This morning, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Terms of Reference that will guide a 3-year investigation into abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation of Australians with a disability.

While the announcement of a Royal Commission was expected, the Terms of Reference are important because they outline the detail around how the Commission will be established and importantly, how it will actually work.

Christine Dempsey says, “the Royal Commission is a win for those living or caring for someone with a disability, a win for all Australians, and is another step towards making sure we’re proactively stopping abuse or neglect in our society.”

The Royal Commission will be led by former NSW Supreme Court Judge, Ronald Sackville, but also assisted by 5 other Commissioners. Christine added, “We are really pleased that the Commissioner will be assisted by other Commissioners who have lived experience with a disability”.

Key points about the Royal Commission:

• the Commissioners are tasked with finding out how these groups can protect people with a disability;
• it will look at all groups that provide services to people with disability such as the government and large institutions (including NDIS Providers);
• it will run for 3 years with the final report due April 2022;
• it will cost $527.9m; and
• there will be a dedicated website launched in the coming months.

The Terms of Reference have been made public and cover what will be done to:

• prevent, and better protect, people with disability from experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation;
• achieve best practice in reporting and investigating of, and responding to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation; and
• promote a more inclusive society that supports the independence of people with disability and their right to live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

For more information, visit the Department of Social Services website.

The post Guidelines For Disability Royal Commission Announced appeared first on .

As we are on the approach to the halfway point of 2019, you’re likely to be frantically oiling your organisation’s engine, and trying to keep the pistons pumping hard enough to make it to a finish line that seems to get further and further away.

Why is this happening?

Generally, most businesses can handle one problem. However, it becomes much harder to manage when there’s multiple large issues while trying to get through ‘business as usual’.

Here’s some things that you’re likely facing at the moment:

• In uncertain times, trying to balance staff numbers with projected cash flow and demand for services;
• Preparing your internal quality systems for the mass migration of state and territory regulatory systems to the new NDIS Quality and Safeguards Framework happening July 2019;
• Finding time to apply for grants (or waiting on the outcome of ones that were supposed to be announced months ago);
• If you also deliver Aged Care services, surviving an Aged Care Royal Commission (currently preparing for Hearing 3) that continues to open more wounds and revealing gross systemic failures;
• Preparing for the inevitable Royal Commission into violence, neglect and abuse of people in the disability sector; and
• Retaining (good) staff. While this isn’t isolated to the community sector, more and more staff are disillusioned with their roles, salary and the growing entrepreneurial movement driving them to start their own businesses.

As a CEO or General Manager, what do you do?

For many of these things, you just have to keep across where you are up to/your strategies, and try to keep moving forward. Worrying won’t change it and making reactive decisions will most likely backfire and not consider the long-term direction for your organisation.

1. As business leaders, sometimes all we need to do is listen before we speak. Go back to your Business Plan. Speak to your team. Speak with you customers. What do they say? You’ll often find the answers (or reassurance) from those who have a role to play in your success.Taking a more considered approach means your decisions will reflect a broader perspective and thus help you survive the above challenges (and any other ones) thrown at you.
2. Prioritise. You can’t do everything, so do the 20% to get you the 80%. Delegate where appropriate to your staff and make sure accountability is central to your communication and processes.
3. Manage change calmly. Change is an unavoidable fact of the community sector and chances are, if you’re experiencing these issues, so is your biggest competitor.

For more information on how we can help your organisation with the above challenges, get in contact with our team at Amergin.

Tony Dempsey
General Manager

The post Take A Breath, You’ll Get Through It appeared first on .

Scott Morrison, Robert De Luca (CEO NDIA) and Graeme Head (NDIS Commissioner) all walk in to a bar…

Ok so it doesn’t quite work like that but you could be mistaken for thinking a night on the gin and tonics has made for several positive outcomes for NDIS service providers and their workforce.

Just last week the Federal Government announced an increase to price limits for therapy, attendant care and community participation under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), effective 1 July 2019. The media release from the Assistance Minister noted these price increases will inject more than $850 million into the NDIS market in 2019-20, and the new prices include a minimum increase of almost $11 per hour for therapists and up to a 15.4 percent price increase to the base limit for attendant care and community participation.

