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NDIS GOULBURN LAUNCH

Introducing the NDIS

Loren Sutherland and her six-year-old son Darcey are transitioning into the NDIS.

Together, Together, we can achieve we can achieve Together, your goals your goals we can achieve your goals

We are here to support you throughout your life’s journey. We offer a wide range We are here to support you throughout of services for children and adults suit your life’s journey. We offer a widethat range your uniquefor needs, interests and aspirations. of services children and adults that suit With specialised therapy and 70 years of your unique interests and aspirations. We are here needs, to support you throughout disability experience – Scope you covered. With specialised therapy andahas 70 years of your life’s journey. We offer wide range disability experience – Scope has you covered. of services for children and adults that suit

The NDIS and you The NDIS Get touch andinyou

472 673 Get1300 in touch The NDIS scopeaust.org.au 1300 472 673 and you scopeaust.org.au Get in touch

NDIS GOULBURN LAUNCH

Delivering greater choice More than 7850 Victorians living with disability will start receiving services from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as it rolls into the Goulburn, Mallee and Outer Gippsland regions. There are an estimated 2390 people receiving disability support in the Goulburn area. This is expected to increase by 1110 to 3500 once NDIS is fully rolled out in the region. Victorian Disability, Ageing and Carers Acting Minister Martin Foley welcomed the final milestone in the successful Victorian rollout of NDIS. “This marks a crucial stage of the

Victorian rollout of the NDIS — and an important milestone for people with disability in the Goulburn, Mallee and Outer Gippsland areas,” Mr Foley said. “The NDIS is one of the most significant reforms in Australia’s history — and we won’t stop fighting to deliver the NDIS that was promised by the AbbottTurnbull-Morrison government.” Mr Foley said the aim was to give

What’s the difference between NDIS and NDIA? Everybody has heard about NDIS and NDIA, but what are they and how are they different?

people with disability greater choice and flexibility with the support they received. “We need the right plans, fair and realistic prices for services and a lifting of the NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency) staffing cap so that the 105 000 Victorians with disability get the support and care they deserve.” Participants can choose to selfmanage their plan and retain complete control over payments, plan expenditure, online claims and record keeping, or have their plan managed by NDIA or a registered plan management provider. NDIS is delivered by a funding partnership between the Federal Government and the Victorian Government. By the time NDIS is fully operational, the Victorian investment will be $2.5 billion a year.

Victorian Disability, Ageing and Carers Acting Minister Martin Foley.

NDIA

NDIS

The National Disability Insurance Agency, or NDIA, is the independent Federal Government agency responsible for implementing the National Disability Insurance Scheme, or NDIS. People who work for NDIA, work with individuals seeking disability support. NDIA provides information, referrals, links to services and activities, individualised plans and funded supports to people over their lifetime. NDIA partners with the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and well-known community organisations to deliver NDIS in local areas.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme, or NDIS, replaces the current disability support system. Instead of recipients only having access to ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions, NDIS is tailored to each individual. NDIS recognises that everyone’s needs and goals are different and provides people with individualised support and the flexibility to manage their supports to help them achieve their goals and enjoy an ordinary life. NDIS is called an ‘insurance’ scheme because it is social insurance, not welfare. As an insurance scheme, NDIS takes a lifetime approach to support, not just the needs of that person right now. More information on NDIA or NDIS is available at: www.ndis.gov.au

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2019

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What is the NDIS all about?

Australian citizens under the age of 65 with a significant and permanent disability — which substantially reduces their ability to participate in work, daily life and social activities — can apply for NDIS. Funding is provided to NDIS participants via an individually tailored plan. Working with a planner, participants talk through their daily routines and describe what’s important to them. Goals are factored into the planning, and participants receive funding for reasonable and necessary disabilityrelated supports likely to assist them to live an independent life and participate in their community. Supports may include personal care, access to the community, therapy services and essential equipment.

Under NDIS, participants exercise choice and control over the kinds of support they receive, and who delivers them. Plan funds will change as individual needs change, goals are achieved or new objectives are set. This is why plans are reviewed regularly to ensure participants have enough support to achieve their goals. Existing services and supports will continue until eligible people with disability start their plans with NDIS.

Getting a handle on what’s ‘reasonable and necessary’ In the world of NDIS there is a lot of talk about ‘reasonable and necessary supports’, so just what are they? For NDIS to fund a support it must be assessed as both reasonable and necessary to help a person reach their goals and aspirations, and to take part in activities to increase their social and economic participation. A participant’s reasonable and necessary supports considers any informal supports already available to the individual (informal arrangements that are part of family life or natural connections with friends and community services) as well as other formal supports, such as health and education. Reasonable and necessary supports 4

are funded by NDIS in a range of areas, which may include education, employment, social participation, independence, living arrangements and health and wellbeing. These supports will help participants to: ¡¡ pursue their goals, objectives and aspirations; ¡¡ increase their independence; ¡¡ increase social and economic participation; and ¡¡ develop their capacity to actively take part in the community.

How does NDIA know what is reasonable and necessary? NDIA makes decisions based on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act) and the rules made under the NDIS Act. The operational guidelines also provide practical guidance for decision makers. To be considered reasonable and necessary, a support must: ¡¡ be related to the participant’s disability;

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2019

¡¡ not include day-to-day living costs that are not related to a participant’s disability support needs; ¡¡ represent value for money; ¡¡ be likely to be effective and beneficial to the participant; and ¡¡ consider informal supports given to participants by families, carers, networks and the community.

