Issue 95 | 27 August 2007
In 2004/05 the Australian Government announced the four year “Security, Quality Services and Choice for People with Disabilities” package of measures which included flexible funding assistance for business services to help improve viability. Under the BSAP, FaCSIA has conducted over 200 Full Capability Reviews and approved and provided tens of millions of dollars in viability assistance to business services.
As the BSAP initiative concludes at the end of this financial year, business services should focus attention on implementing BSAP business strategies and submitting invoices for payments in accordance with prescribed timeframes. Business services that do not meet deliverable milestones and submit invoices for payment on time may miss out on accessing approved funding.
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Was your business service organisation approved for funding to attend a Trade Fair or Industry Day?
Have you submitted your invoice for payment?
Business Services that have been approved for funding under the Trade Fair and Industry Day Sponsorship Program should send in their final invoice for payment. Applications closed on 30 June 2007 and funding approved at that date will continue to be provided. Your letter of approval provided a date that your claim must be submitted and you are encouraged to meet that date to ensure you receive reimbursement.
Invoices for reimbursement can be sent to Rosemarie Gec, FaCSIA, GPO Box 9820, Brisbane Qld 4001. All enquires can be made to (07) 3005 6123.
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You will remember from previous editions of disAbility e-news that ARTD is currently reviewing, updating and combining the Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement handbooks into a new Quality Improvement Handbook for disability employment service providers. ARTD has interviewed a range of stakeholders for the review including representatives of people with disability, disability employment providers, auditors, DEWR and FaCSIA staff, the Complaints Resolution and Referral Service (CRRS), ACE and National Disability Services (NDS).
The new handbook will have a strong focus on providing tools to assist disability employment providers to meet system requirements and to continuously improve, as well as giving updated information about changes to the Quality Strategy since its inception in 2001. It is expected the new handbook will be distributed to all disability employment providers in the spring. For further information on the new handbook, please contact Jen Albright on 07 3006 4860.
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As you know, a review of the current version of Procedure 18 (General Requirements for Bodies Operating Assessment and Certification of Disability Employment Services) has been underway since late June. The Technical Committee (comprising representatives from JAS-ANZ, certification bodies, FaCSIA, DEWR, people with disability, ACE and NDS) has provided feedback on drafts to date and a final version of the new Procedure is expected in the coming weeks. Stakeholders will be advised by disAbility e-news of the release of the new Procedure on the JAS-ANZ website. For further information on the review of Procedure 18, please contact Jen Albright on 07 3006 4860.
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Those present at the National Disability Services Employment Forum three weeks ago would have likely attended the presentation titled ‘Towards a Marketing Strategy for the Business Services Sector’. Colmar Brunton Social Research presented the preliminary findings of their research into market perceptions of the business services sector. The findings included:
More information about the outcomes of the research will be available in later editions of disAbility e-news. For questions relating to this project, please contact Fran Cole – fran.cole@facsia.gov.au
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Meet Michael Griffith, the face (and voice!) of the CBF Helpdesk. Along with his other work, Michael answers over 100 queries a week about CBF and FOFMS.
Each fortnight, disAbility e-news will be featuring some of the questions Michael receives most frequently – as well as some of the more interesting queries that come through his inbox and over the phone line. If you have a CBF or FOFMS question for Michael, please contact the CBF Helpdesk by calling 1800 034 887, or by emailing helpdesk.cbf@facsia.gov.au |
Question: When should I suspend a case on FOFMS?
Answer: Section 18.1 of the Additional Procedures and Information states ‘You must…Suspend a Supported Employee if the Supported Employee is temporarily unable to continue receiving Activities from You, and/or is unable to maintain Employment for at least eight hours a week for a minimum period of 1 month to a maximum period of 12 months’.
Several exclusions apply to this rule to cover what we term as an involuntary leave of absence and these apply to Sick Leave (including workers compensation) and any Christmas shutdown periods. Under Section 18.2, a Supported Employee on sick leave or absent due to a Christmas shutdown period for less than two months is not required to be suspended by the service. In all other situations, including annual, long service, paid or unpaid leave, where a Supported client is unable to maintain Employment for a minimum period of 1 month he/she must be suspended by the service immediately.
Services will still receive a fee, equivalent to their employee’s monthly maintenance or employment assistance fee, on the Supported Employee’s next anniversary date to cover support costs and the administrative burden of suspending a client on FOFMS.
Question: What if my employee has returned from extended leave and I am unable to collect the required thirteen weeks of evidence before their DMI is due?
Answer: In a minority of cases a client will return from suspension with insufficient time for your service to collect the required evidence to conduct a DMI. In these instances you must contact your Contract Manager or the Case Based Funding Helpdesk and renegotiate a reassessment date that will allow you enough time to collect sufficient evidence to complete and authorise a DMI. Please note that FaCSIA will not back pay your service if you do not contact us before payments are suspended.
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Each fortnight disAbility e-news will profile one of our business services. The business services sector is a diverse one, and we hope profiling a different service each week will give you an insight into the wide range of work opportunities available for people with disability. It is also an opportunity for readers to identify other businesses where they may source products or services, or may contact to share ideas.
Business services interested in a profile in disAbility e-news should contact Fran Cole – fran.cole@facsia.gov.au
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Ozanam Industries is a Special Work of the St Vincent de Paul Society, with two Work Centres in the Sydney metropolitan area and one in Coonamble, in north western NSW.
Over 100 people with disability work for Ozanam Industries in an extensive range of business including:
Rod Silber, the Business Development Manager of Ozanam Industries says, ‘We have been successful in increasing our business and work opportunities for people with disability by a proactive marketing strategy, building good relationships with customers, overhauling our website, and creating a monthly newsletter about our business which features the strengths and achievements of our employees’.
For further information on Ozanam, including contact details, please visit the Ozanam Industries website.
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Thank You: Service Delivery Improvement Plans
The department would like to thank all advocacy agencies for their recent efforts in preparing and submitting the Advocacy Service Delivery Improvement Plans. The department acknowledges the time spent by agencies in completing these Plans.
Reminder: Responses to Consultation Papers due 31 August 2007
Just a reminder that submissions are due by 31 August 2007 in response to the two FaCSIA consultation papers:
Thank you to those agencies who are already lodged their submissions.
The department looks forward to receiving your feedback and continued involvement with the changes to the NDAP.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of the NDAP changes or the 2007-08 Budget measure, please contact:
Lou-Anne Lind
A/g Section Manager
Advocacy Reforms and Management Section
Tel: (02) 6244 6120
E-mail: lou-anne.lind@facsia.gov.au
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The Alcoa Foundation is an international organisation committed to improving the quality of life of communities worldwide. To celebrate the contributions community workers make to their community and organisations Alcoa Foundation has established the ‘Outstanding Community Worker Award’. The Alcoa Foundation will award $5,000 to the community sector worker who best exemplifies the community sector’s ideals of dedication, excellence and service.
If you know of someone who works in the community sector who epitomises community service, nominate them now for their chance to win $5,000 to be used towards professional development of their choice.
Nominations close Friday 19 November 2007 and the winner will be announced in early December 2007.
For more information and a nomination form please visit the Our Community website.
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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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