Issue 62 | 17 April 2006
It is very important that Service Providers with access to FOFMS keep their personal login information secure and private as the system contains very sensitive information. FOFMS access is provided to users on the understanding that they alone will use it to access the system and these individuals are personally responsible for any work conducted under their logon ID. It is also best practice to change your password approximately once a month and avoid writing it down.
It should also be noted that it is the responsibility of the Service Provider to notify the FOFMS Helpdesk of the names of staff members who have left the organisation and no longer require access to FOFMS.
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FOFMS has now been updated with the 1 July 2006 Conversion Capacity figures. By 1 July 2006, all services must have transitioned all BGF cases to CBF.
You must complete two important tasks by Friday 26 May 2006 to ensure that your service has transitioned all remaining BGF cases by 1 July 2006.
By 26 May 2006 you must:
How do I determine how many cases I have to transition?
What happens to cases I do not transition?
Cases listed under a Targeted Support Agreement Schedule should not be selected for transition. All cases under a Targeted Support Agreement Schedule will continue to receive Targeted Support.
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The National Disability Conference Funding Program round for 2006-07 was announced in major national newspapers on 18 March 2006.
Grants are available to conference organisers to support the inclusion of people with disability at disability focused conferences. Funding is available to support national and international conferences held within Australia between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2007.
These funds may be provided to conference organisers to:
Conference organisers interested in applying for conference funding should read the Guidelines governing the use of funding under the program and submit an Application Form. These documents are available on the FaCSIA website.
Applications close at 2.00pm EST, Friday 28 April 2006.
For all enquiries, please contact Judy Gorman from the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs on
1800 629 357.
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Some services will have recently received a lump sum DMI reimbursement. Services received $160 for each DMI authorised for Block Grant Workers between 1 December 2005 and 28 February 2006. The next quarterly reimbursement payment is due in June 2006, covering the period 1 March 2006 to 26 May 2006. By 26 May 2006 all services must have completed DMIs for all Block Grant Workers and selected them for transition, in order for them to transition to CBF on 1 July 2006. Block Grant Workers not transitioned to CBF on 1 July 2006 will be exited.
DMI reimbursement payments are paid to services that complete and authorise DMIs for eligible Block Grant Workers to assist with the cost of transitioning to CBF. Services are not paid for the same worker more than once. This means services are not paid for DMI assessments or reassessments when they have already been reimbursed for that worker.
If you have any questions about the DMI reimbursement payment please contact your FaCSIA Contract Manager.
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As advised in disability e-news Issue 59, FaCSIA has contracted Wodonga TAFE in partnership with Aware Industries as the new Consumer Training and Support provider. The focus of their work for the next two years will be developing training materials and information products for users of disability employment and advocacy services. A series of national consultation sessions for service providers has been scheduled Australia-wide.
Session dates and times are as follows. Venues will be advised at the time of RSVP.
| Location | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | 7 April | 10.30am - 12.30pm |
| Ballina | 1 May | 1.00pm - 3.00pm |
| Brisbane | 2 May | 10.30am – 12.30pm |
| Geelong | 4 May | 10.30am - 12.30pm |
| Hobart | 28 April | 2.00pm - 4.00pm |
| Launceston | 27 April | 2.00pm - 4.00pm |
| Melbourne | 3 May | 10.30am - 12.30pm |
| Melbourne | 5 May | 10.30am - 12.30pm |
| Parramatta | 16 May | 10.30am - 12.30pm |
| Perth | 10 April | 10.30am - 12.30pm |
| Sydney city | 15 May | 10.30am - 12.30pm |
| Townsville | 3 May | 10.30am –12.30pm |
Sessions will include discussion of the sector's training resource and information product needs. Your advice about existing FaCSIA training resources and information products for communicating with people with disabilities about quality assurance is also being sought.
If you are unable to attend a session, telephone interviews and email/mail questionnaires are available. In circumstances where organisations have multiple outlets, representatives from each outlet are welcome.
The focus groups, telephone interviews and questionnaires are the starting point for the project. Based on the data gathered from these, a series of recommendations will be forwarded to FaCSIA for resources and products to be developed. Again your input is welcomed. Drafts will be available from a webpage currently under development. All stakeholders will be advised as the drafts become available.
To RSVP a place at the consultation sessions or to participate via telephone interview or survey, please contact:
Judy O'Keefe[ top ]
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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