NDIS Mental Health Network Update – October 2016
- Training – NDIS organisational readiness training for mental health service providers
- Webinar – Introduction to the NDIS for mental health carers – Friday 21 October 2016
- A request for information - National Disability Services Webinar – Improve IT4NDIS
- A funding announcement regarding NDIS Workforce Innovation
- A peer-led NDIS engagement activity on Palm Island
- An expert workshop on supported decision making, psychosocial disability and the NDIS
- Release of Mental Health Australia NDIS Capacity Building Project Papers
- Release of an NDIA Mental Health Sector Reference Group Communique
- News about the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework
- Release of a new report: Effective, evidence-based psychosocial interventions suitable for early intervention in the National Disability Insurance Scheme
- Reminder about the NDIS Communications Toolkit
NDIS Organisational Readiness Training for Mental Health Service Providers
To support mental health providers in the successful transition to NDIS operating environment, Mental Health Australia has partnered with National Disability Services, the Mental Health Coordinating Council of New South Wales, the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health and the Northern Territory Mental Health Coalition to deliver a suite of training. This will include national webinars, and face to face workshops in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory, to be run between now and mid-November 2016.
Both the face to face workshops and online webinars will be offered free of charge to mental health service providers.
The training will cover:
- Marketing for Psychosocial Disability Providers
- Costing and Pricing
- Flexible Work Practices
- Strategies for positive organisational change.
Please click here to find out more about the training including information about what’s covered in each of the workshops and their dates, locations and registration information.
Webinar – Introduction to the NDIS for mental health carers – Friday 21 October 2016
Mental Health Australia and Carers Australia present a webinar for mental health carers on the NDIS. The webinar aims to help mental health carers understand the NDIS and provide them with information and resources to help them to support the person they care for to engage with the Scheme.
Webinar panel members include Frank Quinlan, CEO Mental Health Australia, Ara Creswell, CEO Carers Australia, a representative from the National Disability Insurance Agency, and Janet, a mental health carer with experience accessing the National Disability Insurance Scheme. There will be an opportunity for people attending the webinar to ask the panel members questions.
The webinar will be held 4 – 5pm (AEDT) Friday 21 October 2016.
A link to register for this event will be distributed via this network shortly, in the meantime, please save the date in your calendar!
This webinar was made possible by funding provided through the Australian Government’s National Disability Insurance Scheme Sector Development Fund.
National Disability Services NDIS webinar – Improve IT4NDIS
In our last update, we advised you about a free NDIS readiness webinar, which was being run by The Virtual IT Department and National Disability Services. The webinar quickly filled up, and at the moment, we are not able to offer any further webinars. If you missed out on the first session but are still interested in this training, could you please email info@mhaustralia.org to let us know? If there is sufficient demand, we can investigate the possibility of running additional webinars.
If you were not aware of these webinars, here is some background:
In conjunction with The Virtual IT Department, and NDS, Mental Health Australia offered a free, trial webinar as part of the ImproveIT4NDIS project. The project is designed to deliver an accelerated IT Planning and System Selection Program for providers seeking to build their ICT literacy and capability including a road map for upgrading or selecting a system(s) in preparation for the NDIS. This webinar is designed to identify your organisation’s detailed business requirements and draws upon the methodology and resources on the ImproveIT4NDIS website.
Please click here for further information.
Funding NDIS Workforce Innovation
Earlier this month, the Government announced a $5 million fund to identify innovative ways of building and managing the NDIS workforce.
The Innovative Workforce Fund will be run by National Disability Services, using targeted funding to trial innovative workforce projects, with the aim of identifying good practice and sharing.
Please Click here to read more about the Innovative Workforce Fund.
Peer-led NDIS engagement activity on Palm Island
Mental Health Australia recently engaged the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health to work with SOLAS Mental Health and Wellbeing to undertake a peer-led NDIS engagement activity on Palm Island. The activity will include yarning with the local community about the best ways to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with psychosocial disability to engage with the NDIS.
If you would like more information about this activity please email info@mhaustralia.org.
