Priority 2
Information on this page:
- An industry plan.
- Improving quality.
- Strengthening the workforce.
- Reviewing legislation.
- What the Government will do.
- What the Government has already achieved.
- Demonstrating future progress.
More dynamic disability supports need to have strong foundations on which to support people with a disability to participate in the community and pursue a lifestyle of choice.
Central to these foundations are mechanisms to ensure that disability supports can respond to people’s needs – both at the individual level and at the system level.
This means that the new focus on individualised planning and support will need to be balanced with the development of disability supports that are sustainable into the future.
An industry plan
The Government will work in partnership with support providers in the government and non-government sectors to develop an Industry Plan. The Industry Plan will provide the blueprint for reorienting disability supports, while continuing to ensure that the support system is sustainable in the longer term.
The Industry Plan will identify key elements of the disability support system that need to be re-shaped to bring about change, including workforce planning and training, purchasing mechanisms, outcome measurement, demand management, agency governance and quality mechanisms.
Importantly, the Industry Plan will also provide the foundation on which to build stronger links between disability supports and generic health and community services.
Improving quality
As part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to provide high quality services to the Victorian community, it is important to put mechanisms into place to monitor and continually improve the quality of support for people with a disability.
This will involve developing systems to review outcomes of disability supports for people with a disability. People with a disability will play a central role in processes to plan, monitor, review and evaluate disability supports.
The Government will also introduce a provider approval program for disability support providers. This program will ensure that support providers meet minimum standards and are committed to continually improving the quality of the supports that they provide.
Strengthening the workforce
Strengthening the workforce - across both government and non-government sectors – is key to improving outcomes for people with a disability. A number of strategies will be put into place to support employers and their staff.
The Government will ensure that staff working with people with a disability are well-positioned to provide high quality support that responds to people’s individual needs and choices.
This will be achieved by promoting a culture that values and encourages innovation, and that values staff by providing opportunities for learning, development and growth through training, scholarships and career pathways.
Strengthening the workforce also involves ensuring that employers have sound recruitment, selection and learning development strategies to ensure that there is a skilled and stable workforce now and into the future.
Reviewing legislation
Underpinning all of these strategies is a review of legislation – the Intellectually Disabled Persons’ Services Act 1986 and the Disability Services Act 1991. This review will provide the basis for an integrated approach to disability in Victoria, and will also support the reorientation of the disability support system.
Any new legislation that is developed will be consistent with this State Disability Plan, and will reflect the shared and unique needs of people with a range of different types of disabilities.
What the Government will do
- Work in partnership with support providers to develop an Industry Plan
- Continue to develop systems to monitor and improve the quality of supports and services
- Introduce a provider approval program for disability support providers
- Strengthen the workforce, across the government and non-government sectors, to ensure a skilled and stable workforce into the future
- Review the Intellectually Disabled Persons' Services Act 1986 and the Disability Services Act 1991. End of what government will do list
What the Government has already achieved
- Begun work on a Learning and Development Strategy for staff working in both government and non-government sectors
- Recruited and trained peer facilitators to assist people with a disability to participate in quality improvement processes for disability supports and services
- Established a program of service review
- Provided funding to promote innovation and highlight successful examples of continuous quality improvement in disability supports
- Awarded study scholarships to 350 students and staff over the last two years, as part of the Government's commitment to building a skilled workforce
- Provided training on working effectively with people who have complex communication needs to more than 1,000 staff working in the government and non-government sectors. of what the government has already achieved list
Demonstrating future progress
- More staff will have access to learning and development opportunities
- The number of people with a disability and their families or carers who are satisfied with the quality of disability supports will increase
- More people with a disability and their families will be involved in planning, monitoring and reviewing disability supports End of demonstrating future progress list
The proportion of staff with training to Certificate IV Level in Community Services (Disability Work) will increase.
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