What are some of the types of supports funded? ¡¡ daily personal activities; ¡¡ transport to enable participation in community, social, economic and daily life activities; ¡¡ workplace help to allow a participant to successfully get or keep employment in the open or supported labour market; ¡¡ therapeutic supports, including behaviour support; ¡¡ help with household tasks to allow the participant to maintain their home environment;

¡¡ help to a participant by skilled personnel in aids or equipment assessment, set up and training; ¡¡ home modification design and construction; ¡¡ mobility equipment; and ¡¡ vehicle modifications.

What will not be funded or provided by NDIS? The NDIS Act and the rules made under the NDIS Act also dictate which supports will not be funded by NDIS. A support will not be funded if it: ¡¡ is not related to the participant’s disability; ¡¡ duplicates other supports already funded by a different mechanism through the NDIS; ¡¡ relates to day-to-day living costs that are not related to a participant’s support needs; or ¡¡ is likely to cause harm to the participant or pose a risk to others.

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Who is eligible for NDIS? The first step for people thinking about utilising NDIS is to find out whether the scheme is available to them. A person will satisfy NDIS access criteria when:

Think about your wants and needs

¡¡ they are under the age of 65; ¡¡ they have a disability that is due to an impairment, and the impairment is likely to be permanent and lifelong; ¡¡ their impairment substantially reduces their ability to participate effectively in everyday life; ¡¡ they are an Australian citizen or permanent resident; and ¡¡ t hey require supports under the NDIS for their lifetime.

NDIS is a big change for everyone, so it is a good idea to get prepared.

¡¡ has no known, evidence-based treatments that would be likely to remedy it; ¡¡ all known, evidence-based treatments have been exhausted; ¡¡ does not require further medical treatment or review for its permanency to be demonstrated; or ¡¡ involves degeneration and is unlikely to improve, regardless of treatment options.

There are five important things the planner will ask you at your planning meeting

An individual’s impairment may be considered permanent, or likely to be permanent, when it:

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The planner will ask you about your life. This means you need to describe your life in terms of your family, friends and what you like to do. It helps if you think about what activities you do every day, every week, or every now and then.

The planner will ask what support you currently receive and what other support you need. The planner will ask you about the supports you need to live the life you choose, how you manage everyday activities and any part of your life where you require more support. It is also important for you to tell them about factors that may affect the support you receive from your family, for example, if a family member who cares for you occasionally needs to go to hospital.

The planner will ask you about what’s important to you and what are your goals. During your planning conversation, the planner will talk to you about the goals you want to achieve across many aspects of your life. Goals describe what you want to achieve. The planner asks this because a NDIS plan is based on goals, and supports will only be funded if they will help you meet these goals. Once you are clear about what support you receive and what works for you, this will help you think about your goals.

They will ask you how you want to manage the funds in your plan. At your planning meeting you will be asked how you would like your plan to be managed. This means how you want your service providers and supports to be paid. NDIA will work with you to decide how you manage your plan. Your plan can be managed by: ¡¡ Yourself (known as self-managing): You manage your NDIS funds and pay the service providers and keep your own records. ¡¡ A financial intermediary: They pay service providers for you; this is known as plan management. ¡¡ NDIS: This is when NDIS directly pays providers on your behalf, and manages the money in your plan. ¡¡ Or a combination of the above options. Whatever option you choose, NDIA can support you to make arrangements and set up the processes.

If you are funded for support co-ordination in your plan, the planner will ask you which service provider you want to use for your support co-ordination. Depending on your situation, you may be funded for support co-ordination in your NDIS plan. This means you will have a service provider (such as Yooralla) support you to organise all the supports in your NDIS plan. The planner will ask you in the planning meeting which service provider you would like to do this. Provided by Yooralla

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2019

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Giving people greater choice and control An open-door policy, solutions-based approach and a positive attitude are going to be the hallmarks of the community organisation tasked with delivering NDIS services in our area, if Kate McRae has anything to do with it. A country girl with a long-standing involvement and a personal interest in providing services to people with disabilities, Ms McRae is bringing her NDIS experience home as the new Intereach senior manager for the Goulburn NDIS area. A community-based organisation, Intereach has been appointed to provide Local Area Co-ordination (LAC), Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) and community engagement and capacity development as a NDIS ‘partner in the community’. Ms McRae said Intereach staff would be working with people with disability and people who support them to learn about their lives, goals and support needs and help to implement their NDIS plans. She said Intereach had a history of supporting rural and regional communities to make the most of their resources and lending its expertise to help maximise the services available to people with disability. But above all else, she said they would be working hard to ensure local people with disabilities had as much opportunity and choice as everyone else. “Having a disability shouldn’t be a bar to accessing the same services everyone

else has access to and it shouldn’t stop people from pursuing their goals,” Ms McRae said. “We want to make sure people are pursuing and meeting their goals, and if they’re not, we will work with them to determine what the barriers are and how we can help them move past them.” The fact the Shepparton area was among the last of the regions to get NDIS was a bonus as people would benefit from professionals and organisations that had already worked with the scheme, she said. “Having others come before us and learning from their experiences can only be seen as a benefit,” Ms McRae said. “One of these benefits is that Intereach as an organisation has now been working in the NDIS space for over two years. That organisational knowledge will absolutely benefit the Goulburn communities.” After two years working within the NDIS system, Ms McRae said in her experience, the vast majority of outcomes for participants had been “very positive”. And with disability services and community and mainstream supports working hard on adjusting to the new market-based system, it was only going to improve. “The rollout of the NDIS is a massive change to the way business was done before and the service providers in the area are working really hard to adapt,” she said. “As our area transitions to the NDIS the demand for services will increase. “There were already a host of amazing providers and community and mainstream supports in the area and we’re looking forward to working with them.”

