The Art of Self-Managing (ndis)

My name is Deb Chilton, I am a visual artist who's ndis goal is to grow my visual arts practise. I been sharing my ndis journey on my blog for almost 12 months. Today I want to share about my experience of particularly self-managing my ndis package.  The National Disability Insurance Scheme provides people with disabilities and their family with assistance to enable them to fully and independently participate in the social and economic life of their community.

The ndis offers participants many choices when it comes to what they would like their supports to look like. One of these choices is how the would like their ndis package to be administrated. 

I remember when the scheme was first being discussed, what everyone wanted to know What will the ndis look like?   

This question was impossible to answer; as the ndis package you will receive will be specifically design to suit you and/or your families support needs and how you chose to be support.  The supports you receive under the ndis are determined by your ndis goals; how you and your family choose to be supported to meet those goals and the types of supports you need.

The ndis promotes individual choice.  The ndis allows you to make choices around service delivery, service providers, times you want support; who and how you want to support you; and lastly how you want your funds to be managed.

When it comes to administrating you package you start with three basic choices.

1. The ndia can manage your package.
2. You can chose a host fund provider
3. Self-manage.

Or you can chose a combination of options two and three. Each option has its own advantages.  Both using a host fund provider and self-managing will allow you to self-direct your supports. If the ndia is managing your package you will not be able to self-direct. However you will still be supported to choose your support services and supplies. 

Self-managing will give you the greatest flexibility when it comes to choice.  Through self-managing some options are:

• Self-direction
• Engaging your own support workers
• Choosing to use genetic services rather than just ndis providers.
• A choice of using a host-fund provider; Plan Manager or establishing and managing you own support team.

However there is a misconception that if you choose to self-manage you can save money by doing all the administration yourself. Like cutting out the middle man. Thus allowing you to have more support hours. This is not the case with the ndis. The ndia must pay all reasonable and necessary costs and this in includes all administration fees.  

If you feel you 'core funding' will not provide enough support, then that is something you should think about appealing. There are many hidden costs if you choose to self-direct through, self-managing your ndis package,  These might be recruitment and training costs; insurances and accounting fees.

Engaging your own support staff also makes you a employer and thus responsible for all legal requirements.

There are many ways you can self-direct under choosing to self-managing:-

1. Use ndis approved support services
2. Use genetic services
3. Engage staff through an agency or a provider that enables you to self-direct.
4. Engage staff on contracts through agencies like hirer-up and Better Care.
5. Employ private support staff who work under the own ABN. (Australian Business Number)
6. Directly employ your own team through applying for an ABN. 
7. Or use a combination of these options.

Before you start you may want to read your responsibilities under Self-Managing. I find everything under the ndis a bit of amaze. Self-managing through my Plan Manager has been a lot  trail and error.

If your thinking about engaging your own support team there are lots of resources on-line. As there are many different ways to engage the support team you need, I found it helpful to talk to others who were already self-directing. This document set out your responsibilities as an employer.  

Here is My Story

My NDIS plan looks something like this:

Participant's Name: Deb Chilton

Region: Ipswich Queensland

Disabilities: CP with Epilepsy

Occupation: Artists and Arts worker 

Piratical Self Managing through a Plan Manager

NDIS Goals:

Goal one: To build my visual art practise and find new avenues to sell my artwork.

Goal two: To purchase equipment that would allow me to work more independently.

Long term goal:  To establish Ignite Artist in view to possibly becoming a ndis provider.

I always plan to try engaging my own support team at some stage. Initially chose to self- manage through a Plan Manager.  

I elected to seek a number of support services and a home maintenance team to meet my current support needs.  When it came to selecting my in home and CAS service provider, I decided to choose  a service I knew.  The are no perfect support providers so in the end I chose the provider with the workers I felt best supported by.  The trouble is that workers move on.

I also know that support service providers are still struggling with the increase demand for services and struggled with staff shortages. To begin with the provider I chose struggle to provide the hours I brought over from my existing provider. 

This meant initially I had less support than prior to the ndis not because of funding, but the providers inability to meet the demand. Recently a number of staff have resigned and be on leave leaving my pool of available workers short.

