BigDog Newsletter September 2022

aaa 1

It was a sad August with the passing of 2 of Australia’s music icons in Judith Durham (79) and Olivia Newton-John.(73) Both entertainers had incredibly unique and powerful voices, their music was iconic and memorable and they both called Australia home.

Judith became the lead singer of the Australian folk music group the Seekers in 1963 and the group became the first Australian pop music group to achieve major sales success in the UK and US with over 50 million records worldwide.

In 2000, Judith broke her hip and was unable to sing "The Carnival Is Over" at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney with the Seekers. However, she sang it from a wheelchair at the 2000 Paralympics shortly thereafter.

Judith was born with asthma and at age 4 she caught measles, which left her with a life-long chronic lung disease, bronchiectasis, from which she died from that disease.

Olivia was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included five number-one hits and many other Top Ten hits as well as 2 number 1 albums with global sales of 100 million records.

In 1978, Olivia starred in the musical film Grease, which became the highest-grossing musical film ever at the time and whose soundtrack remains one of the world's best-selling albums of all time. It features two major hit duets with co-star John Travolta: "You're the One That I Want" and "Summer Nights".

In This Issue 2 Editor’s Notes 3 The Carnival is over 4 Organised Crime in the NDIS 5 NDIA Practice Alerts 6 Our Community 7 WhatsUp in Disability 8 Child Safety Invalidation 9 NGO Training Infographic

Olivia battled breast cancer three times, was an advocate for breast cancer research, as well as an activist for environmental and animal rights causes.

10 Toowoomba Group

On 8 August 2022, Newton-John died from cancer at her home in the Santa Ynez Valley of California.

13 Staff Updates

11 Rockhampton Group 12 WHS First Aid 14 What’s happening in September

BigDog Newsletter Privacy Notice: Please note that as a subscriber to our BigDog Newsletter which supplies news and events relevant to this organisation, your email address or any other personal information collected will only be used for the purpose for which you gave it to us and will not be disclosed to any other person, body or agency except where you have provided your consent or it is required or authorised by law.

2

BigDog Support Services Magazine

Say goodbye my own true lover

This will be our last goodbye

As we sing a lovers song

Though the carnival is over

How it breaks my heart to leave you

I will love you till I die

Now the carnival is gone

Like a drum my heart was beating

High above the dawn is waiting

And your kiss was sweet as wine

And my tears are falling rain

But the joys of love are fleeting

For the carnival is over

For Pierrot and Columbine

We may never meet again

Now the harbour light is calling

Like a drum my heart was beating

This will be our last goodbye

And your kiss was sweet as wine

Though the carnival is over

But the joys of love are fleeting

I will love you till I die

For Pierrot and Columbine Now the harbor light is calling

Though the carnival is over I will love you till I die

The Seekers 1965

3

Nick McKenzie and Amelia Ballinger The Age Australia’s most senior criminal intelligence official says organised criminals involved in drug trafficking, violence and money laundering are exploiting systemic weaknesses in the National Disability Insurance Scheme to rort it on an unprecedented scale.

In an extraordinary intervention into the national debate, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission chief Michael Phelan has called for a new multi-agency taskforce to tackle the problem, which diverts critical funds away from some of the nation’s most vulnerable people.

Phelan cites intelligence that reveals disabled Australians have been extorted, threatened with violence or even involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward by crime syndicates seeking to steal their NDIS entitlements.

“It just sickens you,” said Phelan. “This is not a victimless crime. You’ve got to wonder how far down the scumbag scale you get before you start ripping off our most vulnerable people.”

The NDIS is a non-means-tested universal insurance program offering uncapped packages of support to people with serious disabilities, but Phelan estimates that as much as 15% to 20% of the $30 billion it costs a year might be being misused. Phelan described previous estimates that scheme fraud sits at 5% as “conservative”. The scheme is estimated to grow to $60 billion by 2030.

An investigation by The Age, The Sydney

4

Morning Herald and 60 Minutes has found members of Sydney’s notorious Hamzy crime network have infiltrated the NDIS. A crime boss and drug trafficker based in both Queensland and Victoria has been trying to develop properties to lease to the scheme.

‘The violence and intimidation against these people, it’s just beyond the pale and we all should be disgusted.’

Pointing to inadequate scrutiny of the scheme, Phelan said the extent of rorting easily surpassed that of the pink batts and school halls scandals and involved “fair dinkum, serious and organised crime crooks”.

