Issue 42 | 6 June 2005
The department has funded a 12 month position at ACCI to help Business Services and Open Employment Services remain viable and to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
ACCI will work directly with Disability Employment Services, in a number of agreed project areas. A key task will be to facilitate business mentoring arrangements by actively promoting the resources available through ACCI to Business Services and linking them with local chambers of commerce and other business enterprises. Strategic advice from an industry perspective will also be provided on employment of people with disabilities in the private sector.
More information about the project will be in future editions of the e-news.
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The Business Services updated Financial Modelling Tool (FMT) is now available on the FaCS internet.
The Financial Modelling Tool enables service providers to model funding effects during transition from Block Grant Funding to Case Based Funding (CBF) and in to the future. Services can use the modeling tool to predict how they can manage cash flow, for example, increasing cash flow by filling places as soon as they become vacant and getting better outcome rates.
Before using the Financial Modelling Tool, please read the accompanying documentation also available on the website. If you have any questions please contact the CBF Helpdesk on 1800 063 187, or by email at CBF@facsia.gov.au
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Work on the initial analysis and design phase by our supplier Polymorphic Solutions, is on-track. Release of Stage One of the application is anticipated for August 2005. Stage One will act as a gateway to all FaCS-funded business services, providing contact details and lists of available products and services.
A sector reference group is currently being organised specifically to provide feedback about future design requirements. Their contribution will assist Polymorphic Solutions to best meet the eCommerce needs of the sector.
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FaCS is now taking applications for membership of the National Advisory Council on Disability and Carer Issues.
The new council will build on work previously carried out by the National Disability Advisory Council and the National Family Carers Voice. The council will provide confidential advice to the Minister for Family and Community Services on issues affecting people with a disability, their families and carers.
To obtain selection criteria and information on the vacancies:
Applications close 5pm, 17 June 2005.
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FaCS is aware of two errors that you may encounter while completing DMI assessments. The errors and the processes for working around them are described below.
Error 1: Returning an ' Authorised ' status without a funding level.
When a DMI has an ' authorised ' status, but a DMI funding level is not returned, this means that not all questions on the DMI assessment have been answered. If this occurs, please contact the FOFMS Helpdesk on 1800 020 283 and FaCS will revert the DMI status to 'In progress'.
The FOFMS Helpdesk will let you know when the status has been updated so that you can continue the DMI. Once the status has been reverted to 'In progress' you will be able to complete all unanswered questions.
Error 2: Selecting a client for transition before completing a DMI.
Those of you who are still working towards the 1 July 2005 CBF transition targets, may encounter the following error message while trying to authorise DMI assessments:
'Wrong field values or value types detected in field status. Please re-enter your field values. If you need additional assistance, please refer to documentation'.
This message is received when the case has already been selected for transition. Please note that cases should not be selected for transition if a DMI has not been completed. You should first complete a DMI assessment and then select the case with a completed DMI for transition.
If you receive the error message shown above you should 'unselect' the case for transition, then go back into the DMI assessment and you will be able to authorise and save the DMI assessment. You will then need to re-select the case for transition to ensure that case is transitioned to CBF during the 1 July 2005 transition process.
Please note : As advised last week, there has been an extension to the 31 May deadline.
For many of you, FOFMS response times have affected your capacity to complete DMI assessments and select cases for transition in preparation for the 1 July 2005 transition point. In recognition of this, we have extended the cut-off date for the transition from 31 May 2005 until 17 June 2005. All of the cases that are selected for transition as at 18 June will be transitioned to CBF on 1 July 2005.
FaCS will not enforce the minimum number of cases transitioned during the July transition, however the maximum number of cases will still be monitored and services will not be able to transition more than their reported conversion capacity. Please note: there are two task cards to assist you with completing DMIs and transitioning cases in the Literature site on FOFMS.
Any shortfall in the number of cases transitioned will be made up at the 1 January 2006 transition point.
Timing of DMI Reassessments
DMI reassessments are due every two years - please refer to paragraph 26.8 of the Programme Procedures.
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FaCS is continuing to monitor FOFMS for ways to improve its functionality and performance. Since our last e-news article it has come to our attention that not all providers that have experienced performance problems, have reported them to the Helpdesk. Please note, it is important to report such issues so they can be fixed. If you are experiencing difficulties, the FaCS FOFMS Helpdesk is available to assist you.
Enquiries can be directed to the FOFMS Helpdesk by email at FOFMS@facsia.gov.au, or by phone on 1800 020 283 (toll free).
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On Wednesday, 25 May, FaCS carried out maintenance to FOFMS to improve performance and functionality. As a result, FOFMS now allows you to:
This is a major improvement for organisations with multiple sites, as users will not have to continually change their profile to access individual site information. Early feedback indicates these enhancements have resulted in considerable time savings for services.
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Release 3 of FOFMS, scheduled for 15 August 2005, will see the introduction of a number of enhancements to Release 2. One of these enhancements relates to the automation of case status and phase transitions:
Automation of case status and phase transitions.
At present, the status of a case can vary through its lifecycle. In Release 3 of FOFMS the transition rules will be enforced to automate some of the event-triggered status changes. A summary of the case status and phase changes is as follows:
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The inaugural meeting of the new Employer Roundtable for People with Disabilities was held on 13 May 2005 in Melbourne, Victoria.
The Roundtable was chaired by Mark Bagshaw, Manager of IBM Australia/New Zealand, with other members including executives from some of Australia's leading organisations including: McDonald's, Westpac, Toyota, Woolworths, Telstra and Sara Lee Household & Body Care. (Full List of Employer Roundtable Members)
The Roundtable has agreed to complete an Employer Demand Action Plan by December 2005.
The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the Hon. Kevin Andrews MP, said the initial meeting had been very successful. "The people who took part in the Roundtable today impressed me with their enthusiasm and commitment to encourage more businesses to employ people with a disability" Mr Andrews said. "I believe the Employer Roundtable will be well placed to provide best practice directions for government and business, large and small."
Members of Employer Roundtable for People with Disabilities
| Mr Mark Bagshaw (Chair) |
Manager IBM A/NZ Accessibility Centre |
| Mr Bob Carroll | Deputy Secretary DEWR |
| Ms Lynelle Briggs |
Public Service Commissioner |
| Ms Heather Ridout | CEO Australian Industry Group |
| Mr Jock Noble | CEO Diversity at Work |
| Ms Katie Lahey | CEO Business Council Australia |
| Ms Suzanne Colbert | CEO Employers Making a Difference |
| Mr Tony Steven | CEO Council of Small Business Organisations Australia |
| Mr Steve Balzary | Director Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry |
| Mr Bernie O'Connor | Divisional Manager Human Resources Toyota Australia |
| Ms Niki Kesoglou | Manager Diversity, People & Performance Westpac Bank |
| Mr Tony Backshall | Human Resources Operations Manager Woolworths Limited |
| Ms Colleen Cuthbert | Group Managers Employment Policy and Practice Telstra |
| Mr Guy Russo | CEO McDonald's |
| Ms Leonie Clyne | Manager Director Angus Clyne Australia |
| Ms Kerrie Parker | CEO Sara Lee Household & Body Care |
| Mr Michael Ebejer | CEO Elynwood Pty Ltd |
| Susan Hughes | Subway Franchisee |
| Mr Geoff Pawsey | Manager Employment Services City of Boroondara |
| Ms Avril Henry | Chairperson The National Diversity Think Tank |
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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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