Thus has not been the only issue with my current provider. As a visual artist and someone's who's work hours are not 9 to 5pm. Traditionally, providers still struggle with the flexibility I need. We I transition to the ndis 'I was determine to have support that worked around my art commitments.'

This no related to my provider specifically. Challenge one is support workers are after x number of hours per week; challenge two is when you receive support from a lager provider you are sharing workers with other client.  A third party organises my roster and they do not always provided the trained staff. Challenged three I require for a particular shift e.g. physio.  I need to pre submit a budget and a quote needs to be attached to the service agreement. As different time of the day and week are charged at different rates by providers the need me to break down the number of after hours I will be using.  This is still required if you are self-directing a support team.  You need ti know you can cover the costs of all your contracted hours.  ;  

 This weeks focus has been on training new staff, which although raining went well. However this week I finish putting all my information together with the recruitment officer a placed a number of adds to recruit my new team.  So soon I will be doing this all again, own my own.  Well in terms of training staff I've had plenty of practise.  

I also engage a home-service team for  the garden, odd jobs and support me in exhibiting my artwork. Most recently this has been  my solo art exhibition at the Drawing Point Gallery.  The have also assisted with transporting artwork to the gallery I work with in Brisbane.  

The increase in my funding has allow me to pull out my old garden and create a more accessible space and plant some vegs.  I pay this team through their own ABN - this makes them responsible for their own insurances.  When it come to owning your own business insurance is a nightmare.  I need to take our public liability of each area I engage people to assist me with.

When your ndis plan is approved you receive differ areas with total budget amount you can access.  Core funding is flexible funding you can spend on your direct support needs. Such as one on one direct community support. 

A budget to assist you to manage your package.  I use this budget to play a Plan Manager to assist me with the payment of my invoices and reporting. (ie entering information into my ndis portal.

A budget I can use for mobility equipment and repairs; and a budget for Improved daily living  One of the goals of the ndis is to assist participants to have independence in the community. My power chair is one way I achieve this the other is through a combination of physical therapies.  

Each part of you plan budget must be spent on items as spelt out in you plan.  If you are under budget is one area you can not top up another area of your budget where you are short.  When you negotiate a service agreement with a provider they will give you a quote and before signing the agreement you need to prove you have the funds in you package the services being provided under that agreement. 

To begin with I had a service agreement with a larger provider thinking this would allow me to access a number services. Such as weekly physiotherapy and hydrotherapy.  I also need a therapist o prescribe my new power chair. I found working with a larger provider difficult to communicate to and I kept being put through to the same person who was extremely over worked. 

The provider never explained they could not provide on going therapy and due to communication issues struggled to complete the paperwork for my chair on time.  Communication or lack of it is one of the things I struggled with in self-manager my package.    

I have since changed to another provider for my physio although their have been other issues I am now attending fortnightly sessions. 

Self-managing has highlighted the lack of respect and discrimination individuals with cp without intellectual disabilities face. Time and time again I need to explain I am self - managing and often feel disbelieved. 

Engaging my support team 

Before advertise for my own support workers I spent sometime thinking about the type of people I wanted to attract to the role, what training I required them to have and what training I could provide. 

I spent some time thinking through a safety net plan.  I am not good with boundaries or managing conflict. When working with people their needs to be a clear outline of what is expected of employees and what is not acceptable while 'at work';  e.g being on Facebook, personal calls etc.  Of the last 20 years I have had many workers ask to break boundaries or company policies  - like bring member of their family to work. 

So knowing that this occurred when clear policies were in place =- I can only imagine (well no I can't) what might happen if there were no boundaries. That is why I wasn't keen on engaging support staff under their own ABN.  Some organisations policies and procedures are tied directly to state and federal laws. As an employer you are responsible to ensure they are occurring the work place you manage. 

Things such as work health and safety laws are connected to your insurance policies including work cover. So if a worker is injured because the are not wearing the right foot ware, (this happens in most support agency I have used) then the worker is not covered.  If you are found failing your duty of care to your employees then they can potentially sue you for personal injuries and lost wages.