Expert Workshop on Supported Decision Making, Psychosocial Disability and the NDIS
In September, Mental Health Australia and the ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service hosted an Expert Workshop on Supported Decision Making, Psychosocial Disability and the NDIS. Workshop attendees included mental health consumer and carer representatives, academics, and representatives from government and non-government sectors. Attendees discussed the importance of ensuring NDIS participants can effectively exercise their internationally recognised right to decision making.
There was a strong focus on effective methods for raising awareness about, and ensuring effective delivery of, supported decision making through policy and service delivery. Mental Health Australia will use information provided at the workshop to inform advice to government and development of a resource for mental health consumers and carers on supported decision making, psychosocial disability and the NDIS.
This workshop forms part of Mental Health Australia’s NDIS Capacity Building project and ADACAS’ 25 year anniversary events. For more information about this workshop, please click here to read the issues paper on supported decision making, psychosocial disability and the NDIS at the link below.
Mental Health Australia NDIS Capacity Building Project papers
In August Mental Health Australia released three papers, which were developed under our NDIS Capacity Building Project. The papers covered:
- mental health carers and the NDIS (developed by Carers Australia in collaboration with Mental Health Australia and a project advisory group)
- supported decision making, psychosocial disability and the NDIS (developed by the ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service in collaboration with Mental Health Australia and the Supported Decision Making Working Group)
- the impact of the NDIS on the mental health workforce (developed by the Mental Health Coordinating Council of NSW on behalf of and in partnership with Community Mental Health Australia and in collaboration with Mental Health Australia and a project advisory group)
The complete papers can be found on our website (please click here).
NDIA Mental Health Sector Reference Group communique
The communique from the June 2016 NDIA Mental Health Sector Reference Group meeting is available on the NDIS website (click here). At its June meeting the Group was provided with an update on plans to transition to full scheme, including the new Participant Pathway as well as the NDIA Community of Practice focusing on enhancing practice for Psychosocial Disability. The group was also provided with updates on the following projects:
- NDIS Reference Packages for Psychosocial Disability
- Joint Supports Design Project
- Operational Access Review for Psychosocial Disability.
NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework
At the 2 September meeting of the Council of Australia Governments Disability Reform Council, the Commonwealth and all states and territories, except for South Australia and the Northern Territory agreed to the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework. The Framework is “designed to ensure a safe environment and quality supports for all NDIS participants” and includes establishment of an independent, national complaints and serious incidents system and a national registrar (for provider registration and compliance) and the appointment of a national Senior Practitioner to enhance reporting of use of restrictive practices (with the states and territories maintaining responsibility for reporting in each jurisdiction).
In relation to worker screening States and Territories would maintain responsibility for screening checks and the Commonwealth for working with governments to develop national policy and standards.
The next step for the Framework is for it to proceed to the next Council of Australian Governments meeting. Please click here to see the full meeting communique.
New report: Effective, evidence-based psychosocial interventions suitable for early intervention in the National Disability Insurance Scheme: promoting psychosocial functioning and recovery
In September Mind Australia released a new report: Effective, evidence-based psychosocial interventions suitable for early intervention in the National Disability Insurance Scheme: promoting psychosocial functioning and recovery.
The report provides a synthesis of evidence on the application of specific supports as early intervention for people experiencing psychosocial disability. The findings it presents are a resource for people in this situation, their families and carers and for NDIA staff involved in local area coordination and the provision of support services.
Please click here to read the report.
Reminder: NDIS Communications Toolkit
The National Disability Insurance Agency has developed a NDIS Ready Communications Toolkit, which provides materials and ideas to help organisations and individuals raise awareness about the NDIS. The toolkit provides key facts, messages and statistics as well as process information to help people apply for an individually funded package. It also offers case studies, social media advice and other resources.
You can find the toolkit on the NDIS website (click here).
Please share your NDIS story
Mental Health Australia is very interested in hearing about your experiences with the NDIS, whether you are a person experiencing psychosocial disability, a carer of someone with a psychosocial disability or a service provider. Your experiences help us understand how the NDIS rollout is working on the ground and provide informed and timely feedback to government. So please share your story with us by emailing info@mhaustralia.org.
Keep in touch
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- If you have any questions about the above please email Emma Coughlan at info@mhaustralia.org.