At the same time the NDIS Commission released a grant opportunity that offers a funding pool of $5.6m in its first round (with more rounds to follow) to attract, retain and optimise the NDIS workforce as the market sets to more than double in the new few years.

The grant coupled with the price increase is definitely a positive step in the right direction to build the disability sector capacity and service provider readiness in the transition.

For more information on the price increase and the grant opportunities please visit amerginhub where our expert consultants have detailed how these developments apply to your business.

The post Focus on the NDIS Workforce: Price Rises and Grant Opportunities appeared first on .

The NDIS Eligibility checklist:

• Do you live in Australia and have Australian residency?
• Do you usually need support from a person because of a permanent and significant disability?
• Do you need some supports now to reduce your future needs?
• Are you aged between 7 and 65?

Are you aged between 7 and 65?

What about those in one of our most vulnerable populations?

Well you are in luck.

Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, children under the age of 6 can access early childhood intervention supports to maximise their development. There are also supports available for parents, carers and family of a child with developmental delay or a disability to help them in their daily living with a child or sibling with a disability.

BUT what is Early Intervention?

Early intervention services for children living with disabilities is a comprehensive therapeutic approach that includes several therapy disciplines that assess a child, plan interventions, and develop participant and guardian-centred goals in order to achieve the best outcomes.

It takes a village to raise a child and a transdisciplinary team to provide Early Childhood Early Intervention.

The NDIA has defined the transdisciplinary approach as a team who works collaboratively, shares responsibility, and who sees the family as valued team members.

As a way to coordinate the delivery of services and to manage the links within a transdisciplinary team, families have the option of electing one professional as the main point of contact for families. This person is known as a Key Worker.

What this means for providers registering to provide ECEI under the NDIS.

When providing early childhood supports to NDIS participants service providers need to take a holistic approach with careful consideration of:

The Child – Service providers have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure that thy have practices and processes in place that focus on creating a safe environment for children to learn and grow.

The Family – Service providers must recognise the importance family holds in a young person’s education and intervention. A family’s strengths, needs and priorities need to be recognised and respected.

Inclusion – Where every possible support should be provided with consideration and inclusion of a child’s daily routine and promote natural learning in a familiar environment.

Collaboration – Service providers must coordinate supports in a collaborative manner utilising the skills and knowledge of a child’s family and other relevant providers. Families have the option of engaging a key worker to scaffold this collaboration.

Capacity Building – Supports are planned and provided with the intention to build a child’s knowledge, skills and abilities in order to support a child’s learning.

Evidence – Informed Practice with an Outcome Based Approach– Service providers need to plan and offer supports that are based on validated practices, the best available research and relevant laws and regulations. As a matter of ongoing reflection, providers must ensure they have well documented assessments and plans that evaluate and report on intervention outcomes in a meaningful way.

As an ECEI provider it is your role to supports families to help children develop the skills they need to take part in daily activities and achieve the best possible outcomes throughout their life. Childhood is an important and influential time in a person’s life, early intervention leads to life time learning.

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. – Frederick Douglass

The post Understanding ECEI Requirements appeared first on .

As the second Adelaide hearing came to a close, those directly involved and those viewing from the sidelines were left experiencing a mixture of emotions from frustration, concern, desperation and surprisingly a little glimpse of hope.

Whilst the initial Adelaide hearing focussed on Residential Care, the second focussed on Home Care, My Aged Care, becoming a Home Care Provider and the Quality Review process. Many within the industry felt the initial Adelaide hearing was extremely intensive and the sector as a whole is feeling tired, however no stone was left unturned when it came to the Home Care hearing.

Over the course of the five (5) days, seven (7) participants/family members of participants provided evidence of their direct experience receiving Home Care, waiting for their approved packages and some of the pressures felt when attempting to choose a provider.

It continues to be concerning for the Australian public to hear of wait lists in excess of 12 months for much needed care, or even worse, people passing away before their package can be allocated.

With the Federal Budget being announced in the midst of the Royal Commission, aged care advocate organisations and supports are imploring the Government to hear the pleas of the 120,000-elderly waiting for their allocated package of care.