So even though you funded to engage you own support team there is a lot to consider. I want to ensure safety for me and my support team. I hoping by considering their welfare that they prove reliable. 

In the end I decided I didn't want the full responsibility of employing people. Employing workers through an organisations means there are already policies and procedures and my coordinator was able to assist with employment contacts, pay rates, job description, interview questions, police and car checks and reference.

The other consideration is where to look for employees. After chatting with people who know me well, I decided to use a recruitment agency. You Select Recruitment, Have a number of different packages they can put together.  The can do the whole process for you up until you ready to do the induction training or you can select the processes you would like to do.  I have chosen to do my own interviews and reference checks

I also do much of the preparation work for induction and writing training materials. Finally you need to think about strategic and succession planning.  What happens when team members get sick or on leave?  What if you disappointed in your choice? What happens when you go away? How do you transition from services you use now to introducing your own team. 

At this stage you should of talked with your existing providers of your intent to leave.  Some providers require notice and have exit fees.  You will need to refer back to your service agreements. If you current support staff are required to do buddy shirts, you need to discuss the transition process. this all needs to be written in a service exit plan.

Before your out on your own, what happens in a emergency? None of your staff can cover a shift that a worker has called in sick for.  Have you got and agreement with a agency to cover emergency, or should you leave some hours per week with a current provider  or will you call on family to assist?

What is your discipline and conflict plan?  Do you know your legal responsibilities as a employer with you need to dismiss a employee. Who will support you with team conflicts and disciplinary matters?   Do you have a probationary period? And what protection can you create if a conflict is the result of you or a family member being abused or taken advantage of?

Succession planning:- at some stage your workers are going to move on.  If this is a key worker will another team member step into that role and how do you train them to take on added responsibility?  How do you plan to introduce new team members and who will support you to do this?

My tip for the week always have a back-up plan and be well supported by people you know and trust.   

NDIS Pathways - what is best for you.

I became an ndis participant in June last year. While my planing and transition experiences was empowering, navigating and accessing services and negotiating service agreements has been disappointing.  Overall in my area service providers are still struggling with the changes and providing client directed programs.  Many have chosen to stay with their tried and true programs and this was anticipated to suit most service users who were transfer to the NDIS.

What has caught service providers by surprise is the increased demand for service from new customers. In the lead up to the ndis in Ipswich their was an air of uncertainly, this left a number of services unprepared and still struggling with staff shortages. This is the case with the current provider. I had a new worker start training last night.  I was alarmed that my provider is short staffed, but still taking on new participants.  The last two weekends their been unable to fill my inhome shifts. 

Self-managing has enabled me to engage a 

home maintenance and art installation team 

to assist with tasks support staff cannot due to

organisation policy. 

Landscaping an accessible garden has been one project. 

Regular readers of my blog will know I am in the process of engaging other individuals to join this team and on Tuesday I placed that job advertisement on SEEK. I thought I share more of that journey in another post.

Today I wanted to discuss the current confusion around pathways to join the National Disability Insurance Scheme.  Recently I took part in a servery and the ndis is currently trailing a new pathway to the ndis process. The ndis will continue to be rolled out to the end of 2019. It is my belief that the roll-out has occurred to quickly for political gain, however I now thousands of Queenslanders were desperately need change.  

The ndis key agenda is to increase the social and economic participation of people living with disabilities and their families. One thing we all wanted was to be included in.  I think for many this has been the biggest disappointment, for those who have transfer to the ndis from the previously state run programs. Many feel nothing has really changed.

In terms of legislation and funding reforms this is not true. It is my experience is that these key reforms have not reached participants because support services and others have not understood the major changes especially when it comes to participant choice.

Their are two main pathways to becoming a ndis participant

1. Transferring from state funded programs to the ndis. (In Queensland the Department of Communities, will give the ndia some of your basic information to the ndia. The ndia will ask if they can access your Department records to bring the transitioning to the nids). Your current providers should be providing you with information on the ndis and how to commerce your pre-planning. 
2. The other way is to apply for assistance directly to the ndia (National Disability Insurance Agency. Once approved the pathways are the same. 

