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<h1>The NDIS Review</h1>
On Thursday 7 December 2023, the final report of the NDIS review was released. The report maps out the Review’s recommendations to help restore trust, ensure the Scheme’s sustainability, and deliver a better NDIS experience for participants moving forward.
<h3>But what does it actually mean for NDIS participants?</h3>
The lengthy 329-page report includes 26 recommendations and 139 supporting actions, which are projected to be implemented over the next five years.
While the full Government response to the Review won’t be released until sometime in 2024, discussions with the disability community will continue over the coming months as the NDIS work together to make the positive changes needed for people with disability.
In a recent episode of his <a href="https://youtu.be/lYXlWwrTL_4">Reasonable and Necessary: Making Sense of the NDIS Podcast</a>, Dr George Taleporos, brings together Australia’s leading disability advocates to unpack the Review. Dr George, along with El Gibbs, Nick Avery, Jarrod Sandell-Hay and Sam Paior discuss all the big changes that are proposed, and what they might mean for you.
<h3>Here’s a snapshot of the Review’s recommendations </h3>
Legislation: The Review recommended a range of legislative reforms to return the scheme to its original intent and improve the experience of participants. This included legislation to improve eligibility and access, as well as an early intervention pathway for children.
Foundational supports: The Review recommended disability specific supports that would be available to people with disability and, where appropriate, their families and carers. The Review said these supports should be available to all Australians with disability, whether they are on the NDIS or not. Foundational supports would interconnect with existing mainstream services like childcare and schools.
Early childhood intervention: The Review said there is not enough support for children in everyday settings, where they live, play and learn. It recommends children with disability and developmental concerns or delays are identified early and get the support they need. This could include earlier checks and screening to pick up developmental concerns and provide support.
New approaches to psychosocial disability and mental health: The Review recommended a new, dedicated approach for people with psychosocial disability that better meets their episodic needs and is focused on personal recovery. It recommended that access to mental health services should be improved and there should be a strengthened interface between mental health systems and the NDIS.
Service navigation: The Review recommended the introduction of navigators to help people with disability, find and access all services available to them across mainstream services, community supports, foundational supports and the NDIS.
Fairer housing and living support: The Review recommended consistency should be introduced to housing and living support budgets to make it fairer for NDIS participants. The Review recommended a more flexible and innovative approach to housing supports to help people access solutions that suit them better.
Registration: The Review recommended all providers should be enrolled or registered, with the level of regulatory requirement being determined by the risk and complexity of the different supports they provide.
<a href="https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/">You can access the full report and the supporting documents here.</a>

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<h1 id="">Direct Employ Overview</h1>
&nbsp;
<a href="#One">What is the Carer Solutions Direct Employ service?</a>
<a href="#Two">What is a Partner?</a>
<a href="#Three">Can Carer Solutions help me find Support Workers?</a>
<a href="#Four">Who can I hire to be a Support Worker?</a>
<a href="#Five">If I am a Support Worker, who do I work for?</a>
<a href="#Six">What type of funding do I need in order to use the Direct Employ service?</a>
<a href="#Seven">Can I use a Support Worker agency and the Direct Employ service?</a>
<a href="#Eight">Can I still use the Direct Employ Service if I only need it occasionally?</a>
<a href="#Nine">How much should I pay my Support Workers?</a>
<a href="#Ten">What happens if I run out of funding?</a>
<h3 id="One">What is the Carer Solutions Direct Employ service?</h3>
We support Partners to directly employ the Support Workers they need, know and trust. We provide a number of initial and ongoing services, including a fortnightly payroll administration service to ensure our Partners are meeting their obligations as an employer. However, we are not the legal employer of a Partner’s Support Worker(s).
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<h3 id="Two">What is a Partner?</h3>
At Carer Solutions, we refer to people who use our services &#8216;clients&#8217; as Partners.
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<h3 id="Three">Can Carer Solutions help me find Support Workers?</h3>
Unfortunately no. We don’t find or employ Support Workers for our Partners. Partners, or their family, using our service get the benefit of being able to select Support Workers/individuals they know and trust already. We also don’t determine what the working relationship looks like. This is for our Partners and their Support Workers to define together.
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<h3 id="Four">Who can I hire to be a Support Worker?</h3>
The benefit of our service is being able to hire who you know and trust. Our Partners have employed:
<ul>
<li>Support Workers they know already</li>
<li>Neighbours</li>
<li>Friends</li>
<li>Teachers Aids</li>
<li>Even the local Cricket Coach!</li>
</ul>
Take a look at who is in your local community and network as you may already know someone who would be perfect to provide the support you would like and/or need.
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<h3 id="Five">If I am a Support Worker, who do I work for?</h3>
You are employed, and therefore work for, the individual or family seeking support (our Partners). We simply facilitate the payment of your wages; make sure the correct amount of PAYG Withholding tax is withheld and sent to the ATO; that your superannuation is sent to your nominated super fund; and work with our Partners on any other employer obligations that are required.
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<h3 id="Six">What type of funding do I need in order to use the Direct Employ service?</h3>
There are two ways to fund (pay for) our Direct Employ service:
NDIS, Plan or Self-Managed
Due to the nature of the way that the NDIS is structured, we are only able to offer our Direct Employ payroll service to Partners whose funding is NDIS Plan or Self-Managed.
Unfortunately, we are unable to facilitate our Direct Employ payroll service for Partners who have all their funding NDIS Agency Managed at this time.
If you have a mixture of Plan, Self and Agency Managed funding you will be able to use the Direct Employ payroll service, give us a call to discuss further 1300 729 839.
Private or Other Funding (Home Care Packages, Disability Support for Older Australian etc)
As each situation is unique, please reach out to our team on 1300 729 839 to discuss further, so we can work with you to see how we can help.
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<h3 id="Seven">Can I use a Support Worker agency and the Direct Employ service?</h3>
Yes. We have a number of Partners that use our Direct Employ service as well as a traditional Support Worker agency.
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<h3 id="Eight">Can I still use the Direct Employ Service if I only need it occasionally?</h3>
Yes, once you are set up, the service is ready for whenever you need it. On top of that because our Direct Employ service is ‘pay as you go’, there are no monthly or annual fees, you will only pay for the service when you use it.
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<h3 id="Nine">How much should I pay my Support Workers?</h3>
As the direct employer, you and your Support Worker have the flexibility to agree on a suitable pay rate together. Carer Solutions provides you with the correct information to ensure you are meeting your employer obligations, when it comes to choosing the correct level of pay for your Support Workers.
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<h3 id="Ten">What happens if I run out of funding?</h3>
The best thing to do if you run out of funding is to contact your Local Area Coordinator or the NDIS directly. We keep all of our Partners set up and ready to use our service, so once your funding is in place, just let us know and you can continue to use the service. If you have personal finances available, you may be able to employ your Support Worker personally while organising your funding. If you would like to explore this, please give our friendly team a call on 1300 729 839.
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