ACROD NSW Regional Meeting Report

1
ACROD NSWRegional Meeting Report

• May 2006

2
NSW Issues Report

• Community Participation 10 Year plan
• SACS Award Update
• Draft DADHC Policies for DADHC Funded Services
• Occupational Health and Safety Act Review

3
Community Participation Reform

• CPP Stakeholder Group reconvened.
• Discussions about development of CPP Guidelines.
• Guidelines to be finalised by 1 July.
• CP program participants currently being assessed.
  

4
Community Participation Reform

• Tender closed 18 April
• Concerns about tender process and documentation.
• TTW service user funding issues
• Awaiting clarity on future funding for service
  users who have not achieved employment.

5
NSW Governments 10 Year Plan on Disability

• NSW Government will shortly release a 10 year
  plan for Disability
• The minister attended 9 regional consultation
  meetings through the development of the plan.
• ACROD has released 10 non-negotiables to
  influence the 10 year plan.

6
NSW Governments 10 Year Plan on Disability

• Key themes are
• seamless access to programs and services
• maximising independence and choice
• transparent service purchasing which ensures
  sustainability
• accredited providers,
• A standard of 5 days or 30 hours of funding
  support per person per week, if desired, in all
  community access day programs

7
SACS Award Update

• New SACS Award. 3.5 p.a for next 3 years
• ACROD has written to the Minister seeking
  assistance for the wage and associated cost
  increases
• The Minister has indicated that the Award
  increase will not be funded at this stage.
• DADHC provided funding indexation on recurrent
  grants of 2.75 for the 2005-2006 financial year.

8
Comments on Draft DADHC Policies

• DADHC consulting on draft policies for supported
  accommodation services
• ACROD has submitted comments on policies
  regarding managing client health, health and
  well-being for young people, managing problem
  behaviours, and responding to abuse, assault and
  neglect.
• ACROD met with DADHC to determine the process for
  consultation
• ACROD and DADHC agreed to establish Guidelines
  for Developing and Reviewing Policies for DADHC
  Funded Services

9
DADHC Draft Policies

• A list of policy priorities and timeline for
  implementation should be made available
• ACROD representatives assisted DADHC to review
  the submissions to the draft health policy.
• These discussions with DADHC are a prelude to the
  establishment of a purposeful consultative
  arrangement on policy development for the NGO
  sector

10
OHS Act Review

• Announcement of a raft reforms has been made.
• All items called for by ACROD were included in
  the reforms, including
• Better definition of responsibilities.
• Clarification of key issues such as definitions
  of workplaces, of what is reasonably practical
  and qualification of obligations.
• Improved qualification on the liabilities of
  directors and managers.
• The establishment of enforceable undertakings
  as an alternative to fines.

11
ACROD NSWRegional Meeting Report

• May 2006

12
ACROD NSW Activity Report

• Disability Services OHS Project
• Sub-committees
• ACROD Conferences

13
Disability Services OHS Project (DSOP)

• DSOP webpage established on ACROD NSW website.
• Manual handling forum held on 1 December 2005.
• Violence forum to be held on 16 February 2006
• Working at external locations forum to be held
  on 16 March 2006.
• ACROD Discussion Paper on OHS Challenges in the
  Disability Services Sector released on 16
  December 2005.
• DSOP Working Group currently developing project
  report.

14
ACROD NSW Capacity

• ACROD is seeking to grow capacity.
• Currently recruiting a new policy officer
• Developing an additional project officer position

15
Election of Regional Office Bearers
16
ACROD NSW Sub-Committees

• Accommodation Services
• Disability and Ageing
• Social Participation
• Open Employment
• Business Services
• Children and Youth Services

17
ACROD NSW Events

• ACROD NSW 2006 Professional Development Seminar
  Series
• Seminars will be held on Mondays from 10am 4pm
  at the Sydney Masonic Centre, 279 Castlereagh
  Street, Sydney
• Seminar 1 - June 26 Conceptualising Disability
  Planning Support
• Seminar 2 - August 21 Behavioural Support
  Environment and Communication
• Seminar 3 - October 16 Disability Sector
  Development

18
ACROD NSW Events (cont.)

• The Next Five Years Key Issues Facing Children
  and Young People with a Disability and their
  Families
• Monday 5 June 2006 from 10am 3.30pm at the
  Sydney Masonic Centre, 279 Castlereagh Street,
  Sydney.
• The next ACROD NSW Annual Conference will be held
  19 20 February 2007. Mark your diaries early !!

19
ACROD National Events

• ACROD Social Participation Conference
• 30-31 May 2006 at Star City, Sydney
• Theme The Future, Solutions and Outcomes
• Register at http//www.acrod.org.au/conferences/SP
  2006/home.htm
• ACROD Employment Forum
• 31 July 1 August, Hilton on the Park, Melbourne
• Boosting your business without losing your
  mission

20
ACROD National Events (cont.)

• The annual ACROD CEO Meeting will be held in
  Canberra on 29 - 30 November

21
ACROD NSWRegional Meeting Report

• May 2006

22
Federal Issues Report

• Business Services
• Open Employment

23
Business Services

• Under WorkChoices legislation, there is
  recognition of the existing wage instruments.
• Existing wage instruments will remain in place
  for two years.
• Disability Business Services will be included
  among referral options for the new Job Capacity
  Assessors (formerly comprehensive work capacity
  assessors).

24
Business Services cont.

• ACROD has recently asked the Government restore
  its policy of transitional dual funding to
  support job seekers in a Disability Business
  Service who wish seek to seek open employment

25
Open Employment

• The future of the capped DOES program.
• Government has decided not to release the 4000
  new places to the capped DOES program.
• ACROD has raised strong objections with the
  minister.
• The places have been re-directed to the uncapped
  stream and there will be no new growth places for
  the capped program in 2006-07

26
Open Employment - Uncapped Places

• Providers of uncapped disability employment
  assistance were announced on March 30
• The new uncapped places come on stream from July
  1
• 20 of the uncapped DOES providers will be new
• Under DEWRs tender system, only a minority of
  current DOES providers will be allocated uncapped
  places.

27
ACROD NSWRegional Meeting Report

• May 2006