These pathways are currently under review and you should check the ndis website for changes. My experience was:

• Pre-planning - prior to a call from the ndis I had attended information sessions, a self-management preparation training course and mapped out my ndis goals. I was still uncertain about choosing my service providers. Despite knowing how the sector worked, being on the Board of a Service Provider. Owing my own business and confident in negotiating insurance policies, I did not want to move directly into engaging my own team. I admit I like to dot my i's and cross my t's before signing things off. 
• In March I was contacted by the ndia and ask a few questions around my eligibility and then consented to them accessing my department of community recorders.  
• I was contacted a few times for a planing meeting to occur by phone. I said no and insisted on a face to face meeting. This is your right. I had my planing meeting in June.
• Just over a week later my ndis plan was approved,
• Then my head went into a spin. I needed to notify my current providers I was moving on and arrange bridging agreements. Bridging agreements can be form one day or a month.  (In my region a lot of people felt pressured to make choices. Like me they were better funded under the ndis and able to access new service.  One piece of advice take five and use bridging agreements with current providers. You don't need to make changes to you are ready.
• Then when you have make your choices notify your existing providers and ask for a quote and service agreement form any new provider you want to use. This will occur not matter how you chose to have your package managed.
• The essential peace of advise I received was life cannot be put on hold while you transition to the ndis.  The week my package was approved, I needed to fly to Sydney for work and returned how very ill. So preparation is key!

     

SA State Art Gallery 

Pre-Planing

  

The current trend is those who are prepared for meeting with their planner (over the phone or face-to-face) have more successful scarification rates. Before you commence planning you should.

• Have a basic knowledge of the ndis and perhaps attended some information sessions.
• Understand your plan or family members plan is about the participant who will benefit from the package the most. 
• A plan does not require you to identify services or services providers you will access. Not will you be naming support workers you want work with.
• You will be asked to outline your two main goals for the first twelve months.  (The things you want to do the most) You need to be as specific as you can without naming service providers.
• Your support workers and current providers will be key in your pre planning, but should not be involved in the planning or selection of you services.  This helps insures the choices you make for you and/or your family are made independently.
• In pre-planning you will want to discuss your ndis pans with people who know you well and for some people that will be service provides and support staff. Transitioning to the ndis is not something you want to do on your own. Your current providers are responsibility for providing you with enough information on the ndis to allow you to pre-plan.
• You do not need to tell your provider or support workers what changes you intend to make if any.
• Good news - If you are happy with life now (and many people are) you do not need to make changes to your support providers of services you access.  This is the ndis and how you organise your supports or families supports is up to you. What you do need to do is express these as goals and your ndis planner will support you to do this. 

What to explore? 

• Life now - How does it look? Write down every thing you do in a week; who you spend time with; activities you attend; things you need help with; and who helps you do those things? If you or your family member is non-verbal or has difficulty communicating you could take photos to show the planner what life looks like now.  Facially expressions might give clues to what activities your family member enjoys the most. 
• Also record what help you receive now; who helps you with what; any equipment or medical supplies you need. Technology like communication devices or medical alerts. Write these things down as you thing of them and keep all your ndis stuff together.   
• Changes - if you could what would you change? It could be where you live; wanting to find a job; or just new hobby.  Don't worry about not knowing the where, when's and how's yet? Just have fun looking at what is out there. What no changes your next step is to set some goals and think about who you want to manage your package, under the ndis that could be you or someone else you trust, like your parents.
• What could life look like - While your activities need to be thing you can do with assistance and what you can afford allow yourself to dream a little.  Could I move out of home? Could you do some volunteer work? Would you like to learn something new? Or would you like to travel?

These are the things that will assist you to establish you ndis goals.  The more new things you can try before meeting with you ndis planner the more choices you can make on how to use your ndis funding and create a package that works best for you and your family. 

