Brotherhood to expand its NDIS role

The Brotherhood of St Laurence is set to expand its contribution to the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Victoria.

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), the statutory agency implementing the NDIS roll-out, has announced the appointment of the Brotherhood to deliver Local Area Coordination (LAC) services and Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) services in the Hume-Moreland area, in Melbourne’s north-east, and in Melbourne’s south-east through to the Mornington Peninsula.

In July 2016, the Brotherhood began delivering LAC and ECEI services, in north-east Melbourne, in the municipalities of Banyule, Darebin, Nillumbik, Whittlesea and Yarra. The announcement will see the Brotherhood deliver services in Melbourne’s south-east from Albert Park to Frankston, and beyond to communities across the Mornington Peninsula, while new services in Melbourne’s north-east will cover an area from Brunswick to Sunbury.

Brotherhood Executive Director Tony Nicholson said the alignment of purpose with the Brotherhood’s own objectives was central to the decision to partner with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in delivering the scheme in north-east Melbourne, and this announcement builds on that partnership.

"The NDIS gives peace of mind by ensuring that all who are born with, or acquire, a permanent and significant disability receive the support needed to live a life of common dignity. It aims to invest in people with disability to build each person’s capacity to participate as much as possible in mainstream social and economic life," Mr Nicholson said.

"Our staff work in the communities they serve, and in our first year, we supported more than 3000 people to navigate the scheme in north-east Melbourne. The feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive with satisfaction ratings above 90 per cent consistently achieved.

"Local area coordination services assist people with disability to exercise choice – enabling them to build and pursue their goals for a good life as they engage with the scheme and the broader community. ECEI services support children aged up to six years with disability or a developmental delay. The Brotherhood also supports the community and mainstream services to be more aware and inclusive of the needs and aspiration of people with disability, and focuses on linking people to mainstream services and activities, to foster independence and connections to local community.

"We look forward to building on our success in delivering coordination services in partnership with the NDIA," Mr Nicholson said.