Under the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022, all new housing will be required to meet minimum accessibility standards.
Big win for accessibility
The Summer Foundation Board renewal program continues and we are delighted to welcome new director Cain Beckett.
The Housing Hub has begun publishing data from housing seekers in a summarised way to inform the market.
General Manager Alecia Rathbone said the Housing Hub is working to make sure the needs and wants of housing seekers are driving the market for accessible housing.
The Summer Foundation’s Welcome Home education package for SDA providers was launched in May.
The free, self-paced learning package contains resources designed to help Board and executive team members and tenancy managers understand their obligations under the SDA Practice Standards and explore a rights-based approach to service delivery.
Our partners in research, La Trobe University, are conducting a study to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people with acquired brain injury (ABI) e.g. stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumour, hypoxic brain injury. They are looking for adults withABI who live in Australia, or carers/family members of adults with ABI to participate. Find out more here.
The Summer Foundation is pleased with the recent Australian Government decision to expand eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination to all NDIS participants and carers.
The Summer Foundation encourages all NDIS participants and carers to get vaccinated, if possible. For COVID-19 updates, click here.
My name is Pam, I have been involved with the Summer Foundation for about a year now.
I was diagnosed with MS in 2009. I was living independently in a private rental but after I had a serious relapse and ended up in rehab for 7 months they told me to consider moving into a supported home. I moved into a group home in 2018. There were pros and cons – it was nice to be surrounded by people, but I didn’t have agency any more.
The Summer Foundation Research team is currently involved in an extensive range of projects.
These include:
- Looking at the hospital to home journey for people with disability and complex needs with a focus on health and NDIS timeframes
- Looking at ways to support young people stuck in hospital to find housing that aligns with their needs and preferences
- Finding out what makes an effective support coordinator
- Looking at the impact of the NDIS on young people in aged care or those at risk of admission
- Exploring factors that influence the quality of paid disability support
- Investigating needs and preferences regarding housing, disability supports and assistive technology
- Evaluating the outcomes and impact of tenants living in new specialist disability accommodation (SDA)
to create an evidence base for the SDA market, and - Exploring the experience of partnering with people with disability in a co-design project
Have your say
Our partners in research, La Trobe University, are conducting a study to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people with acquired brain injury (ABI) e.g. stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumour, hypoxic brain injury. They are looking for adults with ABI who live in Australia, or carers/family members of adults with ABI to participate. Find out more here.
To access the Summer Foundation’s wide range of research reports, head to our new research library here.
Summer Foundation is pleased with the recent announcement from the Minister for NDIS, Senator the Hon Minister Reynolds CSC and National Cabinet to expand eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination to all NDIS participants and carers.
Dates have been set for the first webinars accompanying the Welcome Home education package for SDA providers.
The Summer Foundation has welcomed Cain Beckett as an Independent Non-Executive Director to the Summer Foundation Board.
By Emma Gee
Working together, collaboration, teamwork and co-design – all buzz words around how outcomes can be improved when there is a team approach. At the Summer Foundation, people with lived experience of disability inform our work through sharing their experience and providing their insights. We work with people with a range of experiences who enrich projects’ outcomes and ensure our work is relevant and informed.
As a person living with disability, I feel sharing your experience can lead to feelings of empowerment and inclusion. I have spoken with 3 of our supporters about what impact sharing their story has had on them…
James Nutt, a keen advocate and sports lover, has shared his experience of acquiring his brain injury, being forced to live in a nursing home and going on his journey to find suitable housing. A highlight of his contributions was speaking at a hearing of the Royal Commission into Aged Care.
This feeling of empowerment is also noted by another contributor to the work of the Summer Foundation, Helen Burt. Helen is a passionate advocate with Multiple Sclerosis who now lives independently in an SDA apartment. Among other opportunities, Helen spoke about her experience at the Summer Foundation Annual Public Forum. She says:
“It’s a relief…It’s really good to have your opinion valued…
It was just an enormous relief to have the opportunity to speak and to think that people were going to hear what you had to say.”
Similarly, after years of feeling ignored when advocating fiercely for her son Trevor, who has cerebral palsy and now lives independently in SDA, Linda created a series of digital clips to inform other people going through a similar journey to find housing: “It’s a relief to be heard, listened to, valued ..”.
