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Welcome to the Spring 2018 edition

CFC UPDATE – SPRING 2018

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We welcome the Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement of a Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Prime Minister Morrison purposefully included mention of young Australians who live in residential aged care.

The Royal Commission will look at the quality and safety of care in aged care. It’s not clear if it will also look at the system changes that need to happen to stop young people ending up in aged care in the first place. We think it’s really important to include this in the Royal Commission, so that young people will stop being forced to live in aged care because there are no other suitable options. Read more

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Support coordinators are among the most critical professionals assisting people to achieve positive outcomes under the NDIS. It is support coordinators who assist young people to explore their housing options and find alternatives to residential aged care.

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In 2009 Penny suffered a stroke. Four years later a motor vehicle accident caused further injury.

Through her NDIS plan Penny was funded for home and car modifications, support hours and equipment.

Her first plan increased her independence and social interactions – she says:[it was] a good package and opened up my world. I felt liberated.

However, at subsequent reviews items were removed. Penny’s informal supports had also broken down in the meantime and despite needing additional support hours, her package was reduced. Getting less support at home resulted in more frequent hospital admissions
for Penny.

Penny has been forced to pay for the community nursing and items not covered by health or disability funding out of her own pocket, which means less money for food and other essentials.

Penny has worked in the disability sector for a number of years, so is well informed and has a good understanding of the sector, but she too has had to work tirelessly to navigate the health and disability systems.

Penny will be speaking about her discharge experiences with the NDIS at the upcoming Annual Public Forum
on October 11.

The NDIS is still working out what is reasonable and necessary for people with disability and complex needs. Difficulty accessing appropriate health supports is one of the reasons young people are admitted to aged care.

So we were pleased with the decision by the Administrative Appeal Tribunal (AAT) in relation to Mazy v. the NDIA. Mazy requested the provision of care by a registered nurse to administer regular insulin, which was declined by the NDIS. After an internal review, Mazy took her case to the AAT. The AAT found that it was a reasonable and necessary support for a registered nurse to administer her insulin (in accordance with s 34(1) of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth)). For details of the decision: http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/AATA/2018/3099.html

If you need access to nursing care to live well in the community you may want to print this decision to take to your planning meeting. Or, if your plan does not meet your needs, consider seeking advocacy support to request a review. To find an advocate see https://disabilityadvocacyfinder.dss.gov.au/disability/ndap/

We’ve written a useful guide to help you navigate your way through the search for mainstream housing. “Mainstream Housing Options” is written specifically for people with disability and is part of a series of guides that we put together to help people with disability find suitable housing.

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The Summer Foundation has produced new resources that explain residential aged care fees and what charges are covered by the NDIS.

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RAPID HOUSING PROJECT

When someone with complex support needs is ready to leave hospital, a lack of suitable housing often results in them having to stay for longer periods of time in hospital or rehabilitation or they are forced to move to aged care. While this option may be seen as a temporary solution, often people remain there for many months, or end up staying permanently.

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Our Get Building SDA initiative has been launched in regional NSW.

Get Building SDA aims to increase the number of SDA properties for NDIS participants and, as a result, increase the hours of Supported Independent Living (SIL) delivered in NSW.

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