Talking the ndis Talk

Understanding the ndis terminology will assist you to work with your planner, who may become your LAC, will also assist you in your planning.  (LAC) your local area coordinator, during your planning meeting you will be asked if you'd like assistance to set up your supports. So let's explore some key terms.

Participant - is the person with a disability. While the whole family may benefit form the ndis package it is the person with the disabiliy who needs are meet.

Participation - The key role of the ndis package is to enable people with disabilities and their families to participate in the social and economic life of the community.  So support for your child before and after school may assist parent/care to return to work.  It is important in your pre-planning to consider who your family unit will function through the support of the ndis.

NDIS Goals - What you want to do (activities) or how you want your ndis package to assist you and/or your family to live you best life. Living your best life, is about living a life that looks like the life of your peers.  For some participants that might mean supported accommodation or 24 hour support in their own home.

Supports - Under the ndis there are more types of supports available. The role of all supports received is to maximised the independence of the participant now and into the future. Future planning for a family member should be included in your pre-planning process. This is brutal 'what happens to a family member after you pass away'. A goal to move out of home in five years time might be good to work into an ndis plan.  Some of these types of supports fall under improving daily living.    

Improving Daily Living Supports - include: equipment; home and care modifications; assisted technologies; guide and assistance dogs, early intervention programs, medical aids relating to your disability; early intervention programs, and therapies programs; 

Reasonable and Necessary Supports - are supports required due to your/ or family members disability to meet everyday activities  needs and supports needed to achieve your goals.  (Note: the ndis will only paid for items or costs incurred as a result of the disability).

Understanding choice and control - Until now people with disability have had little input into the types of supports they receive and who provides their supports.  The planning process puts the participant in the control seat to enable them to plan what they would like their lives. For example if your goal is to learn how to oil paint then the ndis will only pay for the cost of a support worker to enable you to attend class. Not the costs of your art class or your art supplies.

What choices can you make under the ndis?

The ndis will support you to make choices about your or your family members lifestyle, which is how every other Australian makes their independent choices. Such as,  where do I live?  Some choices you might make are: to continue living with your family or move closer to family members; to live in supported accommodation; to be supported to live independently in your own home or to buy a purposed built new home. 

Previously the money that paid for your support needs was tided to a region of Queensland, moving to another part of the state meant reapplying for your support needs and their was not guaranteed you would be successful. The ndis enables participants to take their ndis package to any where the want to live in Australia. 

When your thinking about your ndis goals and what you like to use your ndis package to achieve you might like to divide your life into areas. 

• Accommodation
• Schooling, education and training.
• Work life including volunteering.
• Learning new skills and developing life skills.
• Health, well being, fitness and sport
• Improving independence.
• Hobbies and recreation. 
• Social and developing social skills 

The ndis is a great opportunity to explore, try new things; and meet new people. Of course not everyone copes with change so for some participants keeping things as they are is important. We'll come back to how to set your goals. 

Under the ndis you can chose:

• How you want to be supported (This is part of your ndis plan)
• Who you want to support you (Support services and suppliers or engaging your own support team. This is not part of your ndis plan)
• When and where you want to be supported (not part of your ndis support plan).
• How you want you ndis package to be administrated (part of your ndis plan).

The choices the form your ndis plan along with your goals will determine the structure of your package. Once you plan is approved you will meet with your Local Area Coordinator who will explain what each area of your budget entails and how that will be managed. For participants under the adult guardian the Public Trust needs to be involved in your planing meeting.  This does not mean they can make the choices for you. In most cases the ndia will recommend they take care of your package.  The ndia are independent and have no kick backs from the services you will receive so for those who want every thing coordinated for them this is a good choice.

So if your not already confused as part of your pre-planning you will need to thing about how you want you package to be managed. In the past the Department of Communities did this on your behalf if you want something like this to continue you choices are:

1. To have the ndia manage your support.
2. To use a host funds provider.

These two pathways do not allow you to self-direct your supports. Self-directing means you want to choose your own support services and suppliers and/or engage your own support team.

Choosing to use a funds host provider or a plan manager would allow you the following options.

