The present state of disability employment service in Australia is poor and sadly, there seems little prospect of positive change in the near future.
Here’s a brief synopsis:
The contract for the provision of service is deeply flawed and gaming behaviours have been positively rewarded (and still are).
Many ‘5 Star’ sites simply buy outcomes by offering a 100% subsidy for the period required to achieve time in work ‘milestones’.
This is possible because ‘benchmark hours’, a nominal indicator of a person’s capacity to participate in work are as low as 8hrs a week in employment (8hrs a week x 26weeks @ $20ph = $4160).
The minimum payments the service provider can expect are approximately double this.
Service providers are encouraged to break full time positions to part time roles maximising the financial gain for their organisation while driving their ‘Star Rating’ upward.
Traditional services prior to this nonsense would have been driven by the goal of ensuring maximum participation and consequently aimed high, securing less numerical outcomes but maximising the independence of people with disability.
Redistribution of market share and a ‘participation’ driven purchasing process have seen an exodus of skilled staff, the cessation of innovation and a denial of service to people with more significant disability.
Here’s why:
The workers in this ‘industry’ are under constant and real threat of losing their jobs and service unless they perform. The ‘performance’ is NOT maximum participation, rather it is maximum participants.
It requires very strong philosophical commitment and much nerve to resist the pressure that comes from the funding body to get as many people as humanly possible into any sort of job rather than meeting their individual needs and aspiration.
This is a personal viewpoint: Amongst the creators of the present system there appears to be an ingrained lack of belief in the ability of people with disability to succeed or fully participate in work.
Creaming (the practice of placing the most able into work) has reduced the participation of people with more significant disability – comment from this weeks DEA conference, ‘when was the last time you saw someone with Down’s syndrome in a DES outlet’?!
Making real change, ensuring full participation and aiming high to challenge participants are historical fact, but currently absent.
Don’t agree? – that’s cool and you might like to send me evidence to support your belief.
I can show you that overall placements continue to reduce (the ‘cream’ may have been creamed!), 13 and 26 week ‘outcomes are falling, people with genuine disability are either being excluded or abandoned to the tokenism of 6 months created work that neither improves their independence of highlights their true value and contribution.
One final fact: NOVA’s average hours in employment continue to be significantly higher than the national average and more than 20% of all participants either very significantly decrease their reliance on welfare or achieve total financial independence – I believe I am correct in stating the national average is 4% (on this I am running on memory and open to correction).
I think we may have a decent Minister in Mitch Fifield.
Mitch; open challenge that’s easy to run – post the financial independence results achieved for every disability employment service provider alongside the ‘Star’ Ratings offer a trophy for and promote the end of 2015 ‘most independent workers (as a percentage of total caseload)’.
Would you like a face-to-face meeting with Martin via Skype? Click the button below to make an appointment
Subscribe to this Blog - blog.novaemployment.com.au Copy the link above and paste it into your favourite Reader to subscribe to an RSS feed of this blog. To watch a short video explanation of RSS and how it helps you save time reading the web click here
Your Comments There are currently no comments on this article
Previous Posts
Disgusting!
Disgusting!: https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2019/07/ndis-data-drop-reveals-severe-employment-gaps/
I have spoken previously on, to quote former President Bush, 'the soft bigotry of low expectations' - if you are a member of a marginalised group the public don't expect much and are surprised when anything much is achieved!
I've been in this game for more than 30 years and have been privileged to see literally thousands of terrific men and women leave NOVA To gain (and retain) great jobs....
Goodness me!
Goodness me!
Read this article: https://www.smh.com.au/national/no-lights-no-linen-how-alex-survived-for-six-years-on-newstart-20190717-p5284q....
Changing Attitudes
One of the hardest things to do is change a person's attitude - if they are favourably disposed to you, all's well and good - if someone holds a contrary view it's an uphill battle to change a mindset....
Retention Retention, Retention!
