Issue 99, Monday 17 December 2007
Welcome to the first issue of disAbility enews since the Federal election was called just over six weeks ago. The ministry for the new Australian Government has been sworn in. The department’s role has expanded and is now the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is the Hon Jenny Macklin MP. The Hon Bill Shorten MP is the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services. Childcare and children’s policy, which were part of former FaCSIA, will move to the newly created portfolio of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). The Disability Employment Network (DEN) and Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) will also be included in the new DEEWR portfolio. Disability eNews will continue to provide updates on Machinery of Government (MoG) changes as they affect disability programs.
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On behalf of the staff from Disability Program Branch, we wish you and your families a very happy and safe festive season.
FaHCSIA offices will be closed across Australia from midday Monday 24 December 2007, re-opening on Wednesday 2 January 2008. disAbility eNews will take a well-earned summer holiday and return early in 2008 for the landmark 100th edition.
We look forward to keeping you informed about disability issues in the FaHCSIA portfolio in the New Year. Until then, we hope you have a great break.
Fran, Rosemarie and Telesia – Marketing and Communications, Disability Program Branch
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3 December 2007
International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) is a United Nations sanctioned day that aims to promote an understanding of people with disability and encourage support for their dignity, rights and well-being. The Day also seeks to increase awareness of the inclusion of people with disability in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
This years’ Day was hugely successful, with over 385 events taking place across the country to celebrate.
The national launch of IDPwD 2007 was marked on 3 December with a demonstration game of wheelchair rugby at the AIS in Canberra. The Australian Wheelchair Rugby Team took on the CA Brumbies – Canberra’s Rugby Union team. The Australian Wheelchair Rugby Team convincingly won the game, although the Brumbies had a great time learning to use their wheelchairs.
Later on that day, the inaugural National Disability Awards were announced by IDPwD Patron Paula Duncan at a gala awards ceremony at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP and Parliamentary Secretary, The Hon Bill Shorten MP, presented the Awards and congratulated and thanked the recipients and finalists, who were selected from over 290 outstanding applications.
The 2007 recipients are:
The 2007 National Disability Awards Finalists
Left to Right: Back: Philip French, Sean Webber, Dawn Brooks, Alicia Hemmings, Glynis Thyer, Jayme Paris, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, Parliamentary Secretary, Darren Lomman, Mathew Brown (representing his father, Stephen Brown), Joshua Yates, Peter Persson. Middle: Mike Rowney, Carolyn Campbell-McLean, Chris Van Ingen, Michael Evans. Front: Kristian Kupsch, Michael Curran, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP, James Vantol, Melissa Ryan, Dawson Ko, Joel Satherley, Keith Hayes, Andrew Buchanan, Richard Stubbs.
IDPwD brings together people with disability, community organisations, businesses, individuals and all levels of government. IDPwD unites people around the world in celebrating and acknowledging the contributions, skills and achievements of people with disability. Since 1996, the Australian Government has provided funds to promote and raise awareness of IDPwD around Australia through FaHCSIA.
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The Audit and Compliance Strategy is picking up the occasional instance of non-payment of wages to people with disability in the period prior to that person achieving an ‘employment outcome’. In instances to date, organisations have been accepting an intake fee and then pre-DMI fees for that individual, but have not been paying that person any money for their work until they have worked for 13 weeks at a minimum of 8 hours a week. This is in breach of both the funding agreement and the Disability Services Standards. Unpaid work in business services is not endorsed by the department in any circumstances except for people with disability undertaking work experience as part of an approved school work experience program.
The long form funding agreement is quite clear at P8.1 – ‘you must pay your supported employees wages applicable to their Employment Situation in accordance with:
KPI 9.1 is also very specific about the requirement services must ensure people with disability ‘receive wages according to the relevant Australian Pay and Classification Scale (APCS), special Federal Minimum Wage (SFMW), award, order or industrial agreement (if any)’
Business services in doubt of their position should seek industrial advice to ensure they are meeting their obligations as an employer.
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This week Michael Griffith provides more information on Case Based Funding Helpdesk.
If you have a (DEA) or FOFMS question for Michael, please contact the CBF Helpdesk by calling 1800 034 887, or by emailing helpdesk.cbf@facsia.gov.au
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The following information is provided to help clarify payment types. All amounts are shown as GST exclusive amounts.
Intake fee – A once-off $545 fee paid when a client’s Intake Assessment is completed and authorised on FOFMS.
Employment Assistance fee (EA) – EA or Pre-DMI fees of $545 start one month after the Intake Assessment is authorised and are payable for up to 12 months. Payments are made on the anniversary date of the client’s authorised Intake Assessment.
Employment Maintenance Fee (Maintenance Payment) – The Employment Maintenance Fee, or Maintenance Payment, is paid on the next anniversary date following an authorised DMI assessment and monthly anniversary date hereafter. Maintenance prices are shown below:
Work Based Personal Assistance - This payment is made when we receive a completed eligible claim and is for Work Based Personal Assistance services provided to a client, either directly or purchased from another service.
New Apprenticeship - This payment is an incentive payment for services who have placed a client in a new apprenticeship and is made when we receive a completed claim form.
