Over 20 forums were held for people with disability, support workers and supervisors in Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia to share the message that abuse and neglect of people with disability is – never okay. The forums were run by the Zero Tolerance team in partnership with local advocacy groups and statutory bodies. Participants learned how to use the free Zero Tolerance resources on the NDS website and left empowered to make a tolerance’ ‘zero commitment to supporting the human rights of people with disability. Looking ahead we will be rolling out the forums across regional Northern Territory as well as adding to our range of resources on recognising restrictive practices. This includes a series of new videos for frontline workers and a new research partnership with RMIT University. Further supporting our work in this area is the Quality and Safeguarding Project. Funded by the West Australian Government, this project provided consultancy services for organisations to enhance their capacity to deliver high-quality services and support. Following NDS consultancy support, all participating organisations successfully developed and implemented an action plan to address their key priorities for quality improvement, particularly in embedding policy into daily practice. 30,000 Companion Cards issued in New South Wales Companion Card in NSW reached the milestone of 30,000 cardholders this year. The team made a concerted effort to identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability and those from a non-english speaking background who would benefit from receiving a Companion Card, but might not have heard about the program. The team works closely with service providers and schools to assist people to receive a Companion Card through an onsite assessment process. This model removes the barriers of literacy and language when applying. 3% of NSW Companion Card holders identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander while 12.5% of NSW cardholders have a first language that is not English. Making work work for NDIS plans An Australian first School to Work Transition pilot has been achieving great outcomes in the NDIS Perth Hills site. The aim? To assist nearly 500 students with disability in school years 10-13 to include employment goals in their NDIS plans and attain them through the Customised Employment approach. As a result, more people in WA have employment in their NDIS plans than any other jurisdiction. The approach has been delivered to disability service providers throughout the Perth metropolitan and Lower South West region and recently began in Melbourne and Sydney as word of the concept spread.
Over 20 forums were held for people with disability, support workers and supervisors in Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia – to share the message that abuse and neglect of people with disability is never okay. The forums were run by the Zero Tolerance team in partnership with local advocacy groups and statutory bodies. Participants learned how to use the free Zero Tolerance resources on the NDS website and left empowered to make a ‘zero tolerance’ commitment to supporting the human rights of people with disability. Looking ahead we will be rolling out the forums across regional Northern Territory as well as adding to our range of resources on recognising restrictive practices. This includes a series of new videos for frontline workers and a new research partnership with RMIT University. Further supporting our work in this area is the Quality and Safeguarding Project. Funded by the West Australian Government, this project provided consultancy services for organisations to enhance their capacity to deliver high-quality services and support. Following NDS consultancy support, all participating organisations successfully developed and implemented an action plan to address their key priorities for quality improvement, particularly in embedding policy into daily practice. 30,000 Companion Cards issued in New South Wales Companion Card in NSW reached the milestone of 30,000 cardholders this year. The team made a concerted effort to identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability and those from a non-english speaking background who would benefit from receiving a Companion Card, but might not have heard about the program. The team works closely with service providers and schools to assist people to receive a Companion Card through an onsite assessment process. This model removes the barriers of literacy and language when applying. 3% of NSW Companion Card holders identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander while 12.5% of NSW cardholders have a first language that is not English. Making work work for NDIS plans An Australian first School to Work Transition pilot has been achieving great outcomes in the NDIS Perth Hills site. The aim? To assist nearly 500 students with disability in school years 10-13 to include employment goals in their NDIS plans and attain them through the Customised Employment approach. As a result, more people in WA have employment in their NDIS plans than any other jurisdiction. The approach has been delivered to disability service providers throughout the Perth metropolitan and Lower South West region and recently began in Melbourne and Sydney as word of the concept spread.
NDS_Annual_Report_2017_Accessible.docx