1. Choose not to have the government agency involved in the management of your funding.
2. Let a third party do all the administration work on your behalf.
3. Self-direct your package through a supports coordinator.
4. Self-direct through a plan manager.

The last administration option is to self-manager your package. Choosing this options gives you the most choices but it comes with more responsibilities and demands some of you time and effort. 

Some choices you can make if you self-manage are:

1. Self direct your own supports
2. Chose your own support services and suppliers.
3. Engage a plan manager or support coordinator.
4. Engage you own support team..
5. Use suppliers that are not registered as ndis providers.
6. Completely manage your own package. pay your own invoices and use the ndis portal for your ndis reporting.

Regardless of how and who administers your ndis package the ndia will give you the funds to meet those costs. So don't fall into the trap of if I self-manage my package I can save money and have more support hours.  That is an old school way to think about supports. 

You must spend your package as spelt out in your ndis plan. Your core supports budget covers you reasonable and necessary supports provided by disability support providers. That is things like individual support in home or in the community; group support or activities; centre based activities; respite care; holiday and recreation activities. 

In your ndis plan their is a separate build for plan management; equipment; therapies and improved daily living. Self managing your plan and engaging you own team means you are required under the law to meet all employer responsibilities including training. insurances, safety checks. payroll and taxation. If you are considering undertaking this you might want to check out the ins and outs of these responsibility.  There is funding to help you to up skill to enable you to completely self-manage your package. 

So your pre=planning is almost complete, but before you meet with your planner there are some other things I recommend you do. 

• Explore the market place.  Ask your current providers if they will be offering new programs under the ndis. Talk to them about new things you might be thinking of using your ndis funds for.
• Snoop round see what other providers are offering, look up their websites and talk to service users about other services they use including things like physios, OT's and other things you might not been able to access before.
• Try something new or visit a new place.
• Talk to other about what things their thinking of putting in their plan and the services and suppliers their thinking of using. 
• If your thinking of self-directing or self-managing talk to others who are already doing that and to others who are thinking of managing your package in the way your thinking.
• Follow the journeys of others, sign up for ndis updates. 

How to choose your ndis goals?

This has place a major stumbling block for some and yet it is one of the easiest stepping stones in deciding your ndis pathway and your planner will help you with the wording.  A goal is usually something you want to achieve, like scoring a goal in a game of sport. Or you could thing of you ndis goals as the activities you want to be involve in.  Some examples are finishing high school; learning to drive a car; volunteering, learn life skills, getting fit or losing weight.

So think about what activities you do now.  If you or your child are still at school one of your ndis goals might be to finish school and the other to become more independent.  An activity like swimming or playing sport after school might help build your physical strength. 

This gives you, your goals and how you want to achieve them.

Goal one: complete schooling

Goal two: Improve independence at school and in the community.

Long Term Goal is to finish high school 

Activities might include: attending school, swimming lessons after school; attend sporting wheelies on the weekend. 

Support might be: Respite for mum and dad, support to do activities after school, weekly physio ans speech therapy, assist at school (in the classroom and pc at lunch time.)

Your planner will help you tease the rest out. Basically this what your ndis plan looks like. 

Add how you will manage your ndis package and the ndia will work out with you what supports you need. Your ndis planner will type up and submit your plan,  Once your plan is approved you planner will discus with you your budget and what the your package allows you to do.

So your a little bit older and may of finished a school a few years ago. You current use a range of services provided by a support provider(s).  Above is a photo taken in the art room of a service provider. We were members of a art group that meet on Friday afternoon. 

Two of us also accessed individual support from that provider and the other had support provided by another support service providers.  We all lived independently and all enjoyed art and wanted to sell out artwork. Under the ndis my hunch tells me our ndis plans looked very different and when I transferred to the ndis I chose to leave that service. I am now not so sure I made the right choice.

My Ndis Plan

Goal one: To build my visual art practise and find new avenues to sell my artwork.

Goal two: To purchase equipment that would allow me to work more independently.

Long term goal:  To establish Ignite Artist in view to possibly becoming a ndis provider.

I chose to partial self manage and ask for funding to access a Plan Manager to assist me to do this. 