Representatives from the Department also provided evidence on the current systems surrounding provider applications and ongoing compliance.

Concerns were raised in relation to consulting companies not only writing applications on behalf of businesses, but also charging exuberant amounts to support businesses once sanctions have been imposed. One business who had been deemed non-compliant and had a sanction imposed paid in excess of $120,000 to a consulting firm to produce policies and procedures and perform required administrative tasks.

The Commissioners asked what many of us were thinking; what processes are in place to ensure applying businesses are appropriate if only 7 months in to their approval they are deemed as non-compliant?

Whilst Amergin have taken pride in supporting the highest quality of businesses as they complete their own application forms, we too question the workload of the assessing officers, the training (or lack of) they receive to understand the legislation and requirements of a home care provider, and the lack of support given to new providers when first starting out.

Some of the more positive and poignant statements that were made over the week however were from the four (4) Personal Care Workers who provided evidence. Whilst they raised concerns about their wages, training and risk management; they were able to articulate to the Commissioner how much they value their work and the genuine reasons why they want to make their clients lives better. The evidence provided insight in to the importance of an often underpaid and underappreciated group of staff within aged care organisations and left a glimmer of hope in us all.

Advice for providers moving forward

As each hearing draws to a close do not be mistaken for thinking you can breathe a sigh of relief just yet. There is benefit in continuously reviewing your submission in an objective way to look for any areas that may be of concern to the Royal Commission and commence preparing for it now.

Prepare a response in advance if you feel historic compliance issues may be revisited regardless of their severity/significance, and don’t be afraid to take a fresh look at your organisation as a whole…a critical look.

The next hearings are set for 6 May 2019 and will run for two weeks in Sydney. They will focus on residential care, and in particular the needs of people living with dementia.

For the full interview transcripts and witness details, visit the Departments Royal Commission website.

The post Aged Care Royal Commission Update April 2019 appeared first on .

Did you know that there are over 8,000 vulnerable people who sleep rough every night across Australia? That’s over 8,000 people that have to sleep on the street, on benches or under bridges with little to no protection from the elements.

Beddown looks to tackle this issue in an innovative and collaborative way, looking at the way our cities utilise spaces often left empty at night, as a safe and secure shelter for those in need.

Beddown is proposing to utilise ‘Pop-Up’ accommodation in carparks where bedding can be set up quickly and packed away just as fast. In addition, partnerships with other community services offering showers and laundry, food and beverages, clothing, health and wellbeing and outreach services will ensure longer term solutions.

Founder of Beddown, Norman McGillvray has a personal motivation for starting the company and it stems from his father’s story. In the early 70’s his father suffered a stroke including paralysis down the right side of his body. Several other personal issues including divorce from his wife then left Norm’s father homeless in the streets of London.

At the young age of 42 Norm’s father passed away from a heart attack, alone and with no support out on the street. Experiencing this so very close-to-home has meant that Norm has a personal passion for wanting “do some good” in his community and through Beddown impact as many people as possible.

Norm’s initial goal is to raise start-up funds to support the business and gather much needed resources. Whilst Beddown have already secured the support of Secure Parking, Australia and New Zealand’s largest car park operator, they are still in need of inflatable beds and other supports.

Beddown’s GoFundMe page allows members of the community to donate towards a worthy cause and make a difference to the lives of our vulnerable.

For more information about Beddown click here.

The post Community Focus: Beddown appeared first on .

Earlier this week, the NDIS Commission released a grant opportunity that offers a fund pool of $5.6m in its first round (with more rounds to follow).

The primary focus of the grant is to “attract, retain and optimise the workforce” as the market sets to more than double in the next few years. This means looking at skill development and making the NDIS an attractive proposition for a future workforce that it will need.

Amergin Director, Christine Dempsey says, “the grant will go a long way to promote capacity building for providers while also increasing the workforce in the NDIS. With many providers struggling to stay viable, initiatives like this will provide much needed relief to upskill existing staff or acquire more.”

Individual organisations can apply for up to $20,000 in funding – you can be an existing provider, currently going through the registration process or intending to register over the next 18 months.

