19 May 2014
Edition 2
Welcome to the latest update from the ACT NDIS Taskforce.
The Taskforce is located at Nature Conservation House in Belconnen and is responsible for the strategic policy and planning for the design and implementation of the NDIS in Canberra. You can find out more about the NDIS in the ACT at www.act.gov.au/ndis
We welcome your input or feedback via ndis@act.gov.au
Inside this edition:
· Transitioning to the NDIS
· NDIS Community Forum – Therapy in the ACT
· Choice and Control Expo
· Housing Symposium
· My Access Checker
· Community Conversations
· Hot Topic – Safeguards
· Sector Development – Business Investment Packages
Transitioning to the NDIS
The ACT NDIS trial begins in July 2014. To ensure that access to the NDIS is fair and equitable and that the trial runs smoothly, the ACT and Commonwealth governments have agreed there will be a schedule for eligible people to access the scheme over two years, according to either age or stage of life.
Key elements of an ages and life stages transition plan have been agreed in principle. There will be three streams for people transitioning to the NDIS:
1. Adults
· Adults will transition to the NDIS from oldest to youngest over the trial period.
2. Children
· Children below school age will transition to the NDIS over the first six months, including all babies who are born after 1 July.
· School leavers will transition to the NDIS at the end of the 2014 school year, in time to have their packages ready when they leave school.
· School-age children will transition to the NDIS during the school year 2015.
3. Group Homes
· Group homes need special treatment so that the whole household can transition to the NDIS together. Households will transition from youngest to oldest over the trial period.
Agreement with the Commonwealth as to the detail surrounding the plan is imminent.
NDIS Community Forum – Therapy in the ACT
You are invited to a free information forum about therapy in the ACT and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
This is a forum for:
· Therapy ACT clients and their families
· Parents of children accessing early intervention services
· Service providers
· Disability sector workers
When: 12 – 2PM, Monday 2 June 2014
Where: Hedley Beare Centre Hall, 51 Fremantle Drive, Stirling
Hear from experts, families and the ACT Government about how therapy will work with the NDIS.
To RSVP and for accessibility assistance call (02) 6205 1372 or email ndis@act.gov.au
See attached invitation
Choice and Control Expo
Thursday 22 May
10am to 4pm
The Choice and Control Expo is being organised by Advocacy for Inclusion and will showcase over 100 businesses and charities with a wide range of products, services, aids, equipment and lifestyle options for people with disabilities in Canberra and the surrounding region.
This is a pivotal time in the disability sector, and the Choice and Control Expo will coincide with a time when people will be making decisions on the types of supports that they need once the NDIS is launched in Canberra in July 2014.
For more information go to http://advocacyforinclusion.org/index.php/control-choice-expo
Housing Symposium
Over coming months a three-part symposium on innovative housing will be held to explore options for people with a disability in the ACT.
The objectives of the symposium are to:
1. Raise awareness about the NDIS and the opportunities and challenges it presents to housing providers, tenancy managers and accommodation support providers.
2. Explore funding options.
3. Promote innovative housing options that improve affordability and security of tenure for people with disability.
The symposium will be targeted to community sector providers, the housing industry, real estate representatives and ACT Government.
The first forum will be held on Wednesday 28 May at the Hellenic Club in Woden. For more information please email ndis@act.gov.au
My Access Checker
My Access Checker is an online tool that only takes a couple of minutes to complete and will help you understand if you, or someone you know, might be able to access assistance from the NDIS.
Go to http://www.ndis.gov.au/my-access-checker for more information.
Community Conversations
Community Conversations, facilitated by the Peer-led Working Group, are semi-formal or very informal conversations held in community places to talk about topics of shared interest. Participants share ideas and inspirations, get information and have the opportunity to have misinformation clarified, hear from people who have walked a similar journey and may have the same fears and concerns about the future.
The next conversation is “Making your own Decisions”. In the NDIS you will be able to make decisions over your supports and services.
Come to this Community Conversation to find out:
· How to make more of your own decisions
· Support you can use to make decisions
· How to support a person to decide
Tea and Coffee provided.
When: 6PM to 9PM, Tuesday 27 May 2014
Where: Hellenic Club Woden
RSVP: Bookings are essential: Phone Lisa on 6205 2122 or email: ndis@act.gov.au
For more information call Kate at ADACAS on 6242 5060 or email kate@adacas.org.au
Safeguards
Safeguards are specific measures in a disability support system that aim to minimise the risk of harm to a person with a disability and protect their right to be safe.
All state and territory governments agreed that until a national approach to quality and safeguards is established under the NDIS, existing jurisdictional safeguards will be maintained.
The NDIS will mean changes to the way specialist disability services are funded. In some cases, where legislative safeguards are dependent on the funding relationship between government and providers, those safeguards will no longer automatically apply. This is because the current legislation is largely drafted in a manner that relies on the existing roles of government as the funder of disability services and the current authority exerted through contracts between government and disability service providers.
To ensure we continue to have robust safeguards in the ACT during the transition to the NDIS, amendments to the Disability Services Act 1991 have been drafted and presented in the legislative assembly. These are scheduled for debate in early June, and, if passed, will commence 1 July 2014.
These amendments will ensure existing minimum safeguards and quality standards remain in an environment where there is no contract between a service provider and the government.
This is a transitional arrangement, which will stand until a national safeguarding framework takes the place of existing state-based systems.
This nationally consistent quality and safeguards framework will mean that people with disability will be able to expect the same standards and safeguards wherever they live in Australia.
Until that time, we are working to ensure all current safeguards in the ACT will continue to apply.
Sector Development – Business Investment Packages
The ACT Government has secured $12.5 million to help build capacity in the disability sector.
The next sector development initiative available to service providers is the Business Investment Package.
The packages will provide tailored professional assistance valued at up to $50,000 to implement complex strategic change management related to governance, organisational structure, service design and/or establishment, workforce redevelopment and human resource management ahead of introduction of the NDIS.
Ten packages are available in the first instance.
The Business Investment Package will allow organisations to select from a panel of consultants able to provide medium term business advice and mentoring to implement reform plans related to the NDIS transition.
More information is available at http://www.communityservices.act.gov.au/disability_act/national_disability_insurance_scheme/services-providers
Kate Starick
Director
ACT NDIS Taskforce
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