Currently I purchase my direct support services through a support provider in my area.  This is not working for me so this week I advertised for my own support team.  I chose to do this through a recruitment and support agency. Other aspects of my ndis package are around increasing and maintaining my independence.

My solo art exhibition Melting Pot finishes at the Drawing Point Gallery on Saturday. I am currently working on art for the Ipswich Festival and applying for gallery space in Brisbane for 2019.

I access one on one support of daily living activities; physio and various aspects of my work in the art community. 

To date the most difficult part of my journey has been working in a new way with service providers and others services in developing working service agreements.

So you have your plan approved and you understand what you can spend your money on.  Whats next?

Choosing your providers and Service Agreements 

In Ipswich Queensland may participants felt pressure to decided providers once their plan is approved. My advice is breath. To begin with even if you thinking of changing services, reach a intern agreement this will allow to continue to use your current supports without change until you are certain on what you want.  

Even if you are not planing to make any changes you could ask for three months agreements while to settle into how the ndis system works. Under the ndis you will find you can access things that you might not been able to access before, such as physio and equipment. You might want to explore putting these provides in place first. 

On the ndis website you will find information on how to look for providers and a list of providers, with their websites. I found this pretty confusing, time consuming and frustrating.  Maybe try google, most ndis providers have the ndis provider logo on them. I suggest you snoop before your planning meeting.  

As an ndis participant you have the purchasing power and this is the major game changing. Your supports and when you access them is now you choice.  So if you elect to continue with current provider(s) talk to other participants about their experience.    

Services and Supplies are going to put the hard sell on you and their only going to tell you what they want you to know. They will reassure you they can meet your needs and make policy changes to suit you.  I was made promises my my provided that has left me very limited in the region I can access and transport continues to be a major issue for me as an artists wanting to extend my audience reach outside of Ipswich. 

In the past you would of signed a 12 month service agreement, now you can choose the period of the agreement  Give them 3 months make them show you they can deliver what you want.  You will need to prove you have the funds to purchase the supports outlined in the service agreements,  a quote must be attached to your agreement.  I still find service agreements one sided.  By law they need to provide you with a copy.  Even though I self-manage one of my providers has not supplied a quote or copy. Its with my Plan Manager. Most will not acknowledge I self-managed or I can make independent choices I find thus insulting as a small business owner. I probably understand the ndis better than them. 

Many providers depend on you for income so there going to want some control.  You may need someone to advocate for you.  Living with CP puts discrimination in your face every day. Luckily for me I can have fun analysis their behaviour, without giving that game away. 

Deb's top tips:

• Gather information on service from other participants
• Have short agreements 
• If you not sure do not sign agreements 
• Find and advocate or ask your local area co-coordinator to explain your rights to a provider.      

Hope this is helpful.

How to address Social Inclusion

Currently my art exhibition is showcasing at the Drawing Point Gallery (Ipswich Arttime Supplies) 203 Brisbane Street, Ipswich CBD. My hope is that me current exhibition will be a platform for a discussion on how to build a community that celebrates  diversity and actively works towards a community that is inclusive or all.

Social inclusion occurs when every member of the community is considered of equal standing. Social inclusion is not living along side each other. For social inclusion to occur the needs to be relationships that are on equal footing.

This doesn't not occur for many Australians and residents including our Indigenous Australians, refugees and people with disabilities. Above all these Australians do not have equal rights under the law. Until this occurs it is impossible to relate to each other on an equal standing.

Just as the are many misconceptions about immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees who come to Australia, the community as a whole does not fully appreciate he skills and the abilities of people with disabilities and many assumptions are made rather than members of the community taking the time to find out the facts.   

Many marginalised Australians feel voiceless!  

This is why people with disabilities and their families launch the 'Every Australian Counts' campaign. To date the largest achievement of this campaign is the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, known as the ndis.  The ndis provides assistance to individuals and families living with disabilities to fully participate in the life of community. Participation involves being active, passive co-existence is not inclusion.

