Respite in Gippsland update –Page 1 of 2
Respite
The information in this document relates to Disability Services funding provided by the Department of Health & Human Servicesin Outer Gippsland.
Supporting Older Carers – Direct Service
The Supporting Older Carers – Direct Service funding has been distributed across the areawith targets attached to Local Government Areas based on census data and Unpaid Assistance to a Person with a Disability 55+, provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The following table provides a breakdown of how the Supporting Older Carers – Direct Service funding is allocated across Outer Gippsland.
Supporting Older Carers - Direct ServiceService Provider / Area serviced
LGA / % of funding
Australian Home Care Services Pty Ltd / Whole of Gippsland / Distributed across region as detailed in table below
Headway Gippsland Inc / Whole of Gippsland / Distributed across region as detailed in table below.
Uniting Care Gippsland / East Gippsland / 85%
Wellington / 15%
Latrobe Community Health Service / Whole of Gippsland / Distributed across region as detailed in table below
Victorian Person Centred Services(Vista) / Whole of Gippsland / Distributed across region as detailed in table below
Yooralla / Whole of Gippsland / Distributed across region as detailed in table below
Where a provider is funded to provide service across the whole of Gippsland region, they will work towards distributing their funding in the following way:
Carer’s 55yr+ providing unpaid assistance to a person with a disability
Local Government Area / % of funding allocated to areaBassCoast / 16%
Baw Baw / 16%
East Gippsland / 23%
Latrobe / 28%
South Gippsland / 13%
Wellington / 4%
The target group for this funding is people aged 60 years and over who care for a person with a disability. Where appropriate, service providers can exercise some flexibility regarding this age criteria.
All older carers can access this service in accordance with the Disability Services Access Policy although the priority for the allocation of support is older carers who are caring for an individual under the age of 65 who is not currently in receipt of disability funded support. This may include older carers of a person with a disability currently attending a Day Service, with no other funded supports in place. As is the case in all other circumstances, older carers of a person aged over 65 should continue to be referred to Aged Care Services.
Supporting Older Carers – Planning Service
Ageing carers may not automatically seek or need formal supports from Disability Services or other programs. However, with or without formal support, a major issue of concern to parents in particular is future planning for their adult son or daughter with a disability. The funding is allocated to provide planning to older people caring for a person with a disability. The targets will be a combination of Extensive Planning and Limited Planning. The service is targeted at carers aged 60 years and over and 45 years and over for members of the Indigenous community.
The Supporting Older Carers Planning Service has been aligned with planning activities that have taken place in partnership to date with an organisation. The intention of this approach is that there will be organisations across the area in each LGA providing a choice of service provider for older carers and it will assist to increase the capacity of organisations to respond to the needs of people with a disability and their carers.
The following organisations are funded to provide the Supporting Older Carers Planning Service:
Organisation / Local Government AreaGippslandLakes Community Health / East Gippsland
Uniting Care Gippsland / Wellington
Latrobe Community Health Service / Whole of region
Individual Support Packages (ISP), administered through the Disability Support register (DSR), remain the mechanism for the allocation of ongoing support and this service complements the current direction with a focus on identifying carers and linking them in to natural supports. A function of the planning service includes supporting people with a disability and their carers to make applications to the DSR for ongoing supports where this need is identified.
The degree of assistance with planning required by an individual will depend on the person’s needs, and may be limited or extensive.
- Limited assistance with planning includes assistance to enable a person to identify their goals and needs, information provision and referral to services and supports.
- Extensive assistance with planning includes both assistance to enable a person to identify their goals and needs and significant support to build a person’s informal networks, link them into the community and build the skill and capacity of people with a disability and their networks.
Limited assistance with planning is provided to people with a disability or their family members who have already considered some of their needs and goals, and require information and some assistance to engage appropriate supports to assist them to achieve their goals.
Extensive assistance with planning is provided primarily to people with a disability who are seeking support for the first time. People suitable for extensive assistance with planning are generally those who are unsure of their specific needs and require more extensive support to explore their needs and goals and the possible range of support options available to them.
Accommodation Based Respite
The department funds EW Tipping Foundation to provide short term accommodation based respite. Currently this service is provided at houses located in Wonthaggi and Warragul.
For further information about this service contact the EW Tipping Foundation.
The Department of Human Services also provides accommodation based respite at a number of locations across Gippsland. For further information regarding this service contactDisability Intake on 1800 783 783.
Organisation / Local Government Area / ContactDepartment of Human Services / Latrobe, Wellington and Baw Baw / DHS Intake and Response
Ph: 1800 783 783
EW Tipping Foundation / BassCoast and Baw Baw / Russell Pitkin
Ph: 56 22 7716
Flexible Respite
The department funds a range of organisations to deliver flexible respite services to people with a disability and their carers. These are summarised in the table below:
Organisation / Local Government Area / ContactDisability Accommodation Services (DHS) / Whole of Gippsland / DHS Intake and Response
Ph: 1800 783 783
Gippsland and East Gippsland Aboriginal Cooperative / East Gippsland / Julie Hawke
Ph: 5150 0713
GippslandLakes Community Health / East Gippsland / Shelley Wormald
Ph: 5152 0052
Headway / Whole of Gippsland / Donna Walker
Ph: 5127 7166
Latrobe Community Health Service / Whole of Gippsland / Service Access
Ph:1800 242 696
Orbost Regional Health / Far East Gippsland / Linda Grellman
Ph: 5154 6666
Uniting Care Gippsland / East Gippsland and Wellington / Duty Worker Age & Disability Services
Ph:5144 7777 0r 5152 9600
Victorian Person Centred Services (Vista) / Whole of Gippsland / Vivianne Everett
Ph:5135 4362
Yooralla / Whole of Gippsland / Vanessa Bleier
Ph:5174 1111
Respite in Gippsland Website
The Victorian Government introduced the Respite Online initiative in 2009 in order to improve consistency of access to information of respite services across all nine regions within Victoria. In Gippsland, Yooralla have been funded to lead the ongoing development of the website and will update information regarding respite services across Gippsland as it is submitted.
The website is a valuable resource that provides current and useful information about respite services in order to support families, carers and people with a disability, enabling them to choose and access services that match their needs.
For further information go to:
Innovative Respite Support and School Holiday Respite
In the 2011-12 Victorian State Budget, the government allocated $21 million over four years ($5 million per
annum for Innovative Respite Support and $250,000 per annum specifically for School Holiday respite support)
to provide respite support for people with a disability and their families and carers. The government also made
clear its commitment to reforming the respite and carer support service system to deliver efficient, simple and
timely services.
The funding made available through the 2011-12 budget provides an opportunity to commence the process of
service system reform. The allocation of these funds will be guided by a vision for the future in which people
with a disability, their families and carers, are supported to maintain positive family and care relationships
through the provision of supports that are tailored to meet people’s needs.
The Innovative Respite Support and School Holiday Respite funds are distributed across Outer Gippsland as per the table below:
Organisation / Respite Options / Local Government Area / ContactUniting Care Gippsland / School Holiday Respite
Weekend Respite / East Gippsland and Wellington / Duty Worker Age & Disability Services
Ph: Ph:5144 7777 or 5152 9600
Further Information
To access any of the respite services described above families (or people working to assist families, such as a case manager or facilitator) can contact the service providers listed above to enquire about availability of supports.
Respite in Gippsland update –Page 1 of 2