High Cost Worker Payments (HCW) - The HCW payment is a ‘grandfathering’ type payment, paid in arrears and only available to eligible clients identified as being a high cost worker. The HCW is payed for as long as these clients continue to remain employed with their current business service and the service’s average block grant price is greater than the highest level of Case Based Funding (currently level 4).
Please allow up to three days from the invoice date for payments to reach your bank account.
For any queries relating to DEA payments, please contact the CBF Helpdesk on 1800 034 887 or email helpdesk.cbf@facsia.gov.au
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The client must sign a Client Consent Form before you complete and authorise their Intake Assessment. The Client Consent Form can be found on the Literature site in FOFMS.
The $545 intake fee and monthly Employment Assistance payments for new cases are not payable until an Intake Assessment has been completed and authorised on FOFMS. FaHCSIA will not backdate payments to services that have not authorised intake assessments.
Failing to authorise the Intake Assessment will also affect the total number of cases and vacancies registered with your service.
Cases that have been created but do not have an authorised Intake Assessment have a status of 'draft' in FOFMS. You should review your case list for any cases with a ‘draft’ status and either complete and authorise an Intake Assessment or contact the Case Based Funding Helpdesk on 1800 034 887 to exit the record.
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Several business services have asked whether a police check provided by ‘Crimcheck’ meets the requirements under sub-Items P1 to P6 in the Schedule of the Disability Employment Assistance Funding Agreement (DEA Agreement).
Crimcheck uses CrimTrac, an Executive Agency under the Commonwealth Public Service Act under the Attorney-General's portfolio that must comply with all Commonwealth legislative, financial and administrative arrangements. CrimTrac has the endorsement of all States and Territories.
As such, a police check with Crimcheck and/or CrimTrac does meet the requirements of the 'Police Check' as defined in sub-Item P of the Schedule to the DEA Agreement.
More information about how Crimcheck can help with your police checking processes can be found at http://www.crimcheck.org.au/
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You must ensure that you conduct and document regular reviews of your Supported Employees’ employment plans. Audits of business service’s compliance against their DEA Agreements are showing only 56 per cent of business services (as at 31 October 2007) have up to date employment plans in place.
It therefore makes sense that one of the most frequently occurring non-conformities at Quality Assurance Audits is the lack of up-to-date Employment Plans for workers with disability.
Sub-Item P18.2 in the Schedule of the DEA Agreement requires Employment Assistance Plans to be revised ‘as required by the circumstances of the supported employee’. The disability services standards also require regular reviews of employment plans, including Standards 2, 5 and 6.
Whilst there is no prescribed frequency for reviews, we would expect this to occur at least annually. This is consistent with KPI 5.1 which suggests at least an annual review of each worker’s employment opportunities. Of course, reviews can occur more regularly in response to changes to the types of work and levels of support you provide your workers throughout the year.
The FaHCSIA Employment Assistance Plan template is available on the literature site in FOFMS and at Annexure E to the Additional Procedures and Information of the DEA Agreement.
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Audits of business service’s compliance against their DEA Agreements are showing low numbers of business services (only 37 per cent as at 31 October 2007) with client consent forms in place.
Your obligations around client consents are set out in sub-Item 11 of the Schedule and paragraph 13.3(d) of the Additional Procedures and Information under the DEA Agreement. These include making sure 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 form may result in you having to repay the Intake Fee and/or other Case Based Funding payments made in respect of that Supported Employee.
The FaHCSIA Client Consent Form is available on the literature site in FOFMS and at Annexure D to the Additional Procedures and Information of the DEA Agreement.
Clause 7.3 of the Terms and Conditions of the DEA Agreement gives FaHCSIA the ability to access and copy your records to assess your performance under the DEA Agreement. 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 FaHCSIA 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 FaHCSIA contract manager.
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FaHCSIA will be enhancing and upgrading the BizAbility website and at the end of December 2007 the site will be temporarily closed down to enable the enhancements and upgrades to be undertaken. Over this time the site will have an ‘under construction’ notice displayed on the front page. We expect that the new site will be on line by mid 2008. The objectives of the enhancement are to develop a web site that provides:
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The Do It Yourself (DIY) Marketing Kit has recently been focus tested with service providers in Tasmania and Victoria. The response to the kit from providers has been overwhelmingly positive, with the following comments demonstrating what business services may expect when the kit is released next year:
“I was pleasantly surprised because I expected it to be rubbish but it wasn’t. It’s relevant and useable to Business Services.”
“I got information out of here that you would normally pay hundreds of dollars to get.”
“It’s a tool that will support quality management system.”
The kit will now undergo further refinement in preparation for final release in early 2008.
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Oak Enterprises is the largest provider of business services in Tasmania with five sites and an outlet capacity of 152 employees. These vibrant businesses are exploring national and international trade opportunities. The businesses include:
Oak Enterprises looks at maximising each employees potential, with all employees being offered certificate training through its Registered Training program.
A great deal of effort has also gone into providing information to job seekers who are exploring opportunities within a supported employment environment. Work experience is offered and out of the 19 people who undertook work experience in 2006 and 2007, 10 accepted offers of employment.
For more information about Oak Enterprises visit, http://www.oakenterprises.com.au/index.html
or contact:
John Paton
Chief Executive Officer
(w) (03) 6272 8244
(m) 0439 618189
Peter working on the paper shredding machine at Walkabout Industries.
Apple trees at Tahune Fields ready for loading onto a container for the mainland
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