More specifically it aims to build participation rates in education; employment and the government sector. 1 in 5 people in Australia have a disability and the majority of disabilities are invisible. Regardless of the type of impairment 90% of people with disabilities or underemployed. 

To achieve full social inclusion people with of various disabilities need to equally represented in every section of the community. To ensure this target is achieve we need to make our community accessible to all our members.  This includes our school, work places, transport systems, local business, employment and training, sporting organisations, shopping centres, public amenities, higher education, cultural venues, all levels of governments and government departments and finally the legal system. 

Working towards inclusion involves a multi-layered approach beginning with public educations programs to bring community awareness about disabilities; correcting the many misconceptions around people with disabilities themselves; equality under the law; addressing access issues and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

This means we all have a role to play. Many of these issues can commenced through business, organisations, community groups and governments developing their own Disability Action Plan.  For these plans to be most effective they should refer to the UN charter of human Rights for People with disabilities and the The 1992 Disability Act.

A Disability Action plan recognises it is not the persons impairment that leads to their disability, but the way we have structured our society, making our communities in accessible to some members.  

When I started working in the disability arts sector, access was about building access, toilets, car parking, lighting and signage.  Since commencing Ignite Artists I have learnt that issues around communication, access to information, IT and technology, sensory and behavioural needs and more.

I was involved in the development Ipswich City Councils Disabilities Action Plan . We live in a beautiful historical city and we would not want to tear that up to address physical access issues, but we can legislate to ensure all new buildings are accessible. Inclusive buildings are more accessible to those with injures and the elderly. However physical access can also address the need for low sensory areas and install hearing loops and braille signage. 

Developing a plan can assist you to identify access issues for your employees, clients and customers. Building structures and expenses are ligament barriers that may mean that all issues can be addressed.  What developing a action plan can do is:

•  Demonstrate a commitment to change.
• Allow you to identity access issues. 
• Prioritise how you will address access issues.
• Introduce you to the concept of disability awareness.
• Address low cost access issues
• Contribute to community discussions on inclusion.
• Provide a starting point for change. 

Who should develop a Disability Action Plan? Any one who does business in the community, even if you are self-employed. 

Even I have a Disability Action Plan for my small business Ignite Artists. A plan may address: access issues for people with disabilities (remember access can be physical, intellectual, lack of information, in accessible formats and sensory overload); employment - recruiting people with disabilities; providing disability awareness training for your staff. 

The Action Plan  process is similar to any best practice approach to business. It will fit comfortably with your business objective of ensuring continued commercial success. The components are:

1. Review your practices
2. Devise policies and programs to eliminate disability discrimination
3. Set goals, targets and time frames
4. Devise and incorporate evaluation strategies
5. Appoint persons to be responsible for the implementation of the Action Plan
6. Communicate the Action Plan to people within your business

Together we can build an inclusive community.

My week navigating the ndis

Chasing your dreams and searching for the right supports under the ndis can be overwhelming. The preparation leading up to my art exhibition was exhausting and many artists suffer from post exhibition blues.  The timing this exhibition is great as my commitment to the Ipswich arts community means gearing up to tackle the annual Ipswich Festivals, which is where my attention has turned to this week. 

Thus my support workers have been support me in my art studio. But aliases I forgotten before that, I need to submit my work for the Brisbane Art International Spectacular Ooops! 

2017 Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular 

In the mist on this I am still committed to engaging my own support team.  So a chunk of my time over the last week has been spent working with the recruitment agency. Remember that key advice I received in the lead up to transition to the ndis? 'Life will not stop which you organise you supports under the ndis'.

A few of my support workers with my current provider have moved on, taken holidays or been on sick leave.  This has left wholes in my roster and the need to use agency staff.  I am now introducing new staff into my home not knowing if I around for another month or another 10 months.  I still with a roster that is not fixed. 

The question is always in the back of my mind, will I have support for key events?  The constant drain of managing my supports under the ndis takes my attention away from my Ignite Artists business, Right now I feeling overwhelmed. However I am hoping to find some great support workers to assist me to work towards my ndis goals and my next art exhibition. 

Belonging to the Ipswich art community.