The grant goes much further, extending to practical business supports such as professional services like consultancy to help new businesses register and existing providers make the transition to the new NDIS Quality and Safeguards Standards – of which VIC, NSW, TAS, NT and ACT will be doing from 1 July 2019.

Christine continues, “It’s an opportunity for providers look at (and invest in) their internal quality systems and ensure a ‘best practice’ service delivery model early on. With every provider now required to undergo some sort of audit under the new national system, this grant funding could help with important measures like ongoing compliance support”.

“Our expert team at Amergin can also help providers apply for the grant and effectively utilise the funds to enhance business viability and quality of services”.

Priority areas for this round include Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander service providers, providers delivering to remote locations and/or other areas where there are NDIS service gaps.

For more information, go to the Australian Governments’ Grant Connect. Registrants must also complete a Readiness Assessment to qualify.

The post New Grant To Boost Provider Workforce appeared first on .

This month Amergin are sharing a success story, with a feathered twist.

Jacinta Psaila and Gina Mifsud formed Two Birdz in 2018, with a passion and genuine desire to provide Planned Activity Group services to the elderly and those with a disability.

Starting your own business is not an easy feat and comes with a multitude of challenges, however the positive outlook and enthusiasm Gina and Jacinta have both embraced every bump in the road with is a testament to the dedication they have towards helping people, and building a business that strives for more than just quality.

Jacinta and Gina believe that ‘Happiness Improves Your Quality of Life’, and they want to create a place where clients can come together and enjoy their life through meaningful activities, and not feel like ‘just another number’.

Through working with Amergin, Jacinta and Gina were open to learning more about the varied support and business models available to best suit the care they wanted to provide.

Breaking down the fear barrier whilst making strategic business decisions was something the Amergin team supported them with, and has led to exciting and positive outcomes for their business and their clients.

Over a period of only 6-8 weeks Two Birdz have been able to secure a commercial office space to host their centre-based activities, host their first activity group in the community and commenced brokerage partnerships with a well-known NDIS provider in Victoria. Their client base is expanding with regular repeating clientele and services expanding from aged care to disability group activities also.

Jacinta and Gina valued that Amergin believed in their vision and explain that Amergin “have been with us every step of the way with guidance and support”. “We highly recommend Amergin to anyone who has a dream to make a difference in the community. We certainly wouldn’t be where we are today and are very grateful and thank them so much” – Jacinta and Gina, Two Birdz.

Whilst the Private/Brokerage community care sector is a competitive marketplace, the ability to become an approved Home Care provider is becoming increasingly challenging. The increasing success of Two Birdz business provides reassurance that an alternative model away from relying on Government funding can be equally as successful, if not more rewarding.

At Amergin we invest in the working relationships we build with all businesses we support and encourage the sharing of not only successes but also challenges everyone can learn from.

We wish Two Birdz continued success and hope they feel as proud as a peacock with all they have accomplished so far.

Amergin Senior Consultant Aynsley Johnson with Gina (L) and Jacinta (R) from Two Birdz, Vic.

The post Birds of a Feather Flock Together appeared first on .

“We want to develop a positive workplace culture”. I know what you are thinking, ‘thank u, next’…but please stick with me. No matter the sector you work in, we have all heard this line before. So what is a positive workplace culture and how can your employees love their culture as much as Kanye loves Kanye?

Workplace Culture is your ‘9 to 5’, it is what surrounds you each day. It is your physical environment, the relationships with your co-workers and management team as well as your work processes.

Positivity is so important in all aspects of your culture including the way you communicate with staff. No one likes a grumpy colleague, ‘don’t look back in anger’ during your office “good mornings”.

Positive Culture all begins with the personalities, skills and values that lay within your prospective employees. When your company is looking at recruiting, reflect upon not only the type of professional experience you wish your new employee to have, but also their own personal values. Do these values align with the company values? Will they fit in with your team or will they kill your vibe?

Culture goes beyond employee perks. While everybody loves free coffee and cake at team meetings – long term support, consistency and appreciation are often more highly valued. Some companies determine their team values through team buildings days. These can be as simple as a round table discussion or as elaborate as a trip on a ‘big jet plane’. Either way, employees will appreciate that you want and value their input into the company, including what may make their day that little bit easier or strategies to deal with a tricky client.

