Welcome back to The Voice newsletter! As we approach the end of another busy quarter, I’m excited to bring you the latest edition of our participant and family newsletter The Voice.
This issue is packed with important updates from our ongoing commitment to enhance the support we provide to you, our participants and families.
Transforming Community Services
I’m pleased to share some exciting news about the recent launch of our Transforming Community Services Program, which will bring improvements to the services we offer.
This program will build on our existing work to ensure we deliver services that are valued, trusted, and well-connected to all the supports we offer.
Our Transforming Community Services Program is focussing on Direct Supports, Groups, and Community Participation services across our multiple sites. It comes with new investment, including a dedicated Program Executive who will ensure the continued delivery of high-quality and sustainable services for our participants and the improvements needed to make sure the outcomes participants choose are delivered.
We’re looking forward to what’s ahead in this space and will keep you updated as we progress.
If you have thoughts and ideas that you’d like to share with us, please get in touch with Kathryn Key at Kathryn.Key@abilityoptions.org.au.
Disability Employment Services
The Disability Employment Services (DES) contract let by the Australian Government in July 2018 was slated to end on 30 June 2025.
It is being replaced by a new service for participants with disability called Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA). Along with our Employment Services partner CoAct, we submitted our tender response towards the end of last year.
We were notified that a decision has been taken to extend the existing contract until 31 October this year due to the calling of the Federal Election. In the meantime, we continue to provide great support to our participants in DES.
While this news wasn’t ideal for our teams and participants, who would like certainty, the extension means that DES will continue as usual at least until the end of October.
We now expect to be notified of the tender outcome in July this year depending on the view of the new Minister for Social Services, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, as she gets up to speed with her new portfolio. We will keep our participants and staff updated as we know more.
Family Forums Employment Services
Our Executive team and Board of Directors regularly visit our services, meeting participants and team members, and hearing their experiences and feedback. It is always my favourite part of the job, and I’ve had the privilege of visiting over 50 of our homes, offices and community sites since July last year.
In addition to these visits, we invite the broader Ability Options community of participants and families to meet with our leaders at our Family Forums. So far in FY25, we have hosted forums in Port Macquarie, Forster, Charlestown and Sydney, with more planned.
The forums have been incredibly valuable in helping us understand what we’re doing well and where we can make improvements in our services to better support participants and families.
One of the improvements we are working on following discussion with families from our Seven Hills Day Program, is re-establishing the onsite café at Prospect Highway. The café offers the opportunity for skill building and activities such as writing ingredient lists, shopping and barista skills. We’re keen to utilise the cafe for participants across both our community and employment services. We have submitted a grant application that would help us achieve this and hope to hear the outcome soon!
We plan to continue Family Forums and extend to new locations over the coming months. I hope to see you there!
Sector changes: Mandatory registration
Another key update is about the upcoming mandatory registration for Supported Independent Living (SIL) and Support Coordination services providers.
As a registered NDIS provider, Ability Options fully supports the upcoming mandatory registration requirements for Supported Independent Living (SIL) and Support Coordination services and recommendations for proportionate registration in the whole sector arising from the Disability Royal Commission and NDIS Review. We believe this first step into SIL and Support Coordination initiative will enhance the quality and safety of services, ensuring that these providers meet the necessary service standards.
While the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission says that no changes or transition to mandatory registration will happen before 1 July 2025, its implementation will hold providers accountable, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Whilst we saw in the Disability Royal Commission that being a registered provider does not absolutely guarantee safety and quality, with improvements in compliance and the engagement of staff, participants and families, I truly believe registration is necessary as part of the requirements to make sure standards are upheld.
In my view, registration means participants and their families can have greater confidence in the services they receive, knowing that providers are committed to delivering high-quality care, are monitored, and are held to account; it is incredibly important that we make sure all providers work to the same standards.
The current proposals for proportionate registration are intended to ensure choice and control are maintained underpinned by oversight for safety and quality. Of the approximately 170,000 providers of NDIS services in Australia, less than 10% are registered.
At Ability Options, we are dedicated to supporting participants in achieving their goals and inclusion in their communities. We view these regulatory changes as a positive step towards a more robust and trustworthy disability sector.
Looking ahead
On another note, I wanted to share an update on how our organisation is travelling leading into the new financial year.
As I write this update, we now know the outcome of the Federal election and the Ministry has just been announced. In the sectors we operate in, we have four new Ministers; the Hon Mark Butler MP for NDIS along with his current Health portfolio, the Hon Jenny McAllister – Minister for the NDIS (assisting Mark Butler), the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP for Social Services which includes DES and the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP for Employment and Workplace Relations which includes Workforce Australia.
These are all new portfolios so we’ll have to wait to see how/whether/which reforms will be implemented.
Within Ability Options, as a not-for-profit, we work hard to make sure that we can meet our mission every day. We have new homes being planned to offer participants looking for homes, our new Medium Term Accommodation service on the beautiful Central Coast is getting up and running in newly upgraded accommodation and we are revitalising our community participation programs. There is growth in our direct support services as well in group activities. If you want to know more about the services, we have available to you, please get in touch with your Ability Options contact, lodge an enquiry on our website or email me at: julia.squire@abilityoptions.org.au
Best wishes
Julia.