Kate McRae is bringing her NDIS experience to the Goulburn region.

Having a disability shouldn’t be a bar to accessing the same services everyone else has access to and it shouldn’t stop people from pursuing their goals.” Kate McRae Ms McRae said while Intereach was passionate about getting involved with the local community, the organisation’s motivation would always lead back to the individual, and helping them live their best life. “For us the individual is the most important person coming through the door. Our job is to help our NDIS participants and their family and support networks to make the most out of the scheme,” she said. “We are the connection that enables people with disabilities to have streamlined access to community and mainstream supports.” Because NDIS was new for so many people, Ms McRae encouraged people with questions, including those inquiring

Now you have 1 your NDIS plan, what’s next?

Read and understand your plan Read your plan and understand your supports. Your plan is considered active from the date listed on the front page of your plan. It is important that you start using it as soon as you receive it because your existing funding will cease once your NDIS plan is approved.

After your NDIS planning meeting you will receive your approved NDIS plan in the mail or by email. There are a few things you need to do before you can start using your plan. 6

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2019

Get online straight away The next step is to go online and visit your NDIS participant portal, myplace — your activation code for the portal will expire within about 10 days.

about Early Childhood Early Intervention, to phone 1300 488 226 or drop in to the new Intereach office at 1 Sobraon St, Shepparton. “We want to be a channel for people to find information and learn more about the scheme,” she said. “Information is so important in terms of empowering people to make the most out of the scheme and allaying fears and anxiety.” Ms McRae said the NDIS was all about giving people with disability greater choice and control over their own lives. “For us we look at the individual, we don’t look at the disability as a generalisation. And the good news about the NDIS system is it’s more responsive to the individual and their goals.”

The activation code will be in the letter you receive with your plan. To access the portal you first need a myGov account, and you then link to myplace. If you haven’t used the code within the required time, you will need to contact your planner.

Speak with the person who will help you to start using your plan If your planner is a LAC, they can assist you to find providers, access the myplace portal and commence using your plan. If your planner is the NDIA, then a support co-ordinator will

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Making the most of every moment Living each day in the moment is a lesson Sue Madden learned the hard way, but she learned it well. In her 16th year as a carer, first for her husband Peter and now for her daughter Hayley, Sue’s greatest desire is to ensure her daughter gets to live her best life as much as possible. The Shepparton woman has been caring for her 42-year-old daughter Hayley since she was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease 10 years ago, nine months after her husband died from the same disease. Huntington’s disease is a genetic neurodegenerative disease, which means it is a brain disease that progresses from the time of onset and is passed from parent to child. Symptoms can be physical, mental and emotional, life expectancy is 10 to 25 years. “Every Huntington’s case is different ... a part of the brain dies every week, and for every person that affects different parts of the brain,” Sue said. “For my husband Peter, he was a very athletic person and he was physically very able right up until the end, but his cognitive ability was severely impaired. For Hayley, she’s physically a lot worse off than Peter, but mentally she’s great.” Prior to her diagnosis, Sue said Hayley was like any other 30-year-old. She studied at university, inherited her father’s artistic flair, worked as a

contact you shortly after you receive your plan to support you to access the myplace portal, source service providers and get agreements with them (service agreements) and to provide ongoing support about NDIS.

Connect with service providers to deliver your supports Once you have your plan, and you have set yourself up in the portal, you can start contacting service providers to set up your services. If you want to continue using your

Three generations – Ha yley Madden with her mum Sue Madden and gra ndmother Margaret Na pier.

diversional therapist, enjoyed ballroom dancing, was often the star of family concert events and had just returned from living large and enjoying life as an entertainment director on cruise ships. “She was a vivacious young woman with the same hopes and dreams as any young person,” Sue said. “We learned so much from Peter, we learned that you have to do things now, not next week, not next month, not next year — now. I was so regretful about so many things that we didn’t do, but we didn’t have the money. “When Hayley was diagnosed we said straight away that we were going to try and do things differently. We were going to live life as much as we could, Hayley was going to get to go to concerts, we were going to go on holidays. Now with NDIS we can achieve some of those goals.” Having been with NDIS as early entrants for 15 months, the new system had meant three main things — flexibility, choice and control. But it was the

existing service provider, you will need to let them know that you have an approved NDIS plan, so they can set up a service agreement.

Enter into service agreements with service providers Once you have chosen a provider, you will sign a service agreement with them, which outlines how your support will be delivered. Once you’ve signed a service agreement, you can start receiving your NDIS.

ability to access respite care that both women counted as the biggest single improvement. “We couldn’t have even considered respite care before, we couldn’t have afforded it,” Sue said. “Hayley loves it, she gets social interaction with young people, a change of scenery, the ability to experience new things in a new environment — and for me it means a much-appreciated break.” Since Hayley transferred to NDIS, Sue said she was finally able to think about giving her daughter the life she should have. “You can’t really compare the two systems; in the old days it was harrowing, you were forced to try and find funding from several different sources for the one thing and things like respite care were out of the question,” she said. “NDIS provides all those little things that help you live life now, to pursue your interests and do things that you want to do and have been restricted from doing because of your disability.”