Your squad wants to know that you have got their back and that there won’t be any ‘bad blood’ if they make a mistake or have questions. I asked a fellow colleague what they valued most in the workplace, the answer was “to be able to go to anyone when I have a question and to not feel like I am silly for asking it”. Essentially, an open door policy. Nobody wants to feel like they can’t ask a question or that they are working within a ‘mad world’ where everyone is too busy to help.

Consistency is key, as is communication. We all know that feeling when there is a ‘careless whisper’ going around the office. It creates negativity and staff are at risk of being taken over by fear, which then impacts their work productivity. Regular updates about changes within the company allow all staff to be in the loop.

Employees value ‘R.E.S.P.E.C.T’ and appreciation. This reinforces that you trust your staff and believe in them. Employers often remind staff of tasks they may need further knowledge on or critique their work but forget to reinforce the small wins and hard work from their employees.

Workplace Culture is about all staff (from the Management Team to the Administration Staff) creating a ‘we are the champions’ attitude, upholding those values and keeping each other accountable to continue to be positive – even on those days when you are feeling like 2007 Britney Spears.

The post Workplace Culture 101, Explained Through Pop Culture References appeared first on .

Since 1908 women have taken to the streets, fundraised in their workplaces and had open conversations about how best we can join voices and spread the message of equal rights for all.

Whilst we have come a long way since that first march in the streets of New York, it still remains pertinent to celebrate the achievements of women whether social, political, economic or cultural – while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender balance.

This month Amergin are shining a spotlight on and celebrating the exceptional work our Director Christine Dempsey has contributed to our sector, and the positive impact she has had as a mentor and support for other women in the corporate sector to strive for balance in business.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is about #BalanceforBetter! Whilst we celebrate all women in all their diversities, the race is on for the gender-balanced boardroom and Christine is the passionate force within Amergin to keep this at the forefront.

Whilst statistics show that 26.6% of CEO’s/Directors/Board Members are now females, nearly 50% of major companies still have no women in executive management roles at all.

The value of female leadership can increase overall business performance and create stable revenue, increase returns on investments and enable less unpredictable profit margins.

Whilst Amergin have been successful in business for approx. 8 years, with the inclusion of Director Christine in 2014, Amergin have been able to further excel and transform Amergin’s support to the community and disability sector as an innovative and visionary business that genuinely cares.

Fellow Directors Anthony and Tony describe Christine as “fiercely dedicated and determined” and explain that she is “an extremely passionate leader with an unrivalled drive to motivate, educate and inspire both staff and clientele alike”.

Whilst Christine displays her knowledge and experience daily, she is always looking to grow and even reach beyond her potential through daily professional and personal development activities. Christine believes in “taking everyone along the journey together” in business – creating that balance amongst not only the sexes but also the hierarchy. She wants the business to experience success but also those she mentors to also share in that success. Christine explains that being an impactful and balanced leader means, “supporting and encouraging all team members to feel passionate about what they do and to love what they do. I want to help them find ways to grow themselves and not simply lead from the top of an Ivory Tower; I want to pursue our dreams together”.

Christine is also encouraging for other females around her to never doubt their worth in working environments, and to “back themselves” as formidable and strong females that should be recognised for their worth, regardless of their position in the corporate food chain.

Christine has played a pivotal role in the success of many NDIS and Aged Care businesses, the expansion of Amergin as a business and its team, and the improvement of care offered to those most vulnerable in our community.

Amergin would like to extend a sincere THANK YOU to our strong female lead Christine for all that she contributes to the business and the sector; creating awareness and educating fellow women in the workplace to step-up to their leading role. Amergin would also like to acknowledge the additional Amergin team of female staff and the passionate work they do each day.

For more information about International Women’s Day events in your area or about the #BalanceforBetter movement, please visit https://iwda.org.au/

**share your ‘balance’ image and use the hashtag #BalanceforBetter to spread awareness of this year’s International Women’s Day campaign.

The post ‘Balance for Better’ – in Business appeared first on .