NDIS Capacity Building Project Update 11 – 24 June 2015
Please find below the latest Mental Health Australia NDIS Network Update. In this issue we discuss
- an opinion piece by Mental Health Australia CEO, Frank Quinlan on psychosocial disability and the NDIS;
- an interview by Carers Victoria with Eddie Bartnik – Head of Community Development Authority for the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA);
- a public hearing of the Joint Standing Committee on NDIS;
- progress on the Mental Health Australia Capacity Building project;
- ARAFMI Australia’s call for stories about experience with the NDIS;
- the recently established Disability Loop website;
- a consultation opportunity on the National Disability Advocacy Framework;
- updates from Senate Estimates about the NDIS; and
- the Assistant Minister for Social Services’ update on the NDIS.
Mental Health Australia CEO on Psychosocial Disability and the NDIS
On 9 June 2015, Mental Health Australia CEO, Frank Quinlan, published an opinion piece on the ‘Every Australian Counts – NDIS: Transforming Lives’ website on exploring psychosocial disability and the NDIS.
The article says that the NDIS has great potential to improve the lives of people with psychosocial disability associated with mental illness. If we are to meet the needs of these people, however it is absolutely crucial that we get the broad architecture of the scheme right.
Carers Victoria Interview with Eddie Bartnik
Carers Victoria recently interviewed Eddie Bartnik, Head of Community Development Authority for the NDIA, regarding mental health and the NDIS. The interview covers some of Mr Bartnik’s history as well as issues relating to people with psychosocial disability accessing the NDIS and their carers.
To access the full text of the interview, please click here, Interview with Eddie Bartnik.
Joint Standing Committee on NDIS
On Friday 5 June 2015 the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS conducted a public hearing. Members of the NDIA and its Independent Advisory Council spoke about a range of issues regarding the current scheme and planning for its future roll-out across Australia. The full transcript is available on the Parliament of Australia website.
Supporting Consumer and Carer Readiness
In collaboration with the Department of Social Services (DSS), Mental Health Australia convened the second meeting of the Mental Health Australia NDIS Consumer and Carer Advisory Group (previously known as the Peer NDIS Experts) on 6 May 2015. The purpose of the workshop was to:
- provide feedback to DSS on the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework;
- provide advice on the next steps forward for the Mental Health Australia NDIS Capacity Building Project; and
- consider the work of the NDIA Mental Health Sector Reference Group through the Psychosocial Supports Design project.
You can read about the outcomes of this meeting on the Mental Health Australia website.
Supporting Organisational Readiness
As a part of our NDIS Capacity Building Project, Mental Health Australia’s Organisational Readiness Working Group met by phone on Monday 22 June 2015 alongside members from state and territory community mental health peak bodies and National Disability Services. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the highest priorities in the mental health sector to assist providers to prepare for the NDIS.
Based on the Working Group’s feedback, Mental Health Australia will undertake further scoping of existing capacity building opportunities, and identify additional communication channels to make sure the mental health sector is aware of those opportunities. Once this work is complete, the Working Group will meet again to identify provider capacity building priorities in each state and territory.
Share your NDIS Story with Mental Health Carers ARAFMI Australia
Mental Health Carers ARAFMI Australia is seeking the stories & experiences of carers and family members of people with a mental illness about the NDIS. ARAFMI is requesting positive and negative stories on a wide variety of topics about the NDIS including:
- access;
- eligibility;
- planning sessions; and
- discharge planning.
The stories will be uploaded to the website Our National Voice and used for advocating for best practice when working with families, within the NDIS. Specifically the plan is to collate a number of research papers ARAFMI’s members are currently developing, together with the narratives and stories of carers, into an advocacy paper.
If you have an experience to share with ARAFMI please visit ournationalvoice.com.
Disability Loop Website and E News
The Australian Federation of Disability Organisations recently launched the Disability Loop website, using funding from the Sector Development Fund.
The website is run by and for people with a disability and provides a selection of NDIS related resources and stories from NDIS participants and their carers. You can also sign up to receive fortnightly news, resources, stories and information about disability and the NDIS by visiting the website.
Consultation Opportunity! National Disability Advocacy Framework
The Australian Government, together with state and territory governments is reviewing the current National Disability Advocacy Framework (the Framework) to ensure it continues to meet the needs of people with disability in a changing disability environment. The Framework is the structure governments work within to enable and support people with disability to protect their rights and overcome barriers.
DSS is looking to hear from people with disability, their families and carers and disability advocacy agencies to help inform development of the new Framework.
You can find out more about this consultation opportunity on the DSS website.
Senate Estimates
DSS and the NDIA appeared before Senate Estimates on Thursday 4 June 2015. They answered questions relating to NDIS funding (including further explanation about budget measures), the movement of administration of the Sector Development Fund to DSS, the evaluation of the MyWay trial in Western Australia and the timeframe for the NDIS bilateral transition plans to be in place.
For the full transcripts, please click here.
Assistant Minister for Social Services talks about NDIS
On Tuesday 16 June 2015, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield, Assistant Minister for Social Services provided an update to the Senate on the latest quarterly results on the operation of the NDIS. There are now over 13,000 participants in the NDIS and $754 million has been committed to those individuals.
Senator Fifield explained that the Government is in the process of negotiating with jurisdictions as to how the NDIS will roll out beyond the existing trial sites. The Assistant Minister also outlined the budget measure to provide $143 million for a new NDIS ICT system, which was discussed in our last update.
For more detail on the Assistant Minister’s update, please click here. To read the NDIA’s quarterly report, please click here.
For further information about any of the above, please contact Daniel Casey, Liz Ruck or Emma Coughlan at info@mhaustralia.org
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 Mental Health Australia NDIS Consumer and Carer Advisory Group - Workshop Notes, 6 May 2015 | 355.84 KB |
