MEDIA RELEASE 8 April 2014
Yooralla quality assurance practices used to set international benchmark
Yooralla, Victoria’s largest disability service providerand House With No Steps (HWNS), New South Wales’ largest disability services provider, recently hosted delegates from the Singaporean National Council of Social Service (NCSS) during a visit in Melbourne. The purpose of the visit was to share information and ideas on quality assurance and best practice service delivery for community services.Yooralla also helped facilitate the delegation’s meetings with various government and service providers in Victoria and Queensland.
The Singaporean NCSS works with over 400 Singaporean welfare organisations to enhance the quality of social services provided to people in Singapore. The Singapore delegation consisted of the Deputy CEO Ms Tina Hung from NCSS and her managers, six non-government agency leaders and the Singapore Ministry of Social and Family Development.
Yooralla CEO Sanjib Roy and HWNS Executive General Manager, People Strategy & Partnerships, Lyn Ainsworth, met with NCSS Deputy CEO Ms Tina Hung, to discuss the role of accreditation and quality management within a service setting.
Yooralla Chief Practitioner Professor Jeffrey Chan provided the NCSS an oversight of the Yooralla quality assurance framework and the practices in place to ensure that service delivery is of the highest standard.
“It is critical that disability services work together across nations to ensure that people with disability receive the highest quality of care. In an ideal world it wouldn’t matter which country you were born in, you would receive the same quality service. While the world is a long way off this ideal, it’s a privilege that Yooralla can contribute to the development of solid quality assurance thinking in Singapore,” Professor Chan said.
HWNS Executive General Manager Lyn Ainsworth said that the Singaporean delegation was very interested to learn about the pending transition to Australia’s National Disability Insurance model.
“HWNS has consciously shifted its approach to quality management from compliance to a focus on excellence in service provision that supports people with a disability to enjoy the same human rights as others,” Ms Ainsworth said.
Ms Tina Hung said that the information exchange had been very valuable to the NCSS Singapore delegation.
“We are very grateful to Professor Chan and his colleagues from the various government departments, service providers and peak body for their candid sharing of information,” Ms Hung said.
Yooralla’s Professor Jeffrey Chan said Yooralla had come a long way in the development of quality assurance procedures and processes, which the organisation was now proud to share with international counterparts.
The information exchange will be valuable in helping NCSS Singapore to develop standardised accreditation and benchmarks for service delivery across providers in Singapore.
For more information:
Lauren Bradley
Media and Communications Manager
Mob: 0477719181