Questions? If you’re still stuck on what to do once you get your NDIS plan, you can speak to Yooralla’s Community Engagement Team. They can help answer your questions about NDIS and explain what you need to do to implement your plan and start receiving your supports. Contact Yooralla’s Community Engagement Team by phone on 9666 4500 or email at: ndis.infohub@ yooralla.com.au

Sue said one of the great benefits of NDIS was the flexibility to respond to the changing needs of the client, something that was particularly important for someone with a degenerative disease. “Twelve months ago Hayley was walking, now she’s in a chair and we were able to fund that because the NDIS is flexible. You can build these things into your plan,” she said. After more than a year with NDIS and previous experience under the old scheme, Sue has two main pieces of advice for people preparing to enter NDIS — embrace the change and, at least in the beginning, get your plan managed. While she loved that NDIS provided clients and their carers with choices, Sue said the main problem with NDIS was that there were not enough registered providers in the area yet. “A lot of services are standing back and not bothering to register with NDIS. They must become registered because it gives us choice and it gives them a source of employment,” she said.

Just received your NDIS plan and want to use Yooralla to deliver your supports? Yooralla is a not-for-profit disability specialist with almost 100 years of experience in providing disability supports. It is a full-service organisation that provides flexible services tailored to suit the individual. It also provides specialist supports for people with high and complex needs, and is a specialist in children’s early intervention supports. Provided by Yooralla

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2019

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Nervous wait for NDIS support Darcey Hipwell is living proof that a good dose of play and a lot of early intervention services can open up a whole different world for children with developmental delays. Six-year-old Darcey loves monster trucks, McDonald’s burgers, playing outside with his siblings on his parents’ Tatura farm and playing on his mum’s mobile phone. But without an early diagnosis of cerebral palsy, loads of early allied health intervention and a good dose of healthy outdoor country playtime, much of it may never have been possible. Darcey’s mother Loren Sutherland said it had been a little luck and a lot of hard work through early intervention to get Darcey where he was today. The left side of Darcey’s brain was damaged by an

undetected in utero infection, which has affected his speech and the right-hand side of his body. “He didn’t walk until he was two, he took his first step on his second birthday; there was no way we thought he would be as mobile as he is now,” Ms Sutherland said. “A specialist in Melbourne told me that a lot of children don’t start therapies until they are three or so and by then they’re set in their ways a lot more, mentally and physically … so we have been very fortunate.” Since he was 18-months old, Darcey has had ongoing early intervention including physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and even a series of botox treatments for a thumb that was permanently folded inwards — and the result is a very different child to what could have been. “One of the other reasons I think Darcey has done so well physically is that we’re on a farm, so we’ve just let him go and that’s been great therapy as well and now he’s out the back running around and getting into everything,” Ms Sutherland said. So far the family had been fortunate to have a good Shepparton-based paediatrician and funding for Darcey’s early intervention needs. But now it was a nervous wait to find out what NDIS was going to be like for them. Ms Sutherland said there was a real lack of information about how NDIS worked at a grassroots level, which fed their anxiety over what kind of funding they would be allocated and when it would start. “I have been to some of the NDIS workshops but a lot of them conflicted with things the kids had on, so we just had to miss out,” she said. There was no way they could afford to access the therapies that had been

Six-year-old Darcey Hipwell.

Help your child get the right NDIS plan To make the most of NDIS for your child you need be ready to describe what support your child receives now and what areas of additional support would benefit your child and family in the future. 8

Before your planning meeting you have some things to think about, and you can start with the following: ¡¡ What does your child do each day; in the morning, afternoon, evening and night? ¡¡ What community and mainstream supports does your child currently access? ¡¡ What informal supports (family, other carers) does your child currently access?

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2019

¡¡ What supports would you like in addition to those you’re already receiving and how would they make a difference to your child and family? Importantly, what goals do you have for your child, to assist them to live an ordinary life? Goals are the basis of your child’s NDIS plan, and supports will only be funded if they help your child to meet these goals. So, it is worthwhile preparing these before your child’s planning meeting. Provided by Yooralla

so crucial to Darcey’s development in the same way, especially the allied health workers that have worked with him at his Verney Road School. “All of his therapists have gone to the school this year so if NDIS don’t fund us it will mean a lot of trips to Shepparton for us — and we’re 40 minutes out of town — so it’s expensive,” Ms Sutherland said. “It’s not just about the money; Darcey has formed these great relationships. “When his speech therapist walks into the room his eyes light up, and we’ve had a lot of speechies before that haven’t worked out so now that he has one that he has gelled with and who has done such amazing work with him — it would be awful to lose that.” Ms Sutherland said they always made an extra effort to remain positive; anything else had a negative impact on Darcey. Despite that, she was nervous about remembering to think of everything that Darcey would need for the duration of the plan — and there was already enough to worry about as a parent of a child with a disability “About three years ago we went to KidsTown and in the time I turned to pass (baby) Brooke to someone, he was gone — just like that. “When you have a non-verbal child that’s terrifying because they can’t call out to you, and he doesn’t even register that he’s lost or that people are looking for him, so he just keeps playing while everyone is thinking the worst. “Of course, he was probably only missing for five minutes, but it felt like two hours to me. It was terrifying, now I choose really carefully what we do. “When you have a child with a disability you can actually be a prisoner in your own home.”

