21 July 2014
Edition 4
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:
· NDIS launches in the ACT
· Early Intervention and Therapy Expo
· Group Home update
· HOT TOPIC – NDIS Progress Report
· Planning Future Pathways Expo
· Sector development update
NDIS launches in the ACT
On Tuesday 1 July the National Disability Insurance Scheme trial officially began in the ACT. ACT Minister for Disability Joy Burch, ACT Senator Zed Seselja and National Disability Insurance Agency CEO David Bowen all spoke at the launch. Sue Salthouse, Co-chair of the NDIS Expert Panel, and the Mowbray family also both spoke about their personal experiences and hopes for the NDIS. The NDIS ushers in a new era for people with disabilities, their families and carers.
The ACT will be the first jurisdiction in Australia to introduce all eligible residents into the NDIS over two years. People will gradually transition into the scheme according to their age or life stage. The transition plan will help move more than 5,000 eligible Canberrans into the NDIS over the two-year trial period.
This table highlights when people with disabilities can begin their planning conversation with the National Disability Insurance Agency. Until you have an approved plan with the National Disability Insurance Agency, all your current supports and services will continue.
NDIS transition plan
| Transition Period | Children | Adults | Group Home Residents (Age of youngest person in home) |
| 2014 | |||
| Jul | Children under 2 year old 2008-13 school leavers with high and complex needs and a Post School Options package | 64 | 22 or younger |
| Aug Sep | |||
| Oct | 2-4 year olds not starting school in 2015 2014 school leavers | 63 | 23 – 25 |
| Nov | |||
| Dec | |||
| 2015 | |||
| Jan | High school students (7-12) starting with years 11 & 12 | 60-62 | 26 – 31 |
| Feb | |||
| Mar | |||
| Apr | Primary school students (K-6) | 59 | 32 – 33 |
| May | |||
| Jun | |||
| Jul | 56-58 | 34 - 36 | |
| Aug | |||
| Sep | |||
| Oct Nov | | 49-55 | 37 – 40 |
| Dec | | ||
| 2016 | |||
| Jan | | 40-48 | 40 |
| Feb | | ||
| Mar | | ||
| Apr | | 20-39 | 41 – 64 |
| May | | ||
| Jun | | ||
Early Intervention and Therapy Expo
An expo showcasing the range of early intervention and therapy services that will be available to people – particularly children with a disability or developmental delay – will be held on Saturday 13 September at EPIC.
The ACT Government announced in early April its plans to transition early intervention services from the government to the community sector by the end of December this year. Therapy ACT services will continue until the end of 2016.
The expo will give families an opportunity to see the range of services that will be available in the ACT now that the NDIS is up and running.
What: Early Intervention and Therapy Expo
When: 10am – 4pm Saturday 13 September
Where: Fitzroy Pavilion, EPIC, Flemington Road, Mitchell
For more information, email ndis@act.gov.au
Group Home update
As you may know, group homes will phase into the NDIS separately to the rest of the population. This is to ensure people with high and complex needs can transfer to the new system gradually and they get the support they need.
You can read a media release from the ACT Minister for Disability Joy Burch about the schedule for group home residents moving to the NDIS here.
To further support group homes make the transition to the NDIS, Disability ACT will be hosting a Meet The Providers event for Disability ACT group home clients and their families and carers. At this expo-style event, all organisations that are currently providing or are proposing to provide in-home support and supported accommodation in the ACT will be present. The expo will showcase information about providers willing to offer support under the NDIS.
What: Meet The Providers Forum
When: 10am – 4pm Saturday 26 July
Where: Hedley Beare Centre for Teaching and Learning, 51 Fremantle Drive, Stirling
*Please note this forum is for Disability ACT group home clients, their families and carers only.
NDIS Progress Report
It has been 12 months since the NDIS began in the first trial site locations of Barwon (Victoria), Hunter (NSW), South Australia and Tasmania. On 9 July Chairman of the National Disability Insurance Agency Bruce Bonyhady presented the first NDIS Progress Report at the National Press Club in Canberra.
The report is an annual update on building the NDIS and benchmarks how the Agency is tracking against the goals and outcomes identified in the NDIA’s Strategic Plan 2013-2016.
You can view the NDIS Progress Report here.
According to the Agency, key achievements in the last 12 months include:
· 6,434 participants have been found eligible for the Scheme, with 5,414 having an approved plan by the end of March 2014.
· The majority of participants are very satisfied, with a satisfaction rating of 1.66 on a scale of -2 (extremely unsatisfied) to +2 (extremely satisfied).
· The NDIA has recruited over 450 staff – of which almost 11 per cent identify as having a disability. Over 50 per cent of staff in the Agency have identified as having lived experience of disability – which refers to close or personal experience with disability.
· The NDIA is continuing to implement major operational improvements to manage Scheme costs. At present costs remain comfortably within the allocated budget - around $107 million of support will flow to participants in 2013/14. This is well within the funding envelope of $152 million for 2013/14.
· The NDIA has embraced a ‘learn, build, learn, build’ approach to underpin their ongoing growth and development as an organisation.
There are now two NDIS office locations in the ACT that you can visit:
· 212 Northbourne Avenue, Braddon
· One Human Services Gateway, 153 Emu Bank, Belconnen
Or you can phone the NDIA on 1800 800 110.
For more information about accessing the NDIS in the ACT click here.
Planning Future Pathways Expo
Run in conjunction with the CareersXpo, the Planning Future Pathways Expo will be held on Wednesday 30 July at EPIC for the second year in a row.
The aim of the expo is to provide students with disability, their families, carers and teachers with appropriate and timely information and advice on – including but not limited to – planning of career pathways, employment skills, further education and training, volunteering, recreation, community participation, life skills and other information.
What: 2014 Planning Future Pathways Expo
When: 9.30am – 2.30pm and 4.30pm – 7pm Wednesday 30 July
Where: Parkes Room, EPIC, Flemington Road, Mitchell
More information is available here.
Sector Development
On 26 June the Minister for Disability Joy Burch announced the investment of $1 million from the Commonwealth Government’s sector development funding to help organisations prepare for the NDIS.
Twenty organisations, including the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Koomarri and Canberra Men’s Centre will receive Business Investment packages worth $50,000 each to get support and get ready for the NDIS.
The Business Investment Package grants allow organisations to select from a panel of consultants to provide business advice and mentoring, and implement reform plans and infrastructure improvements related to the NDIS transition.
The successful organisations have already done a lot of work to get ready for the NDIS. With this additional $50,000 funding they will be able to further develop their capacity, and grow, so that they can deliver the kinds of services people will want under the NDIS.
The grants are funded through the Commonwealth Government's National Sector Development Fund, of which $12.5 million is earmarked for the ACT.
Also available are $20,000 Governance and Financial Management Package grants that have so far been offered to 20 organisations across the ACT.
Kate Starick
Director
ACT NDIS Taskforce
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