NDIS Minister National Press Club Address and what you might have missed (it's scary!)
Dr George Taleporos (GAICD, PhD)
Disability Sector Leader and Non-Executive Director, Podcast Reasonable & Necessary, Independent Chair of Every Australian Counts, Member of NDIS Independent Advisory Council, Board Member of InLife
At today's National Press Club Address Minister Bill Shorten made some important announcements and reminded me why I have such deep respect for this man and gratitude for his commitment to improving the lives of disabled people.
Then it ended with something really scary that freaked me out! Here is a summary of his announcements and my take on what he had to say.?You'll have to read to the end for the scary bit.
Nice one Bill. Make sure there are specialisations focused on getting young people out of nursing homes, hospitals and other unsuitable institutional settings. Make the agency responsible for planning so that the Local Area Coordinators can focus on community development work and supporting people who aren’t eligible for the scheme. Remember Bill, that was what the Productivity Commission recommended back in the day.
2. Move to long term planning so that plans don't have to be reviewed every 6 to 12 months. Instead move to a multi-year plan system.
That’s great Bill, but three-year plans have been a thing for the last couple of years. What’s new about this Bill? Also, it’s important that the agency does regular check-ins with participants. That could have avoided the tragic death of Anne-Marie Smith. And on that, we desperately need a National Community Visitor Program.
3. Prevent overcharging by providers.
Yes please Bill! And here’s another way to save money, scrap the ridiculous 7 day cancellation notice requirements for service providers. If I reschedule my appointment within 7 days, my provider can easily do paperwork or see another client. They do not need to charge me and the government $200 for doing nothing to assist me. No other customer needs to provide 7 days notice to reschedule an appointment, so why should NDIS participants have to do so?
4.???Review Supported Independent Living (SIL) in institutional settings
Thank you Bill, this is long overdue. We know that institutional settings lead to bad outcomes so please give us choice and control over where we live, who we live with and how we are supported.
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5. Target the misuse of NDIS funds to eliminate unethical practices.
This is important and will require investment in capacity building for people with disabilities and families to make informed choices. I did a podcast to help people understand and avoid unethical providers, please share this video widely.
6. Increase mainstream supports and ensure they deliver on commitments. This will involve the states "stepping up".
We need a whole-of-government approach Bill when it comes to addressing the needs of people with disability. If housing, education, health and all public services were more accessible and inclusive of our needs, there would be less reliance on the NDIS.
And now, the scary bit…
Before I go Bill, you said something today that scared me. Something about mandatory qualifications for people providing personal care. I fully support efforts to increase the skill and capability of the workforce, but mandatory qualifications are not the answer – they would devastate the sector and the lives of many disabled people.
There are thousands of incredibly capable, hard-working people who provide high-quality personal care every day who do not hold disability qualifications but who have the values, skills and attitudes that we desperately need in our sector. Many disabled people like myself depend on these people for our basic needs and it would be devastating and catastrophic if you prevented them from working with us.
Please go ahead and encourage more people to take on certificates in disability and ensure providers invest in training and development. But do not make qualifications mandatory and take away our rights to decide who provides our personal care. You promised us an NDIS where disabled people have choice and control over who provides our support, who comes into our homes and who touches our bodies.?
That’s what we fought for Bill, and we won’t be giving that up.
Please don’t make us fight all over again.
Thanks for reading my article, I always appreciate your reactions, comments and shares. You can check out my?podcast series?and follow me on Twitter @drgeorgethecrip & read more about how we can improve the capability of the disability workforce here
Director at Stabilise Pty Ltd
1 年Great article George! Implementing a National Community Visitors program would be great (as would reinstating independant advocacy services!). I thought providers could only charge a cancellation fee if it was made 24 hours or less before the booking not seven days... ??
Husband, Father, Disability & Inclusion Specialist, PAR Researcher and Consultant
1 年As always great share Dr George Taleporos (GAICD, PhD) , I loved the way you dissected the scary bit, great points as usual, what the honourable should know is that there is need for more people with disability qualifications in leadership for the sector. It does not really help to have qualified disability practitioners led or directed by not qualified leaders,managers or team leaders!
Quality & Safeguarding Manager at Community Living Australia
1 年An excellent response. And I’m glad I read to the end: a great point about the many capable and hard-working people who bring the values, skills and attitudes, which are so crucial to our sector.
Consultancy and advisory services, specialising in disability and community services, public policy, mentoring & coaching. Registered lobbyist.
1 年As always, George, some provocative stuff in this excellent article. I think that, in regard to workers who are supporting people with disability with particularly challenging behaviours, there is a strong case for mandating minimum qualifications. I think this is appropriate both for the safety of the participant and the workers providing the support. We can offer the best, most customised SDA going, however if the quality of support for residents is 'wanting', then things can get ugly quickly.
Manager Advocate at People with Disability Australia
1 年Some years back I was delivering training at a Tafe in Victoria, specifically Certificate IV in Disability. Back then (I'm not sure of the situation now) there was pressure to pass all of the students in class as the completion rate per unit equals funding for Tafe. Not all of the students exhibited the right values and attitudes but sure, they could write up a task analysis on how to make a cup of tea. Teaching procedures is manageable, teaching attitudes and values is more complicated. Not everyone who has a basic qualification possesses the right skills despite being assessed as competent.