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Early intervention is critical The good news for parents who have a young child with a disability or delayed development is that there is plenty of early intervention support available through NDIS. One of the local organisations who will be providing NDIS-funded services to children aged zero to six will be Goulburn Valley Health, under the watchful eye of Keith Downing, the program manager responsible for early childhood intervention. “Working with the zero to six age group is of critical importance; identifying problems early on and getting early intervention has been shown to make a significant difference to children’s development,” Mr Downing said. He said there was a large range of disabilities and reasons for young children needing early intervention, from delayed development through to disability, and while some children only needed intervention for a period of time, many had more complex needs.

“Children can come with delays across a range of domains; they could be struggling with speech and fine motor skills for example, or they could have complex needs that require ongoing support.” Mr Downing said the one thing all children had in common was that they learned best in their own home where they were comfortable and surrounded by the people who were important to them. “Children learn best in their natural environment, that’s where they live so that’s where they learn the most. Children learn a lot from their parents and their siblings so working with them at home is ideal,” he said. “It’s amazing to watch the staff when they are down on the floor with the kids

because it looks like they are just playing, but they’re not, they’re doing so much more. We’ve got a really wonderful team here, I’m very proud of them. “Play is really important because, as we all know, children learn through play. Through guided play they learn the safe use of their body, how to test their physical self and develop their speech and social skills.” The early intervention team uses a model of service where families are allocated a key worker who is the primary point of contact for the rest of the team working with the child, and has the opportunity to really get to know the children and their families through regular in-home visits. The key worker can also leave the family with strategies to continue using with their child in natural ways throughout their day. “This works much better because it reduces the pressure on families and the

key worker can really get to know the family because they go out and visit the family regularly,” Mr Downing said. He said the key worker model of service was also great because it built up the confidence and capacity of families so that if their child needed ongoing assistance over the age of seven, they were better equipped to navigate the system and advocate for the needs of their child. The details of children who are currently accessing services through Better Start, the Department of Education and Training Early Childhood Intervention Service (ECIS) or Helping Children with Autism (HCWA) should have their details supplied to NDIS already and will be contacted soon. But anybody who has questions, or cares for a young child with a disability or delayed development and needs support for the first time, should contact NDIS or Intereach.

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2018

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Work is first step towards independence For Sam Cook, work is just part of his game plan to grow up and do all the things his two brothers do. For Sam, an outgoing 23-year-old with Down syndrome, working one day a week means so much more than just a day out of the house. Sam’s father, Darren Cook, said his son had a very good idea of how he wanted to live his life as an adult. “The reason why he wants to work is because he sees his brothers go off to work and he wants to be like them,” Darren said. “Working with Foott Waste gets him out into the community and it works well for Sam because he’s a very social person.” But now after watching his brothers work for a few years and then move out of home, Sam saw it as a “natural progression” for himself. Darren said the idea Sam would one day have both the opportunity and the capacity to move out of home was a positive, even if it had taken a lot of getting used to for his parents. “When Sam was born we had to get it into our heads that Sam was going to be with us forever, he said. “That realisation that he’s going to fly the coop one day was a bit of a shock, it’s hard to explain but it was a bit emotional. “You know all of your other kids are going to move out of home one day, at least they’ve got that opportunity, but we just never thought Sam would have that opportunity so when were told that he was a candidate it was something that we really had to get our heads around.” ConnectGV Future Directions general manager Treena Best, who assisted with Sam’s NDIS plan, said that working, and getting access to skills development and training, were all important steps to help Sam to achieve his goal to move out of home one day. “It’s one of Sam’s goals in his NDIS plan that he wants to move out of home by the time he’s 26, he wants help building his capacity so that he can do that,” 10

Mrs Best said. “It’s about learning those skills from experience that we take for granted — cooking, cleaning, budgeting, using public transport.” Darren said while it was a fairly new idea that Sam could one day move out of home, as parents they had always tried to give Sam a level of independence and tried to teach him to be comfortable with new experiences — although it had not always been easy.

“Working with Foott Waste gets him out into the community and it works well for Sam because he’s a very social person.” Darren Cook “We’re trying to get Sam used to things because we have known people who have lived with their parents their whole lives — they’ve almost been institutionalised at home — and then the parents have died,” he said. “Just leaving him in respite care for the first time was heart-wrenching, but we had to look at it as a short-term pain for long-term gain. “There was a lot of him crying, and then us crying in the car … but we knew people who couldn’t do it (respite) and now they are stuck having to rely on relatives that aren’t always available.” Working had given Sam a purpose, and while it had taken a while for the staff at Foott Waste to find the right job for Sam, it had ultimately been good for everyone, Darren said. “It’s not that hard, it’s just a matter of working with the person, parents and services involved and finding out what they can do, and I don’t know that a lot of other businesses would have.”

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2019

Sam Cook and his father Darren Cook.