When people share their lived experience, they can inform and help others going through a similar journey. Linda explains that it is: “…liberating for me to go through something I never thought would happen in my lifetime and then to be able to help others along this journey – give them hope that it is possible.”
James also speaks about the domino-effect sharing his story has on others. He says that by sharing his experience about moving into his own place others “…have an understanding of how it feels, maybe if they read about my experience, they might decide that they can do it too.”
Helen says how “satisfying” it is working together within a team, knowing that she “can contribute in a positive way to help others with disability and make the voice of, particularly those younger people in aged care, heard”.
I feel working with others and sharing my own lived experience enables me to meaningfully contribute to empower and enrich mine and others’ lives. For me, creativity is sparked, problems seem to be better understood and addressed. What’s more, new opportunities to contribute and create positive change are generated. Similarly, by working with others in a collaborative manner, Helen, Linda and James also appear to reap so many benefits.
Please make contact with us if you would like to share your experience. We would love to hear from you.
Contact us at peersupport@summerfoundation.org.au or call or text Gina on 0499 333 105.
Source: The Urban Developer | Author: Di Winkler
Australia’s building ministers at their meeting on April 30 decided to include minimum accessibility standards in the 2022 National Construction Code (NCC).
This is a significant decision that will shape our housing for generations to come.
The new standards will come into effect in September 2022 and reflect the fact that our housing needs are changing as our population ages.
Source: Probono Australia | Author: Di Winkler & Peter Mulherin
Australia’s building ministers have decided to include accessible design features in the National Construction Code. Di Winkler and Peter Mulherin look at what that means.
From September 2022, new homes in Australia will include accessible design features, after a meeting on 30 April saw building ministers decide to include minimum accessibility standards in the National Construction Code (NCC).
Source: Probono Australia | Author: Di Winkler & Peter Mulherin
This Friday, Australia’s Building Ministers will choose whether accessibility standards will be voluntary or mandatory in the 2022 National Construction Code. Di Winkler and Peter Mulherin explain why mandatory standards will future-proof Australia’s housing for coming generations.
The recently released findings of the Aged Care Royal Commission represent an opportunity to achieve generational reform for older Australians, as the provision of aged care services shift from institutionalised care, to care at home.
The Summer Foundation will launch Welcome Home, our compliance education package for registered providers of specialist disability accommodation (SDA) on 10 May 2021.
Our SDA Quality & Safeguards Project Manager Rosie Beaumont, said the package was designed to help SDA providers understand their obligations under the SDA Practice Standards and explore a rights-based approach to service delivery.
The free package of compliance education resources provides a comprehensive explanation of the SDA Practice Standards and includes 6 training modules, management tools, factsheets, policy guides, videos and podcasts.
The topics covered include:
- Rights and Responsibilities
- Conflict of interest
- Service agreements
- Enrolment of SDA properties
- Tenancy management
The Welcome Home package will be available for self-paced learning on the Summer Foundation’s soon-to-be launched online training platform, Summer Learning.
Rosie said a series of Welcome Home webinars will be rolled out from June this year, giving SDA providers the opportunity to discuss a rights-based approach to service delivery and how well common management practices align with the SDA Practice Standards.
To register to access the Welcome Home education package, please click here
This project is funded by the Support for NDIS Providers Program, administered by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
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A new Summer Foundation resource is the first step in finding housing and moving patients with disability along the hospital discharge pathway more efficiently.
The Housing Needs and Preferences to Support Discharge Guide and Template are for health professionals to support a person with disability to describe the housing and support they want and need so that they can be discharged to suitable housing.
The Summer Foundation believes that the proposed midyear rollout of independent assessments should be postponed and an evidence based pilot, co-designed with people with disability, disability organisations and other experts in the field implemented.
Despite the unprecedented challenges of the past year I am delighted about the strong progress that is being made on several fronts towards our goal of keeping younger people out of aged care.
The long-awaited final report of the Aged Care Royal Commission provides great reason for optimism (see here).
The Summer Foundation has welcomed the key recommendations relating to younger people with disability outlined in the final report of the Aged Care Royal Commission.
The Summer Foundation has developed The Housing Needs and Preferences to Support Discharge Guide and Template for health professionals to support a person with disability to be discharged from hospital to suitable housing.
The Housing Hub’s extensive range of workshops and events has kicked off for 2021.