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Focus on housing

An NDIS Housing Options project is being run by the Summer Foundation for Queensland and WA this year.

This project aims to explain the housing options and supports possible under the NDIS to people with disability and housing providers.

It will also help everyone better understand the housing needs of NDIS participants including the needs of people who would be eligible for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA).

Over the next 12 months, the Summer Foundation will be working to provide:

  • Information for people with disability about housing options
  • Information for housing providers about NDIS
    supports and SDA
  • Events to inform and connect NDIS participants and housing providers
  • Special support for NDIS providers seeking to provide SDA in Indigenous communities, rural areas and for people in hospital or aged care

Although we had to suspend Housing Possibilities workshops we had scheduled for Queensland and WA, we presented some of the information and introduced our new housing and SDA related resources in webinars.

These resources are now available for download from our NDIS Housing Options project web page.

The project has been funded by the Australian Government.

Our second Specialist Disability Accommodation Supply in Australia report has just been published.

Produced with Social Ventures Australia, the latest report finds that there are more than 1,766 new SDA places in the construction pipeline as at 30 September 2019.

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A new-look Housing Hub is on the way!

The revamped website will have a number of extra features, including improved search and matching functions and the ability for housing seekers to create their own profiles.

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In December 2019 Tom Butler’s long journey to become his own provider of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) ended in success, when he moved into his purpose-built unit.

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A new type of transitional housing funding was announced in December. Medium Term Accommodation (MTA) funding is intended to support NDIS participants while they wait for their permanent home to be ready. 

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The Summer Foundation works hard to develop and regularly update resources and information for people with disabilities to get the right housing and supports when they need it. We understand finding the right information exactly when you need can be tricky, so we are making changes to our website to make this easier.

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The Summer Foundation are completing a study to better understand the experiences and outcomes of young people living in aged care who are participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). 

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It’s not too late for you or a family member to tell the Aged Care Royal Commission your story about being a younger person living in aged care.

The commission is accepting public submissions until the end of April.

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We are running a study to investigate the role of support coordinators and how they can effectively assist people with disability and complex needs who are enrolled in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

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Source: SBS News |  Author: Maani Truu | Photo: AAP

Days after a disability worker in Victoria died after contracting COVID-19, advocates are calling for urgent action to ensure the safety of Australians living with a disability who are particularly vulnerable to the disease, and their carers.

[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://amp.sbs.com.au/v1/article/calls-for-australia-s-disability-carers-to-get-the-same-coronavirus-protections-as-aged-care-workers/eb30cdd3-e010-4c2e-84ca-a56c25c95f95?amp=1 “][/button]

Source: AFR |  Author: Michael Bleby

The pipeline of new homes developed with National Disability Insurance Scheme funding has jumped by 50 per cent over the past 12 months, the latest report by the Summer Foundation and Social Ventures Australia into the sector shows.

[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/private-sector-flocks-to-specialist-disability-accommodation-20200326-p54e1i”][/button]

Close to 3,000 Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) places have been built or are now in the pipeline, according to a new report from Social Ventures Australia (SVA) and the Summer Foundation.

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Tom Butler is the provider of his own Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). He moved into his SDA unit in Tasmania in 2019. We asked him about the journey to becoming his own SDA provider.

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Source: Sydney Morning Herald  |  Author: Judith Ireland | Photo: Jamila Toderas

The National Disability Insurance Agency has flagged a new strategy to reduce the number of younger people in nursing homes, conceding more work is needed even as figures show a slight fall in the December quarter.

[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/progress-made-to-get-younger-people-out-of-nursing-homes-20200211-p53zsl.html?”][/button]

Source: Probono |  Author: Luke Michael

Not-for-profits need more than just a successful pilot program to influence government and achieve systemic change, a sector leader believes.

Dr Di Winkler is CEO and founder of Summer Foundation, an NFP looking to stop young people with disability from being forced to live in nursing homes.

She spoke to Pro Bono News about the foundation’s advocacy and systems change role in the issue, explaining that it took a lot of work to take a pilot program to scale.

[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2020/02/why-nfps-need-to-look-beyond-successful-pilot-programs/ “][/button]

The Summer Foundation has made a Pre-Budget submission. Our submission recommends 8 measures that will enable the Australian Government to achieve its targets relating to younger people in aged care.

[button icon=”fa-file-text-o” text=”View PDF ” link=”https://summerfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Summer_Foundation_2020-21_pre-budget_submission_FINAL-1.pdf”][/button]

[button icon=”fa-file-text-o” text=”View Word doc ” link=”https://summerfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Summer_Foundation_2020-21_pre-budget_submission_FINAL-1.docx”][/button]

Source: The Daily Telegraph  |  Reporter: Madelaine Wong

New artist impressions have been released, depicting the final product of a multimillion-dollar development supporting disability needs in Mt Colah.
It comes as the community advocates for more accessible housing and infrastructure in the Hornsby Shire.

[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/hornsby-advocate/first-look-at-stateoftheart-mt-colah-disability-housing/news-story/c2ccff3ee35568b76a9b8a539ce132a7″][/button]

[button icon=”fa-file-text-o” text=”View PDF ” link=”https://summerfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/First_look_at_state-of-the-art_Mt_Colah_disability_housing___News_Local-2.pdf”][/button]

Recommendations released today, 20 January 2020, following a review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) by independent expert Mr David Tune AO PSM, should unlock the benefits of the scheme more quickly and provide certainty for those trying to access it.

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Source: Probono  |  Author: Luke Michael

As 2019 draws to a close, we look back at five major reforms that were made possible only through strong charitable advocacy.  

Advocacy is an essential function of charities and a vital component of Australian democracy.

But it is an area sometimes misunderstood by the public and an activity that has come under attack from governments in recent years.

[button icon= “fa-laptop” text=”View online ” link=”https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2019/12/five-times-australian-charities-made-a-difference-through-advocacy-in-2019/”][/button]

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Welcome to our summer update. I am back in the CEO role at a key time for the Summer Foundation. I’d like to thank Luke Bo’sher for all of his terrific work over the past 3.5 years. Our government relations and policy influence was turbo-charged under his leadership.

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The Australian Government has committed to making sure that no younger person will enter aged are by 2022 and that no-one under 65 years will be in aged care by 2025.

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Our Annual Public Forum, held on Thursday 31 October, brought together key stakeholders to talk about what it will take to stop younger people going into aged care for good.

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The Summer Foundation practice team hosted a seminar after our Annual Public Forum about breaking through the barriers to leaving hospital or aged care.

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