Closing date: February 15, 2018
ABC Regional is seeking to champion emerging voices in the disability community in rural and regional Australia. This is an early career opportunity for someone with a lived experience of disability and an interest in telling factual stories that connect with Australians.
For the next eight months, Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station will be running a pilot program using existing beacon and GPS technology to connect to a navigation app on a blind person’s smartphone so they can be provided with audible directions in public spaces.
The ambitious timetable, which the federal government has no plans to extend, has led to the personalised support planning process being done quickly over the phone by staff with limited expertise due to its being outsourced. The goal is to get as many people on NDIS as possible, then worry about how well their needs are being met later.
In a 533-page assessment, it condemned the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) for sacrificing the quality of NDIS plans while rushing to meet enrolment targets.
This report is prepared in accordance with the Mental Health Act 2014, the Supported Residential Services (Private Proprietors) Act 2010 and the Disability Act 2006, This year, the findings of 405 volunteer Community Visitors from throughout the State have been drawn from their 5151 visits and includes recommendations from these findings.
In one home for people with disabilities, toilet paper was rationed. In another, a resident was left in the garden for two hours on a roasting hot day. He had to be taken to hospital for exposure and sunburn.
The Productivity Commission has just released its report investigating the Scheme costs. From an initial review of the document there are some really important findings that reflect the majority of challenges the rollout has encountered to date.
The study examined issues including: the sustainability of scheme costs; jurisdictional capacity (including the complementary disability services provided by the States and Territories); cost pressures (including wage pressures); changes in the agreed escalation parameters; whether efficiencies have been achieved within the scheme; whether there has been any impact on mainstream services; and examine the most appropriate levers to manage any potential cost overruns.
The scale, pace and nature of the changes occurring with the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are key long-term concerns with doubts that the current implementation timeline can be met, according to the most extensive study into the scheme by the Productivity Commission.
Central to the new participant pathway is the delivery of face-to-face engagement for all NDIS plan development, based on the individual’s preference. This improvement has already resulted in a substantial increase in the number of plans being developed in person.