NDIS GOULBURN LAUNCH

Opening up a world of opportunities Having NDIS in the Goulburn region means the opportunity for a lot of young people to do the simple things others have always taken for granted. ConnectGV Future Directions general manager Treena Best said NDIS represented the first real chance for some young people with a disability to move out of home. “I see accommodation as a real area of growth for people with disabilities, where they can be supported in various accommodation models that enable them to be as independent as possible, either at their current residence or somewhere new,” Mrs Best said. “There’s potentially the opportunity for people to move into a home and live with their friends, with support from carers in the mornings, during the day, at night. “Under the previous state funding model there were limited supported accommodation options, which meant people with disabilities had to remain living at home with their families or carers

or fit into what was available.” The NDIS also represented the first chance for some to become part of the community, develop new skills, and enter work or further training, Mrs Best said. “There’s an opportunity now for people with disabilities to be creatively and adequately supported to develop the necessary skills to be more independent and part of their local community. That could be as simple as having the adequate equipment, ramps, wheel chairs, devices to improve their current living arrangements, or support from a carer in whatever model that meets the person’s care and support needs.” ConnectGV has been operating for more than 60 years and provides day programs, supported employment, individual support and accommodation options for people with disabilities. Mrs Best said for NDIS to work effectively, people with disabilities needed to be included, accepted and allowed the opportunities that most people take for granted in society. “A lot of people haven’t had the opportunity to develop skills, make friendships, go to day services, go to employment, engage in sport — because

Karen Parr with Treena Best from ConnectGV.

they haven’t been able to get out into the community,” she said. “For some people it’s about feeling acknowledged, valued and connected. “People with disabilities are often underestimated, there’s so many jobs that people with a disability can do, it’s just about having that right employer to give them a go.” For Karen Parr, who has been attending the ConnectGV day program for more than 20 years, the change to

NDIS was seamless and she has already achieved one of her goals — to increase her attendance at the day program where she loved socialising and writing the Cooking Corner segment of the ConnectGV newsletter. The transition into NDIS had also meant Miss Parr now had the funding to support her at home, get out of the house, into the community, indulge in her love of rom-coms and lunch occasionally with friends and family.

Commence your NDIS services within days IT’S A MATTER OF CHOICE AND IT’S YOUR CHOICE THAT MATTERS AT CONNECTGV ConnectGV is a registered NDIS provider that offers the following services to meet individual needs ... Individual Supports Individual Supports are diverse and at ConnectGV we offer a range of activities and programs to meet your goals and needs that you have identified in your NDIS plan. Employment At ConnectGV we operate a number of Social Enterprises and partner with local businesses to provide work experience, pre-employment options and employment through community connections. Accommodation Under the NDIS ConnectGV offer a range of living options to suit your needs.

71b Wyndham Street, Shepparton 5821 2466 | connectgv.com.au

Care Support Network (CSN) is a provider of Support Coordination and Plan Management services. To meet growing demand, we have expanded our team to ensure that all referrals are managed by qualified staff in a prompt manner. We currently have no wait list and can ensure that services commence within 3 business days. At CSN we pride ourselves on individualised service provision that is both flexible and accommodating of participant needs. What can participants expect from CSN?

What can providers expect from CSN?

By focusing on the things that really matter to a participant, CSN strives to maintain high quality service through: • Timely delivery of services. • Keeping participants fully informed about changes in the NDIS space. • Actively involving clients in all decisionmaking processes. • We welcome feedback about the quality of our services. • We enable clients to maximise all resources available to them.

Providers engaging with CSN can expect a superior level of service, including: • Transparency. • Open communication. • Timely service delivery. • Timely payments for all services delivered.

1300 177 577 | info@mycsn.com.au NATIONAL OFFICE: Suite 7, 96 Manchester Rd, Mooroolbark

NDIS provider no. 4050021005

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2018

NDIS GOULBURN LAUNCH

Help is just a phone call away

Rights Information and Advocacy Centre (RIAC) Shepparton advocate Tanya Harding.

Rights Information and Advocacy Centre staff don’t get to hear a lot of positive NDIS stories, but that’s because their speciality is helping out when things go wrong. Shepparton Rights Information and Advocacy Centre (RIAC) advocate Tanya Harding said one of the best things about the service her not-for-profit organisation provided was that it was completely independent so people knew their advocate was always on their side. “The beauty of us is we’re not selling anything, we’re independent of all services and the NDIS, we are simply advocates for the individual and their right to get the services they choose,” Mrs Harding said. “We’re the ones that everyone calls when they have a problem, even some of the service providers will call us because they are trying to get the right supports for each individual.” An organisation dedicated to building the capacity and wellbeing of individuals, families, carers and communities through advocacy and support services, RIAC has been working with NDIS since it began in the Geelong area in 2013. Notably, RIAC has been involved in several landmark Federal Court decisions given in favour of participants, including that chiropractic care could be a reasonable and necessary treatment and therefore funded under NDIS. Thanks to the many people who had been identified as needing early access to the scheme, Mrs Harding personally had already experienced the NDIS and what could go wrong on a local level. “In print the NDIS is amazing, but in reality things go wrong. I’ve been able to get a few good results with NDIS so it’s not all bad, but the review process is a real problem.” As the biggest health reform since Medicare, there were going to be some “teething problems”, Mrs Harding said. She said the main problem RIAC had seen was the ridiculously long time people had to wait to get their plans reviewed when they were unhappy with the original plan or had been rejected. While participants had three months from when they got their plan to request 12

a review, NDIS had as much time as was considered ‘fair and reasonable’ — which meant there was no real clear time limit for the NDIS to respond and it often took too long. “The review process is absolutely disgraceful; some people are waiting for six months for a decision to be made and they’re running out of money for the things they need — and that’s a big deal when the things you need are to get out of bed in the morning,” she said. The good news was that there were some things people could do to maximise their chances of getting the plan they needed and avoid the heartache of an unscheduled review altogether. “I always recommend that people make a diary to take in, write down everything from the moment the person wakes up to the moment they go to sleep. What does that look like on their worst day? Because that’s when you really need help the most, on your worst days,” Mrs Harding said. “We just say, do not go in by yourself. Take someone in who knows your child and what they need to live their life, someone who knows you.” But for those who had to appeal an NDIS decision, RIAC would be able to help them every step of the way, Mrs Harding said. The first step was for participants to request an unscheduled review, and if that didn’t work, the second step was to make a complaint through the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. “If someone has received their plan and it’s not right — maybe they got $1000 for transport but they really needed $10 000 — and they have put in for a review and heard nothing for months or they’ve gotten a response from NDIS that they don’t agree with, then it is time for the tribunal process,” she said. “We help with applying for Legal Aid, assist them with their appeal, help them to understand their plan. Even though

