? 
Please email us on info@prepare-enrich.com.au or call 02 9545 4566 or fax us on 02 9545 5766. 

How is GST handled by PREPARE-ENRICH? 
The ruling from the Australian Taxation Office is that Prepare-Enrich services are subject to GST. Our processing costs include the GST component. By law, we are not required to provide receipts for amounts under $50, and so to save costs we will not do so. However, we will provide receipts, in the tax invoice form required (with the Prepare-Enrich ABN) for amounts in excess of $50. There is no requirement for us to provide recipient details on receipts between $50 and $1000, so there will be no need to change methods of payment. If the administrator makes the payment he/she can retain the receipt. If the couple make the payment to Prepare, the administrator can give them the receipt at the feedback session. If you make any additional charge to a couple to cover your own services or agency costs, whether or not you charge GST on that fee is a matter for you to decide in accordance with the GST legislation. Such additional fees do not relate to the processing service provided by Prepare but are associated with your service provision. 

Will my usercode change when I change address? 
No, unless you are changing State. We will advise you of your new usercode after you tell us of your new address. 

Is Version 2000 too long? 
The V2000 inventories are much longer than the version they replaced and sometimes the first impression is that they will take very much longer to complete. In reality they do take longer but on the average not as much as people often expect. Even though there are more questions to answer, an attempt has been made to keep the length of each question as short as possible. The number of questions was increased to extend the range of categories and the reliability of the scores associated with them. We believe the gains in the range of information and the increase in reliability make the extra time spent more than worthwhile. If you are concerned for some couples who might work slowly, encourage them to take a break. Give them something to drink and chat with them for a few minutes about something unrelated to PREPARE. 

Is my usercode number transferable? 
NO. Please note that it is not appropriate to allow a person who has not been trained by Prepare to administer, interpret and work with couples using the Prepare-Enrich inventories by giving them access to a usercode granted to a person who has completed training. 

www.aifs.org.au 

Also, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is another very useful source of information for social trends and statistics: 

www.abs.gov.au 

The Marriage and Relationship Educators' Association of Australia has been established to meet the professional needs of marriage and relationship educators throughout Australia. For membership information and their code of ethics and related information their site is well worth visiting: 

www.mareaa.asn.au 

The Family and Community Services relationships website is an excellent resource for referrals and relevant information: 

www.relate.gov.au 

The Prepare-Enrich website in the USA is another source of detailed information about the Prepare-Enrich materials. However, please do not order inventory materials from that site - the US materials are not valid for use in Australia and have been adapted for Australian use. 

www.prepare-enrich.com