News

Acquitting 2006-07 DEA Funding

This is a reminder that you need to provide us with the following documents to assure us that you have used your funding in accordance with your previous Disability Employment Assistance (DEA) Agreement for the 2006-07 financial year:

• a statement of compliance by you, certified by the Authorised Officer, that you have only applied the Funding for the provision of the Services and strictly in accordance with this Agreement
• a statement by an Approved Auditor confirming that, in its opinion, the Funding has only been expended by you for the provision of the Services and strictly in accordance with this Agreement
• a full copy of your audited financial statements prepared in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards for the year ending at the end of the relevant Acquittal Report period.

This requirement is outlined in clause 4.5 of the Standard Terms and Conditions of Funding under your previous DEA Agreement that expired on 31 August 2007.  These documents should only cover funding for the period 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 and must be returned to us by 30 September 2007 unless otherwise arranged with your local FaCSIA Contract Manager.  If you received funding under the Business Services Assistance Package during 2006-07, you need to acquit it in accordance with the requirements outlined in the variations made to your previous DEA Agreement for that funding.

As case based funding is an outcomes based funding model, you do not have to acquit your Case Based Funding (CBF) down to the last dollar like you had to with block grant funding.  However, you must assure us that you have used your case based funding in accordance with the Agreement – the above documents give FaCSIA this assurance.  This approach is the same under the new DEA Agreements at sub-Item E2 of the Schedule.

Please contact your local FaCSIA Contract Manager if you have any queries about these requirements.

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3 Year DEA Agreements are a ‘living’ document

Having your new “DEA Agreement 2007-10” in place for three years shouldn’t mean that it just sits somewhere to collect dust until 30 June 2010.  There are many ongoing requirements and issues you need to be mindful of to ensure compliance with the Agreement at all times.  We will be assessing your performance against the DEA Agreement 2007-10 regularly throughout the next three years, including via FOFMS and through our scheduled Audit and Compliance visits.

Some of the more ‘global’ issues you need to remember include:

• keeping appropriate records that allow us to assess/verify your performance under the Agreement (clause 7 of the Terms and Conditions)
• meeting all relevant Commonwealth, State, Territory and/or local authority laws, statutes, regulations, by-laws etc (clause 6 of the Terms and Conditions)
• maintaining appropriate insurances (clause 17 of the Terms and Conditions and Item L of the Schedule)
• at all times, advising us of any matters that may affect you ability to meet your obligations under the Agreement (clause 4 of the Terms and Conditions), eg significant asset sell-offs, changing your legal status and/or Constitution (sub-Item 10 of the Schedule).

Some of the DEA/CBF-specific issues you need to remember include:

• holding and displaying your Current Certificate(s) of Compliance stating that You meet all applicable quality standards (sub-Item 3.4 of the Schedule)
• meeting the Key Performance Indicators outlined in sub-Item 5.1 of the Schedule, including Outlet Capacity, Employment Outcomes and Exits
• ensuring you obtain and maintain client consents in accordance with sub-Item 11 of the Schedule (see separate article in this e-news edition).

This is not a comprehensive list, and you should make sure that you and your staff are aware of all the requirements and obligations contained in your new DEA Agreements to ensure your Supported Employees continue to receive quality services and improved outcomes.

The new agreement documents are available in PDF and RTF format on the FaCSIA website.

Please contact your local FaCSIA Contract Manager if you have any queries about your agreement obligations.

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Have you obtained client consents?

You must ensure your Supported Employees sign a client consent form before you complete and authorise their Intake Assessment in FOFMS.  Authorising an Intake Assessment in FOFMS without a signed client consent may result in you having to repay the Intake Fee and/or other Case Based Funding payments made in respect of that Supported Employee. 

Your obligations around client consents are set out in the following documents under the DEA Agreement 2007-10: 

• sub-Item 11 of the Schedule
• paragraph 13.3(d) of the Additional Procedures and Information.

The FaCSIA Client Consent Formis available on the literature site in FOFMS and at Annexure D to the Additional Procedures and Information of the DEA Agreement 2007-10.

Clause 7.3 of the Terms and Conditions document under the DEA Agreement 2007-10 gives FaCSIA the ability to access and copy your records to assess your performance under the DEA Agreement 2007-10.  Even if a client consent is not in place for a Supported Employee, we may still access their files, for example, during an Audit and Compliance visit.  The lack of client consent means there are limitations on which information FaCSIA may copy, take away, and/or pass on to another Australian Government agency.

If you have any questions about client consents, please contact your usual FaCSIA contract manager.

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Frequently Asked Questions at the Case Based Funding (CBF) Helpdesk

This week Michael Griffith provides more answers to some Frequently Asked Questions received by the Case Based Funding (CBF) Helpdesk.

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: How do I update Activities Records?
Answer:  Activities in your FOFMS homepage can be removed once completed, or if no longer relevant, by updating the status of the activity following the steps below.

1. Select the ‘Activities’ view in FOFMS.
   
   
2. You may now select a specific query or use a predefined query to locate activities applicable to a specific case, case worker, agreement schedule, or due on a specific date.
   
   
   
   
3. Once you have identified an activity you can now alter the status of the Activities Record by selecting ‘Done’ in the status field.
   
   
4. The activity will no longer appear in your ‘Homepage’ view.

Please note that case activities will only appear in your homepage if you are the assigned case worker on FOFMS.  Altering the ‘Case Worker’ field in the cases view will not transfer pre-existing case activities to your homepage and it is your responsibility to ensure that you complete DMI assessments within the required time frame.

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Profile of Activ

‘Activ’s Business Services operate 20 sites in metropolitan Perth and regional Western Australia. Businesses include timber products, metal fabrication, property care, textiles and packaging.  In the last financial year, Activ’s Business Services employed nearly 1000 people with disability, and achieved a 25 per cent increase in performance on the previous year.

General Manager Business Services, Lawrie Fitzgerald, was confident that the latest revenue performance would be significantly eclipsed in future years.

"We’re starting to see the flow-through benefits to our employees of a number of key changes that have been progressively incorporated into the business model. The challenge is to advance that process throughout all business units and to deliver a high quality and contemporary employment option to all our employees."

Mr Fitzgerald – a former Rio Tinto general manager – said that his primary focus had been to ensure employees benefited from a review of Activ’s business fundamentals.

A progressive review of all Activ business units has resulted in a number of changes including:

• The establishment of market driven product strategies
• Redistribution of the geographical spread of selected services
• Review of production processes
• The addition of new technologies, machinery and equipment
• A focus on positioning Activ as an integral partner in client supply change
• The maximisation of opportunities for learning and development opportunities facilitated for employees
• A business focus on the realisation of employee capability.

Activ offers a wide range of skills training and job opportunities to employees. Wade Chambers prepares timber for drilling at Activ Bentley, a large producer of bed bases for the WA market.

For FurtherInformation please contact:
Clint Ford
Manager – Marketing + Community Relations

(08)9387 0555 or 0418 652 851

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