Issue 114
25 August 2008
Free half day interactive marketing workshops for business services are currently being arranged in each State and Territory. FaHCSIA has engaged a consultant, Antoni Lee of Red Act, to facilitate the sessions. The workshops will involve hands on activities for participants, using the DIY Marketing Kit to explore and solve marketing problems experienced in their businesses.
The DIY Marketing Kit is a free resource, available to all FaHCSIA funded business services through the Literature tab in FOFMS. For details on how to access the Kit through FOFMS, please refer to Issue 112 of disAbility e-news.
The first workshop sessions will be held in Melbourne at the FaHCSIA office on the 11th and 12th of September.
Details of further workshops in Regional Victoria and all other States and Territories will be announced in future editions of disAbility e-news. FaHCSIA will not reimburse any travel or accommodation costs for participants.
Workshops will be strictly limited to a maximum of 15 participants per session. To register your interest for the Melbourne sessions please contact Alice Ridgway on (02) 9963 7725 or by email.
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Senator Stephen Conroy, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, announced that the Australian Government has extended its contract with WestWood Spice to deliver outreach services for the National Relay Service (NRS) until June 30 2011.
"The NRS is a government initiative which provides those Australians who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment with access to a standard telephone service on a comparable basis to other Australians", Senator Conroy said.
"WestWood Spice has successfully delivered the outreach service since its initial contract commenced on 1 July 2006, raising awareness of the relay service and providing training and support to users and potential users of the NRS."
The NRS acts as a bridge between people who use text based communication devices such as teletypewriters (TTYs) and voice telephony. Specially trained officers relay what is said by each party, converting text to voice and voice to text as required.
The outreach component of the NRS includes a telephone/TTY accessed helpdesk, a website, personalised training for potential users, community and professional outreach events, media advertising and printed, video and DVD resources.
The annual cost of the outreach program is $3 million (including GST).
WestWood Spice is a specialist consulting group with expertise in the community and human services sectors, working in partnership with the Australian Federation of Deaf Societies.
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Selling goods and services to government is an important opportunity for all business services. Government websites in all states and territories list current, past and future tenders and contracts. Most of these websites provide valuable information about the procurement process and how to plan, prepare and submit tenders.
You can also find the latest information on current tenders and contracts in the Tenders section of your state and national newspapers.
Links to tender websites
Please see the advertisement from NSW Department of Ageing, Disability & Home Care below for more information.
Expressions of Interest (EOI) are invited for the provision of lawn and garden maintenance services to selected DADHC owned properties.
DADHC is initially undertaking a restricted trial to ascertain the capability of Business Services to provide this service. The trial will be limited to properties in our Metropolitan South and Western regions. Suburbs and towns where the properties are located are:
| Metropolitan | Riverwood |
| South | Panania |
| Chipping Norton | |
| Narellan Vale | |
| Mt Annan | |
| Kensington | |
| Western | Orange x 2 |
| Blayney | |
| Bathurst | |
| Dubbo x 2 | |
| Albury | |
| Lavington x 2 |
Further information including a copy of the EOI Package is available from Rod Lambert, Manager Procurement, telephone (02)8270 2424 or email rod.lambert@dadhc.nsw.gov.au
The EOI closes at 9.30am Friday 12 September 2008.
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We have agreed to extend the due date for your 2007-08 Annual Audited Financial Acquittal Report under the DEA Agreement 2007-10 by one month to 31 October 2008.
Sub-Item E2.2 of the Schedule (and issue 111 of disAbility e-news) outline what your Annual Audited Financial Acquittal Report must contain.
This e-news article serves as a ‘direction’ under clause 4 of the Terms and Conditions of the DEA Agreement 2007-10, and has authority under sub-Item B3.8 of the Schedule until we amend the table at sub‑Item E3 of the Schedule at a later date.
For Targeted Support (whole outlet) services, 31 October 2008 now becomes the “Acquittal Date” for you to provide us with your Acquittal Report in respect of Targeted Support Funding paid to you for the period 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008. This article serves as a ‘direction’ under clause 9 of the Standard Terms and Conditions under the Funding Agreement for Targeted Support Services.
Please contact your FaHCSIA Contract Manager if you have any queries about your acquittal requirements.
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In certain situations a supported employee’s maintenance assistance will require a reassessment using the DMI.
A reassessment may be initiated by a business services when there is:
A reassessment may also be initiated by FaHCSIA:
Depending on the results of the DMI reassessment, the supported employee’s funding level may increase, decrease or stay the same.
The following documents are available to help you understand and administer the DMI:
If you require any further information please contact your Contract Manager or the CBF Helpdesk on 1800 034 887 or helpdesk.cbf@fahcsia.gov.au
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There are a number of reports on FOFMS that can assist you in managing your cases and payments including:
For all reports, you can select a specific period that you're interested in, i.e. one month or a quarter. The Agreement Schedule and Case report will also include the first name and surname of individual supported employees for whom payments have been made. All reports have subtotals and totals, are printable, and can be exported to Excel for further manipulation.
You can also use the 'Consolidated Payment Request Line Items' screen view (available under the existing Payment Request view) to help reconcile your payments. From this screen view, you can query FOFMS for payment details using the IMPACT Clearing Number (the reference number which is provided on your bank statement with each deposit from FaHCSIA) as well as the IMPACT Invoice Number (the document number contained on your Recipient Created Tax Invoice [RCTI]).
How do I use these reports?
Information to help you use this payment reconciliation functionality is available on the FOFMS Literature site. Please note that additional access FOFMS access may be required.
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Orana started work towards a consolidation project to realise the benefits of a large modern and central facility. Three years on, the project has been completed!
Orana Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Mihalaras said “the organisation is now even better poised to provide services to people with disabilities, and has a greatly enhanced capacity to provide better solutions to its corporate customers.”
A building at 26 Watson Avenue, Netley has been redesigned, refurbished and some areas purpose-built to suit the needs of Orana’s administration and business services. The total land area of the facility is approximately 10,000 square metres.
The new facility is a consolidation of Orana’s former Kent Town, Melrose Park and Unley business services and provides employment for over 130 people with disabilities. The facility provides improved flexibility and efficiency in servicing the needs of the organisation and its people.
The new facility also encompasses various features to ensure Orana’s operations are environmentally friendly, including water saving and other resource conserving initiatives.
The Hon. Bill Shorten MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services officially opened the facility on 16 July 2008. The music was loud, the atmosphere festive, and over 300 people cheered as the plaque was unveiled!
Orana Incorporated provides a range of employment, accommodation and respite services to over 500 people with disabilities and their families throughout South Australia.
Orana’s business services span 9 facilities located across metropolitan and country regions. Orana also has a number of accommodation services throughout metropolitan and regional South Australia, and a respite service in Whyalla.
For further information please go to the website www.oranaonline.com.au or call (08) 8275 2000.
Photo: Terrence Wescombe, Orana employee at the Netley facility.
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Email disAbility e-news if you'd like more information on a particular issue or program in disAbility e-news or to let us know what you think of the 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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