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2019

“I always recommend that people make a diary to take in, write down everything from the moment the person wakes up to the moment they go to sleep. What does that look like on their worst day? Because that’s when you really need help the most, on your worst days.” Tanya Harding

people might fear it thinking it is like a court case, but it’s not, it’s a tribunal hearing and more often than not it’s conciliated before it gets to an actual hearing.” RIAC in Shepparton is responsible for a huge area spanning the shires

of Mitchell, Murrindindi, Strathbogie, Moira, Greater Shepparton and half of Campaspe. Contact RIAC for assistance by phone on 5822 1944 or via the website at: riac.org.au/contact-us/

NDIS GOULBURN LAUNCH

Help for people with Here are RIAC’s tips for planning to avoid missing out on funding for additional disabilities: more than one disability 1 4 6 Confirm with NDIS what disabilities you have been accepted into NDIS under.

There is nothing in the NDIS legislation or rules that says a person can only be funded for a primary disability. Rights Information and Advocacy Centre (RIAC) has put together some information to help people who have more than one disability navigate the NDIS planning process. If each of your disabilities meets the access requirements then the funding you receive in your NDIS plan should relate to all your disabilities, not just your ‘primary’ one.

Ensure your NDIS plan reflects all of your disability support needs that you have been accepted onto the scheme under.

If during your plan meeting you are required to choose a primary disability, you should object to this and request relevant funding for all the disabilities you have been accepted onto NDIS under.

If your plan does not reflect all your disability support needs you have been accepted onto NDIS under, you can submit an internal review of your NDIS plan.

If your plan does not reflect all your disability support needs you can also submit a complaint to NDIS regarding the way you have been treated.

If NDIS has not attempted to resolve your complaint within 21 days you can submit a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman. By submitting an internal review you can attempt to resolve the shortfall of funding in your plan to reflect your disability needs. By submitting a complaint you can increase awareness to NDIS and the Commonwealth Ombudsman about this issue to bring about large-scale changes.

•Please note: If you have been granted access to NDIS for one disability, and you believe you have more than one disability you would like supports for, you can submit an access request for any other disabilities that meet NDIS access criteria.

Helping you prepare and get the best out of your NDIS Plan

FamilyCare Support Coordinators have extensive experience in working with people with a disability, their family and carers, and have a vast knowledge of the local service system. Servicing Shepparton, Moira, Mitchell, Murrindindi and Strathb ogie shires.

IntoRec Program

What is support coordination?

Support Coordination helps you to implement your NDIS plan and ﬁnd services and supports in your local community.

Why is pre-planning important?

• Understand the NDIS and what you can expect from your NDIS Plan. • Reﬂect on current supports and future needs. • Consider short and long term goals to be included in the plan. • Prepare for your planning meeting and who will attend. • Build your knowledge and conﬁdence in choosing your supports in the future. FamilyCare will partner with you to help identify your goals and plan for NDIS to achieve these goals.

Contact Leah Ross NDIS Transition Co-ordinator (03) 5823 7072

We can help you to: • Understand your NDIS Plan. • Connect with service providers. • Set up Service Agreements with providers. • Monitor and review your supports and goals. • Prepare for your next Plan review. • Build your knowledge and conﬁdence in coordinating your supports in the future. Support Coordinators work in partnership with you to help you decide how you utilise your NDIS supports to achieve your goals.

Contact Katie Millen NDIS Support Co-ordinator (03) 5823 7081

Shepparton Service Area 19 Welsford Street | (03) 5823 7000 Seymour Service Area 64 High Street | (03) 5735 4600

The IntoRec Program has a range of programs and social activities to assist people with a disability to interact socially, develop life skills, and to give them the conﬁdence to access the community. IntoRec programs are developed according to participant needs, and include a range of supported activities that assist in the development of skills for the beneﬁt of participants as they move through life. NDIS supports include: • A range of recreational activities for young people up to 18 years. • Activities and camps for people aged over 18. • Individual support tailored to the participant’s goals, including personal care and high and complex care-needs support. • And many more supports, just enquire and tell us what you need.

Contact IntoRec intorec@familycare.net.au (03) 5823 7041

Registered NDIS Provider

www.familycare.net.au NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2018

NDIS GOULBURN LAUNCH

Case manager is a support ‘superstar’

Eloise Grabham can provide case management and support co-ordination for people on a NDIS plan.