Just when you thought things couldn't get any better, something comes along that causes you to stop and to reconsider the way your business is conducted....
Properly Caring
Much is made about the easy life enjoyed by people on welfare - we've all seen the 'news' items that show flagrant abuse of the system with welfare recipients engaged in employment or other activities that conflict with the obligation to inform Centrelink of change in status or simply as a means of defrauding the Commonwealth....
2 Things
2 Things:
First:
About the middle of February I wrote: i. "NOVA Needs You!
We are presently engaged in a very significant recruitment drive and are particularly keen to hear from folk with disability and/or sales experience to join our team of Employment Consultants - THIS IS NOT AN EASY JOB - you need to be resilient, self sacrificing and have stacks of smarts and even then we only take the best....
We're struggling!
NOVA Needs You!
We are presently engaged in a very significant recruitment drive and are particularly keen to hear from folk with disability and/or sales experience to join our team of Employment Consultants - THIS IS NOT AN EASY JOB - you need to be resilient, self sacrificing and have stacks of smarts and even then we only take the best....
Extraordinary Results
When Government Star Ratings seem designed to celebrate the ordinary, it is a pleasure to be able to share a terrific piece of selfless effort on behalf of others....
Whats wrong with Employment Services II? What's wrong with Employment Services II
My mum used to frequently admonish my brothers and I with the words, 'if at first you don't succeed, try, try again'....
Whats wrong with Employment Services? There's rumours of a shake-up in the Job Active program - word is, the program isn't making a real difference and employers don't like it!
There's plenty of evidence to suggest that, despite the best intent of Government and funding body, the Disability Employment Service (DES) is similarly in the doldrums....
I need you! Comrades
NOVA needs you - we are very keen to enlist new members of our organisation.
Here's what you need: the patience of Job, the strength of the Hulk, the wisdom of Solomon and a selfless devotion caring for the needs of others worthy of Mother Teresa....
Tragic Loss People with Disability lost a true champion last Wednesday with the unexpected passing of a truly great man, the Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Australia and a dear friend Mr Paul Cain....
Fair Warning
I'm giving fair warning of my intention to expose examples of the current DES-ESS contract's exploitation.
I have written to the Commonwealth expressing my concerns about clear manipulation of the present contract....
Fundamentals
The new contract for Disability Employment Services (DES) will not bring performance improvement.
Government will scratch it's head, blame the economy, blame people with disability, talk about educating employers and spend money on consultations before coming to the conclusion that people with disability must meet more stringent 'mutual obligations'....
100%
Each year, around about the International Day of People with a Disability (IDPwD) NOVA Employment holds a formal graduation for students that have participated in our pre-employment programs....
Profiting from poverty
Profiting from Poverty
I am genuinely horrified by this disaster: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/02/the-demerit-system-is-ruthless-social-policy-designed-to-keep-the-poor-powerless
I believe that we presently represent the job hopes of around 1500 people, in various stages of their progression to independent employment....
New Contract but no change!
New Contract but no change!
Today marks the first day of a new Disability Employment Service (DES) contract.
There are new players and new rules....
Administrative Overload
'It's nice to be busy' and 'busy is better than idle' and all of my mum's other sayings about work being good for you, and all of them said; we're drowning!
The administrative burden of a new Disability Employment Service contract (starts July 1st) and the mountains of paperwork required for an NDIS dollar (approximately 10X that of the former TTW program) has seen us add 3 extra staff to the admin team and we are still receiving a large volume of enquiries that are causing us some time delay in getting back to folk....
Podcasts I've been learning all about Podcasts (I suspect that this may be a long road!)
However, getting paid to be inspired is not the worst way to spend a Monday afternoon and that is just how my day has gone....
Lucky Lucky
I am truly fortunate to work with the very best people in this great nation and we are truly lucky to be part of the best short film festival this side of anywhere!
"Focusonability" voting starts today and there is an even larger number of films (287) than last year....
Subscribe to this Blog