Enabling people with disability to live free from abuse, neglect and harm requires more than just effective regulation. Providers of disability supports must have appropriate knowledge, practices and organisational cultures to prevent and respond to abuse. The NDIS will change the profile of risk which organisations must manage, but it will not eliminate risk. NDS’s Zero Tolerance initiative has been effective in creating learning resources, awareness and advice for providers; it should be funded to continue as the workforce expands to support 460,000 people with disability. What is Zero Tolerance? Zero Tolerance is a framework developed to assist disability service providers to understand, implement and improve practices which safeguard the rights of people they support. Led by NDS in partnership with the disability sector, is: a way for organisations to understand the actions they can take to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect and violence of people with disability a clear message that abuse, neglect and violence are not okay a way of thinking about abuse as a human rights issue not a disability issue an organisational and personal commitment to act on: - anything that a person with disability be or feel unsafe - anything that doesn’t support a person’s human rights a collection of resources to educate and staff at all levels to understand their responsibilities in preventing and responding to abuse a way of working collaboratively within and outside the disability sector to prevent and respond to abuse Expand work opportunities for people with disability Lifting the low and static workforce participation and employment rates of people with disability should be a priority. NDS welcomes the current review of Disability Employment Services (DES) and encourages the Government to continue to draw on the sector’s advice on how the DES program can be made more effective. Index the fees Lifting the performance of the DES program requires lifting the funding. The lack of indexation over many years has seen average funding per DES user decline markedly in real terms (from $4,445 in 2009–10 to $3,657 in 2013–14). DES providers cannot be expected to improve their outcome rates if resources continue to shrink. The Government should increase service and outcome fees. Fund the implementation of DES reform The steady reduction in DES funding and the high compliance burden have resulted in providers controlling their costs by cutting staff numbers and reducing investment in staff training. This has impaired the effectiveness of the program.
Enabling people with disability to live free from abuse, neglect and harm requires more than just effective regulation. Providers of disability supports must have appropriate knowledge, practices and organisational cultures to prevent and respond to abuse. The NDIS will change the profile of risk which organisations must manage, but it will not eliminate risk. NDS’s Zero Tolerance initiative has been effective in creating learning resources, awareness and advice for providers; it should be funded to continue as the workforce expands to support 460,000 people with disability. What is Zero Tolerance? Zero Tolerance is a framework developed to assist disability service providers to understand, implement and improve practices which safeguard the rights of people they support. Led by NDS in partnership with the disability sector, is: a way for organisations to understand the actions they can take to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect and violence of people with disability a clear message that abuse, neglect and violence are not okay a way of thinking about abuse as a human rights issue not a disability issue an organisational and personal commitment to act on: - anything that a person with disability be or feel unsafe - anything that doesn’t support a person’s human rights a collection of resources to educate and staff at all levels to understand their responsibilities in preventing and responding to abuse a way of working collaboratively within and outside the disability sector to prevent and respond to abuse Expand work opportunities for people with disability Lifting the low and static workforce participation and employment rates of people with disability should be a priority. NDS welcomes the current review of Disability Employment Services (DES) and encourages the Government to continue to draw on the sector’s advice on how the DES program can be made more effective. Index the fees Lifting the performance of the DES program requires lifting the funding. The lack of indexation over many years has seen average funding per DES user decline markedly in real terms (from $4,445 in 2009–10 to $3,657 in 2013–14). DES providers cannot be expected to improve their outcome rates if resources continue to shrink. The Government should increase service and outcome fees. Fund the implementation of DES reform The steady reduction in DES funding and the high compliance burden have resulted in providers controlling their costs by cutting staff numbers and reducing investment in staff training. This has impaired the effectiveness of the program.
C2016-052_National-Disability-Services.docx