When most people seem to be at least a little bit confused about NDIS, Eloise Grabham stands out because she seems to know exactly how it all works. A Community Interlink GV Health support co-ordinator and case manager, Mrs Grabham has been described as everything from a “superstar” to a “godsend” by her clients. Mrs Grabham has already helped about 100 people transition into NDIS in her role, where she works to help participants get the most out of their NDIS plans. “We walk alongside families and parents in the NDIS to help them and support them how they want to be supported,” Mrs Grabham said. “It’s about providing the individual with the support they need based on what their needs are, but the whole family 14

comes across; I’m not just working with the individual, it’s their families, carers and supports too.” After 20 years in the disability services sector, including about two working in the same role in the Loddon area, Mrs Grabham has always embraced NDIS as a positive opportunity for people living with a disability and their families. “The NDIS is the biggest government services reform since Medicare so I’m really excited to be in it from the beginning,” she said. “People championed for years for us to get a system like this and it is so exciting.” She said one of the biggest differences

NDIS Goulburn Launch Shepparton News Feature FEBRUARY 2019

under NDIS was that it approached funding disability support in a much more modern way, whereby individuals were the focal point, and providing support was more about providing equality and everyday access rather than waiting until people were in crisis. “In the old days we got block funding and were told how to support people whereas the NDIS looks at the individual not the disability. “I think people are feeling like they have a voice, like they have control.” And so far, Mrs Grabham’s experience with both her peers and participants had been overwhelmingly positive. “Like anything it takes time, but it is so worth it in the end. My work is fantastic, the people I work with are so passionate about getting people the supports they need. “There are challenges, but we are getting so many more people help, and so many people help who did not get any support before. We have people getting

support in the home that they were just not able to get before.” One of the other things she loved about NDIS was that it was responsive both to the individual and as a system, because people could easily appeal a decision — and decisions made by the Australian Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and the Federal Court of Australia were used to inform the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) of how the scheme should operate in future cases. “It’s a lifelong relationship whereby if someone makes a decision that you don’t like, the great thing about the NDIS is there are lots of avenues to explore and challenge the decisions that have been made,” Mrs Grabham said. “It has really changed since it began five years ago, and it will continue to evolve. “The NDIS is still seeking clarification about what the extent of its responsibility is, and the AAT are helping to provide that.”

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info@greengraphics.com.au www.greengraphics .com.au

8 Templeton St, Castlemaine VIC 3450 (03) 5472 5300 info@greengraphics.com.au www.greengraphics .com.au

The alliance was formed to ensure the availability of locally governed Home Care and NDIS supports to communities within our region. As a public health entity, Community Interlink is not run for profits and its members are held to the highest government standards in NDIS and Home Care supports. Health

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Support Coordination helps you to navigate the complex NDIS world and get the most out of your NDIS Plan. Community Interlink Support Coordination provides you with a dedicated Support Coordinator to help you understand your NDIS funding, the services available to you and how to access them. Your Support Coordinator will teach you all you need to know about the NDIS so that you have control and independence to design, develop and implement your own supports. Support Coordination is a NDIS funded service separate from direct care services. For more information contact our friendly team.

Having a Support Coordinator is like having a personal NDIS assistant on your side.

1300 203 203

info@interlink.org.au

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A HomePrimary Care Logos Package is an Australian Government funding subsidy awarded to eligible seniors with care needs. Community Interlink is a registered Home Care Package Provider. Once activated by a registered provider, your Home Care Package can be used to purchase services and equipment to help you remain in your own home. Call us or visit our website for more information.

Community Interlink Category Logos November 2018

Albury Wodonga

NDIS 0 - 6

Community Interlink is a partnership between regional hospitals and health services from across central and northern Victoria and southern New EE South Wales. N GR GRAPHICS

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NDIS 7 - 65 years

If your child is aged 0-6 years and has a Community Interlink registered NDIS providers Primary Logos developmental delay or disability, they may be can assist you with supports including: eligible to receive support from support coordination, home nursing, Community Interlink via the NDIS. physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, HOME EARLY disABILITY Qualified in speech pathology, occupational speech pathology, nutrition and dietetics, CHILDHOOD CARE SUPPORTS therapy, physiotherapy and early social help to accessdisABILITY aids and equipment EARLY support childhood at home NDIS 7work, - 65 years SUPPORTSHOME for seniors NDIS 0 - 6 yearsCARE CHILDHOOD SUPPORTS education, our Early Childhood Key Workers can and transition assistance. support at home NDIS 7 - 65 years SUPPORTS for seniors NDIS 0 - 6 years support your child to achievePrimary their very Logos best - smaller size learning and development outcomes. Primary Logos - smaller size

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www.communityinterlink.org.au

Delivering the NDIS in your community Intereach is a community and human services organisation which partners with the National Disability Insurance Agency to deliver NDIS Local Area Coordination (LAC) and Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) services in the NDIS Goulburn, Loddon and Mallee service areas (Victoria) and the Murrumbidgee service area (NSW). In NSW, Intereach provides LAC services on behalf of NDIS Partner, Social Futures. In the Goulburn region, our main office is located at 1 Sobraon St, Shepparton. Goulburn covers the local government areas of: Greater Shepparton Moira Mitchell Murrindindi Strathbogie Intereach is a not-for-profit community organisation working across the Riverina Murray region of NSW and Northern Victoria. We are committed to developing community infrastructure and supporting rural and regional communities. Today, we have 17 offices which are located in Albury, Bendigo, Castlemaine, Cootamundra, Corowa, Deniliquin, Echuca, Finley, Griffith, Hay, Kyneton, Maryborough, Mildura, Seymour, Shepparton, Swan Hill and Wagga Wagga.

For more NDIS information, visit any Intereach office, or call us on 1300 488 226 or email us at LAC@intereach.com.au

1300 488 226 | www.intereach.com.au