“When they’re not rorting the NDIS, they’re importing drugs or standing over people, extortion, committing other heinous crimes,” he said. “North of $1 billion is being ripped out of the system.”

The crime-fighting boss said his agency had detected “ghosting”, or the creation of fake NDIS clients, the systemic inflating of invoices, payment for services that are never provided and networks of facilitators, including doctors, pharmacists, training facilities, accountants and lawyers, who help criminals exploit the scheme.

Asked whether Labor would back Phelan’s call for a taskforce, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said: “It’s definitely got to be an idea on the table.

BigDog Support Services Magazine

Training Modules on NGO 12 new Practice Alerts have been released by the NDIA.

NDIS registration remains optional for the more than 136,000 operators who provided $27.6 billion of services to more than 534,000 seriously disabled people last financial year.

Of these operators, only 13,424 or 10% opted to be registered, while 122,945 or 90% have not registered, according to the latest NDIS quarterly report. Unregistered providers received 39%, or $5.1 billion, of payments by plan managers to providers.

These unregistered operators, some who earn more than $1 million a quarter, do not have to comply with the NDIS safety, quality and workforce regulations.

The new NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, has asked the scheme’s commissioner for advice on how registration might be developed to improve quality and safety.

5

Dom Dances Ahead Dom has increased her independence and launched a successful business venture supporting people with a disability – all through the power of dance!

Dom has a rare mixed diagnosis that results in Dystonia and strokelike symptoms. Dom’s disability means that her level of mobility fluctuates, and while she is walking now, that was not always the case.

“Three years ago, I had a hemiplegic migraine and ended up paralysed from the shoulders down. I only started walking again a year and a half ago”, say Dom. Dom’s idea for D Dance Academy (Disability Dance Academy) started when she was in a wheelchair and wanted to do a dance for a good cause.

“I love dancing, and have danced since I was a kid, so one day I thought I would start my own business. D Dance academy is all about giving back to the community!” she says.

Dom provides dance lessons to people with a disability. She caters to all individuals, including those in wheelchairs and those who are more mobile. Her key aim is to make dancing fun and create an inclusive environment for people aged from 4 to adults.

“We have a range of participants now; it is really great to see them learning each other’s names and becoming a big family”, says Dom. Dom is a powerful advocate for people with a disability, and D Dance Academy is a great example of this.

6

BigDog Support Services Magazine

BUSINESS disABILITY AWARDS The Business DisABILITY Awards recognises businesses and individuals across Toowoomba and the Darling Downs who support, educate and employ people with a disability. Due to an increasing awareness of the value and important of disability access and inclusion, the Awards has grown significantly in size and profile since its inception.

Wellcamp Airport Located 15.6km west from the CBD of Toowoomba, the 2022 Awards will be held within the Wellcamp Airport Passenger Terminal. Complimentary parking will be available for all guests in the airport car park which is an easy walking distance from the passenger terminal.

Tickets and Enquiries Please contact con-sol @ t: 07 5571 2854

e: bda@con-sol.com.au

Thursday 15 September 2022 7:00 pm for a 7:30 start

WhatsUp in Disability Stories in this issue include: • Paul Wilson • Business disABILITY Awards • Organised Crime in the NDIS • Dom dances ahead • Carnival of Flowers • Carnival of sadness • The cost of Quality

To obtain a copy of WhatsUp in Disability magazine or to be a sponsor, please contact WhatsUp via: Office

11-15 Alexander Street, Toowoomba

Email

admin@whatsupindisability.org

Online

www.whatsupindisability.org

• Michael Burge retires • Hyper-visibility

Steven Paull President

7

Invalidation Psychological invalidation is a term that is used to describe the act of belittling a person and making them feel less important. Sometimes, it can be regarded as a form of emotional abuse that does not take into consideration what the other person feels, thinks or experiences.

The key areas of invalidation include: • Ordering you to look differently

• Denying your perception • Trying to make you feel guilty • Trying to isolate you • Minimising your feelings • Using reason • Judging and labelling you • Turning things around • Questioning yourself • How you should feel

• Defending the other person This training module will be available this month on NGO Training for those who provide support to our child safety clients.

