Issue 40 | 9 May 2005
Advice has been received from the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ), that Focus Certification has now been accredited to undertake certification assessments of Disability Employment Services.
Further information can be provided from Dave Preston of Focus Certification on
0403 885617, or at www.focuscertification.com
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The Funding Subsidy guarantees that previous block grant funding levels are maintained for services during the transition to Case Based Funding (CBF). It is paid to services whose total current monthly funding (excluding Work Based Personal Assistance payments) is less than the monthly block grant funding that was paid before transition. The Funding Subsidy makes up the difference between the two levels of funding.
Eligible services will receive their first Funding Subsidy payment in June. This payment is in arrears and is for the month of May. Funding Subsidy payments have not been necessary before this, as services have already received their regular block grant payment up to April (paid in advance in March).
For more information regarding the Funding Subsidy please refer to paragraph 51 of the Program Procedures in the current Business Services Funding Agreement.[ top ]
Over the last couple of weeks, FaCS staff have been contacting Business Services to check their existing contact details, as well as collecting information about trading hours, the type and location of services and/or products that each service offers. Thank you for your assistance, which will allow the development of the eCommerce website to begin.
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An analysis of the wage assessment tools used in various Business Services was recently undertaken by an independent consultant. This analysis provided information to assist in the consideration of an application to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) by the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (ALHMWU) to vary the ALHMWU Supported Employment (Business Enterprises) Award 2001.
The consultant's report, "Analysis of Wage Assessment Tools used by Business Services", is now available on the FaCS internet site.
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There are a number of ways payments made to you can be reconciled using the Payment Request function in FOFMS. When FaCS makes a payment to your organisation, a Recipient Created Tax Invoice (RCTI) will be emailed to the address you specified in Annexure E of the Special Terms and Conditions of your funding agreement.
The RCTI document number will match the reference on your bank statement for that payment. The document number on your RCTI and bank statement is the IMPACT invoice number in FOFMS you can use, via the Payment Request function, to get more payment details.
We have created a task card that guides you through this process and have attached the task card to the Literature tab in FOFMS to assist you further.
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FaCS is pleased to advise that, following agreement between FaCS and CRS Australia, the date for entering the case management/targeted support project will be extended from 30 April to 31 August 2005.
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Rural and Remote payments are paid in recognition of the extra cost of providing services in "Accessible", "Moderately Accessible", "Remote" or "Very Remote" regions. These regions are defined under the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA). Your ARIA classification is shown at Annexure A in your Disability Employment Assistance Funding Agreement.
Eligible services in these ARIA locations received a Rural and Remote payment in late April. This payment was an estimate of each eligible service's entitlement for January, February and March 2005.
Details of your Rural and Remote payment can be viewed under the Payment Requests view in FOFMS. You should also have received a letter in early May giving further details on this payment. If you have not received this letter, please contact your FaCS Contract Manager.
For more information on Rural and Remote payments, please refer to paragraphs 35 and 48.3 of the Program Procedures in your Disability Employment Assistance Funding Agreement.[ top ]
A Request for Tender (RFT) for the evaluation of the Commonwealth Disability Strategy - Stage 2, closed on 26 April 2005.
A mid-term evaluation of the Strategy was conducted in 1999. The evaluation found that the Strategy had been effective in raising awareness of the needs and rights of people with disabilities in their interactions with Australian Government organisations. The evaluation also highlighted a range of issues that were restricting the Strategy in achieving its objectives.
As a result, a significantly revised Strategy was agreed to by the Australian Government and launched in October 2000. The Strategy is an important element towards achieving the Government's vision of increasing the community participation of people with disabilities.
As agreed in the Revised Strategy, FaCS will now commission an independent evaluation of progress made in the removal of barriers for people with disabilities and the overall effectiveness of the Strategy. It is envisaged that this evaluation will provide a better understanding of the impact of the Strategy on Australian Government departments and agencies.
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We are fast approaching the next CBF transition point. As we reported in the last disAbility e-news (Issue 39) there are two things services must do by 31 May 2005 to ensure 50 per cent of Block Grant Outlet Capacity (BGOC) has been transitioned to CBF by 1 July 2005:
However, there are systems issues that have affected the ability of services to prepare for transition. In the transfer to FOFMS, DMIs completed and authorised in IDMIS have been migrated across as "not authorised". An IT fix is scheduled for Wednesday, 11 May 2005. For services, this means:
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Email disAbility e-news if you'd like more information on a particular issue or program or to let us know what you think of this e-newsletter.
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Your contributions to disAbility e-news are welcome. Do you want to let others know about your successes? Or how you engage with local businesses to create employment opportunities for people with disabilities? Email your story idea to disAbility e-news.
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