We also welcome Danielle as our new coordinator and look forward to assisting her in her new role

8

• Negating, denial and confusion • Sarcasm and mocking • Guilt trips • Using cliches • Talking about you • Showing intolerance

BigDog Support Services Magazine

9

Thank you Alan and his team at the Commonwealth Bank at Clifford Gardens for their very generous Community Donation. This has allowed us to purchase a washing machine and clothes dryer to assist us in supporting our local community.

BigDog Day Service Toowoomba Paul Myatt Community Centre 11-15 Alexander Street North Toowoomba 4350 Coordinator Jess Wright Phone: 4512 6020 dayservice@bigdogsupport.com.au 10

BigDog Support Services Magazine

BigDog Day Service Rockhampton BigDog Community Centre 170 East Street Rockhampton 4700 Coordinator Trey Brown Phone: 4573 4611 rockhampton@bigdogsupport.com.au

11

First Aid BigDog is a leader in ensuring the safety of people with a disability, including their right to support workers who are fully trained and competent in their role.

Working restrictions Any support worker who is found not to have a current and valid certificate will be removed from all shifts until a certificate is provided.

BigDog has the primary duty under the WHS Act to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that workers and other persons are not exposed to health and safety risks arising from the business or undertaking.

Key terms

Support workers have a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and must not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons.

First aider is a person who has successfully completed a nationally accredited training course or an equivalent level of training that has given them the competencies required to administer first aid.

Support workers must comply with any reasonable instruction and cooperate with any reasonable policy or procedure relating to health and safety at the workplace, such as procedures for first aid and for reporting injuries and illnesses.

Under our Code of Practice, we require our support workers to have a valid certificate in either CPR or First Aid. •

HLTAID009 Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (valid for 1 year)

•

HLTAID010 Provide basis emergency life support (valid for 3 years)

•

HLTAID011 Provide first aid

Support workers may also need to undertake additional first aid training to respond to specific situations at their workplace. For example, where workers have severe allergies, first aiders should be trained to respond to anaphylaxis if this topic has not been covered in previous first aid training.

12

First aid is the immediate treatment or care given to a person suffering from an injury or illness until more advanced care is provided or the person recovers.

First aid equipment includes first aid kits and other equipment used to treat injuries and illnesses.

First aid facilities include first aid rooms, health centres, clean water supplies and other facilities needed for administering first aid.

Infection Control Support workers should take standard precautions to avoid becoming ill and exposing others to illness when handling blood or body substances. Standard precautions are work practices that are applied to all participants and other staff and their blood and body substances, regardless of their infectious status, to ensure a basic level of infection prevention and control.

Standard precautions include hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, appropriate handling and disposal of sharps and waste, cleaning techniques and managing spills of blood and body substances.

BigDog Support Services Magazine

CareMaster is now live for payroll Please be patient with us as this is a new system and we are working with CareMaster to iron out a few bugs with how it works with the SCHADS award and links with our payroll system in Xero.

The feedback on the staff and participant dashboards has been extremely positive.

A New Baby Congratulations to Steph and Doug on the arrival of their son.

Leo Eddison Arnold Born 15/08/2022 Time 3:47 PM

Weight 6 pounds 11 oz (3.03 kg)

Staff Birthdays

September 2022 3rd 4th 9th 11th 14th 20th 22nd 26th

Courtney S Cheryl Radean Laxmi Henry G Maddison G Wendy G Mel G

Have a great day!

Length 52 cm We are all so very happy for you both.

Another Lawyer Congratulations to Monique who leaves us to begin her exciting career as a lawyer at Clifford Gouldson. Monique has been with us a support worker while she studied Law at USQ especially during COVID-19 when she had to study at home and attend lectures online. We will miss you.

13

14

BigDog Support Services Magazine

Justice of the Peace This service is available at the Paul Myatt Community Centre 11-15 Alexander Street Toowoomba (please call first to make an appointment) The JPs in the Community Program is also available through major shopping centres, libraries, court houses and hospitals.

Contact Us BigDog Support Services

232 Ruthven Street Toowoomba QLD 4350 PO Box 234 Harlaxton QLD 4350

(07) 4632 9559 1800 22 44 32 www.bigdogsupport.com.au 15

In Rockhampton to run 2 sessions of Aggressive Behaviour training Courtney, Peter and William were guests of honour at the Capras win over the Magpies at Brown Oval. An all BigDog effort!

Left-Right Jeremy, Peter, Takai, Courtney, Trey, Zev, Radean, Curtis, William

16

BigDog Support Services Magazine